AAHP: Navigating a Pandemic

Erin Beth Hays, Pharm.D. AAHP President

Navigating a Pandemic: Physically Apart but Working Closer Together than Ever

There is no Pandemic 101 class in the pharmacy school curriculum. Over the past few months to year we have learned and experienced several things that we probably never thought would have been a part of our pharmacy career stories. One thing for sure is when the world said to start social distancing we came together as a profession to try to beat this pandemic. Thanks to technology, our networking has continued to grow during this time. Through phone calls, text messages, emails, social media groups and virtual meetings we have been able to continue to grow professionally, collaborate and build our relationships with one another. While we have not been able to see each other in person lately, the Arkansas Association of HealthSystem Pharmacists (AAHP) has worked to provide professional growth to its members during this time through webinars about patient care in the COVID19 pandemic as well as informational emails related to medication therapy for our patients. Some of our members have worked closely with the state health department in formulating policies and procedures for the disbursement and use of medication. Health-systems have been willing to share work with each other their criteria for use for new emergency use authorization medications. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) has provided many resources related to COVID19, from toolkits to help with pharmacy surges and business recovery to free critical care training and evidence tables on treatments option during the pandemic. ASHP has also been able to provide lesson learned through networking calls among leadershipofthestateaffiliates. While it would have been easy to shut out the rest of the world and only work inside our physical institution or departments while practicing social distancing, healthsystem pharmacists have been able to continue to work together across health-systems, states, and the nation to improve patient care. This time in history is a great example ofhowworkfromaprofessionalorganizationcanbenefitthe profession. But it wouldn’t be possible without the members that are willing to network with their colleagues, collaborate on what needs to be done, and share lessons learned.

As my presidential year with AAHP has come to an end, I would like to thank all the wonderful colleagues I have had the honor to work with over the year. I appreciate the mentorship from Susan Newton, AAHP executive director. I also am thankful for all the hard work from our board of directors as we have navigated the waters of the pandemic.

There is no Pandemic 101 class in the pharmacy school curriculum. Over the past few months to year we have learned and experienced several things that we probably never thought would have been a part of our pharmacy career stories.

I encourage the members of AAHP and APA to utilize their membership to the full potential by tapping into the resources the organization provides through networking and collaboration with colleagues and providing feedback to their board of directors. These organizations are for the members and made better by the members. I will always be thankful for the relationships I have developed through my time on the board of directors of AAHP and looked forward to what the organization will continue to accomplish.§