Virginia Society of Health-System Pharmacists

The 2022 VSHP Committee on Nominations is pursuing members who wish to get or stay active and involved in VSHP. These candidates should exhibit qualities of leadership, vision and professional awareness that will sustain the enterprising and pioneering spirit that has characterized VSHP.

The offices of President-elect, Secretary, Board Member at Large, and Technician at Large are included in this election cycle.

Nominees for President-elect, Secretary, Board Member at Large must be a pharmacist member of VSHP. 

Nominees for Technician Board Member at Large must be a technician member of VSHP.

The term of office for the President-elect will be June 2022-June 2023; President from June 2023-June 2024; Immediate Past-President June 2024-June 2025.

Secretary and Board member at large are 2 year terms from June 2022-June 2024.

Technician Board Member at Large is a one year term from June 2022-June 2023.

Position descriptions may be found on the VSHP website at: http://www.vshp.org/Governing-documents

Additionally, VSHP is accepting nominations for Regional President-elect for each of the 8 VSHP Regions.  (see map attached).

Region Presidents-elect are 2 year terms from June 2022-June 2023 as president-elect and June 2023-June 202 as Region president.

All interested VSHP members who would like to self-nominate or nominate a colleague for any VSHP or Regional office are encouraged to do so via email to the VSHP Nominations Chair, c/o Steve Glass, Executive Director (contact@vshp.org)  Nominations will be accepted through Friday, April 15, 2022.

Although any member may nominate a pharmacist for VSHP office, VSHP bylaws state that only pharmacist members may vote in the election. 

Candidates for state office will be vetted by the VSHP Nominations Committee and ballots will be administered electronically after nominees have accepted and been verified.

Please join VSHP as we celebrate National Pharmacist Day!

While we know, and are continually reminded each day, that it takes a team for pharmacy services to function, for today VSHP would like to recognize the pharmacist’s contribution. Health-system pharmacists’ daily commitment to patient care and advancement of pharmacy practices have set the foundation of pharmacy in our country and the world.

The origin of this less-recognized pharmacy observance is unknown, according the National Day Calendar crew:

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/january-12-2022-national-pharmacist-day-national-marzipan-day-kiss-a-ginger-day-national-curried-chicken-day/

In honor of the day, the U.S. Census department has picked up on the changes to pharmacy practice over the years:

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/pharmacist-day.html

On behalf of VSHP, we hope you have a Happy National Pharmacist Day!

Craig Kirkwood

VSHP President

VSHP Board approves Strategic Plan for 2021-2022

To view the plan:  Stategic Plan 2021-2022

2022 Spring Seminar Presentation Call for Presentations

Submission for April 22-23, 2022, Virginia Crossing Hotel, Richmond, VA

VSHP is accepting speaker proposals that will provide quality continuing education to our members. Please submit your completed proposal form to contact@vshp.org by Friday, January 14.

Thank you for supporting the educational mission of VSHP!

Here is the Submission Form

The winner of the 2021 VSHP Jennifer E Stallings College Bowl is Alecia Guishard and Ashley Guishard from Hampton University!

Alecia Guishard

Ashley Guishard

National Women Pharmacist Day

#WomenPharmacistDay (WPD) is today! Please join us as we celebrate women in pharmacy. VSHP honors, not just the trailblazers and current leaders who have made such progress possible, but all women in pharmacy including technicians, pharmacists and students. Their daily commitment to patient care and the advancement of pharmacy practices have set the foundation of pharmacy in our country and the world. Women pharmacists have been a cornerstone of VSHP. VSHP has had 17 women Past Presidents, including 11 of the past 31, with Cindy Williams being the most recent (Immediate Past President two years ago). Women continue to comprise many of the leadership roles: Kathy Koehl is President Elect, Natalie Nguyen is Secretary, and Lisa Hammond is Treasurer. Currently six of 8 Region Presidents and five of 8 committee chairs are women. Women continue to make significant contributions every year to the progress of VSHP. ASHP, whose first CEO was Gloria Niemeyer Francke, provides opportunities to hear women about their professional journeys. Here is a snippet of the offerings, with more available on the ASHP web site: ASHP Official Podcasts Black History Month: African-American Women Pharmacy Leaders in History ASHP Women in Pharmacy Leadership: Optimizing Opportunities for a Successful Career Exploring a Pharmacy Leader’s Journey in Practice and Her Experiences as a Lesbian Woman: An Interview with Lindsey Kelley Intersections Can Pharmacists Have it All? Balancing a Dream Career with a Busy Family A Resident’s Perspective on Women in Pharmacy Leadership Student Pharmacist Sheds Light on Leadership Gender Disparity RADM Pam Schweitzer: Climbing Every Mountain Pharmacy Academia Star Urges Other Women to Follow Their Passions   On behalf of VSHP, we are honored to recognize and applaud the contributions of women pharmacists. For more information: https://womenpharmacistday.com/

Colleagues, Like ASHP, ACCP and several other professional organizations, due to the latest surge of COVID with the Delta variant, the VSHP Board of Directors has voted to move our 2021 Fall Seminar to a virtual meeting.  We had hoped that we could overcome the current surge; however, we have learned there is no guarantee of arresting this virus especially in two months. The Fall Seminar meeting dates will remain the same:  November 5-6, 2021. This decision was difficult as all of us long for the professional interaction, with the sharing of progress and the stimulation of new ideas, that more readily comes from live, in-person meetings.  We consider your health and wellness (as well as your families’ and patients’ health) to be most important and any increase in risk from an in-person meeting may jeopardize that. I believe the Board made the most responsible decision and I am certain we will again provide an excellent, complete seminar. On the bright side, the Education Committee has already made the pivot. I anticipate the Residency Showcase, Pearls Session, Poster Session, Reverse Expo, Commonwealth Leadership Forum, and awards presentations will continue to be offered, in addition to outstanding CE presentations that VSHP is known for. The details with days and times for the virtual events will be announced in the near future.  Similar to last year, the Spring Seminar will closely follow, and I am looking forward to returning to an in-person seminar in 2022! Thank you for all that you continually do on behalf of your patients and the profession! Sincerely, Craig Kirkwood VSHP President 2021-2022

 

Each year, VSHP recognizes pharmacy practitioners that have demonstrated outstanding service to the pharmacy profession within Virginia. 

 

VSHP Annual Awards include:

VSHP Technician of the Year

VSHP New Practitioner of the Year 

VSHP Pharmacist of the Year 

Clinical Pharmacy Practice Achievement Award 

R.D. Anderson Distinguished Leadership Award

 

To nominate: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2021-vshp-awards

 

Additional details on award criteria and nomination process can be found at Annual Awards. The deadline for award nomination is Friday, October 8, 2021. Awards will be presented during the VSHP Fall Seminar, November 2021. 

We are reaching out today to invite you to participate in the Virginia Society of Health-System Pharmacists’ (VSHP) Mentoring Program for the 2021-2022 year. The Mentoring Program is an opportunity for pharmacists and current students to interact, so that students can learn more about health-system pharmacy and develop professionally. The program was created with the hope that students would be given a stress-free experience to establish a professional relationship with a health-system pharmacist who shares similar interests.

Thank you to those who have served as mentors in the past. We hope that you have had a positive experience and are looking forward to another year of mentorship. As a reminder, to remain an active mentor in the program and receive new mentees, mentors must reapply each year.

 

New this year, we are also piloting a New Practitioner Mentoring program. Mentors who are less than 5 years into practice (including residents and fellows) will be paired with a mentor who is >5 years into practice, pending interest. Our hope would be to pair you with someone outside of your current health-system, thus further building your network. This pilot is tentatively planned to start in January 2022. There is a place in the application to express your interest in this new part of the program. More details to come!

 

We are firm believers that students and New Practitioners are the future of our practice, regardless of their professional field of choice. It is up to more seasoned pharmacists to help these newly practicing pharmacists develop professionally to move our profession forward through leadership and practice change.

 

Please visit our website at vshp.org/mentorship to learn more. You can fill out the application here: https://forms.gle/VQM8SxFhTK2sUDxW6 by October 1st, 2021.

 

Should you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please feel free to contact any member of the VSHP Mentorship Program Committee (contact information below).

 

We look forward to your mentorship! Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

Sincerely,

 

Mentorship Program Pharmacist Co-Chairs                     Mentorship Program Student Vice Co-Chairs

 

Lauren Pamulapati, PharmD, BCACP                             Alissa Clayton, PharmD Candidate 2022

E: lgpamulapati@vcu.edu                                              E: claytonav@vcu.edu

 

Serena Barden, PharmD, BCPS                                     Kelly Pratt, PharmD Candidate 2022

E: Serena.Barden@conduent.com                                  E: prattkf@vcu.edu

 

The mission of the Virginia Society of Health-System Pharmacists is to inspire innovative pharmacy practice by promoting education, advocacy and collaboration to help people achieve optimal health outcomes. We work towards fulfilling our mission every year through education of our members via region meetings, statewide meetings, newsletters, and our website; fostering professional standards; educating the public about the role of health system pharmacists; monitoring legislative issues that affect pharmacy; and by promoting health system pharmacy as a career path for future pharmacists. The majority of our Society's work is done by member volunteers working through our committees. You can play a vital role by serving on one of our committees.

What will you get out of it? You will meet and get to know many of the current and future pharmacy leaders in Virginia. You will have the professional satisfaction of helping shape and advance health system pharmacy in Virginia. You will make new friends. You will build your resume.

If you are interested in serving on a committee for VSHP, please fill out the form below.  Committee involvement typically takes less than 1 hour per month and is facilitated through conference calls.

The Committee Chair will contact you regarding upcoming meetings or other opportunities to participate. 

 

COMMITTEE FUNCTIONS AND CHARGES:

COMMUNICATIONS: The Communications Committee is responsible for the direction, development, and quality control of all VSHP publications, including the VSHP web site.

EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS: The Educational Affairs Committee is responsible for planning, coordinating, and evaluating educational content of the 2 statewide VSHP meetings.

GRANTS: The Grants Committee will review requests from individuals and groups in need of grant funding for specific programs or program elements which match the mission of VSHP.

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS: The Legislative Affairs Committee is responsible for informing the VSHP membership and Board of Directors of important legislation and regulations and how they will impact pharmacy practice in organized health care settings in Virginia.

MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT: The Membership Engagement Committee reviews and suggests ways for the membership of VSHP to become more engaged in VSHP.  

ORGANIZATIONAL AFFAIRS: The Organizational Affairs Committee reviews and analyzes the VSHP organization and make recommendations to increase its effectiveness. 

PAC: The Political Action Committee works to raise monies for the VSHP PAC and determines the best uses for the funds raised.

STUDENT and RESIDENTS COMMITTEE: The Student and Residents Committee provides input to VSHP on how to get students interested in health-system pharmacy practice and how to get them interested and involved in VSHP.

Make a commitment to get involved in VSHP.

To join a committee: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2021vshp-committee-signup

Please respond by 9/21/2021