One Voice. One Vision. Ten years ago, the North Carolina Pharmaceutical Association, the North Carolina Chapter of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, the North Carolina Retail Pharmacy Association, and the North Carolina Society of Health-System Pharmacists merged to create the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists. NCAP became the first unified state organization representing the profession of pharmacy. Dan Garrett helped orchestrate the unification and served as NCAP’s first Executive Director.
2000
Kevin Almond, RPh Associate Dean, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy
As the last president of the North Carolina Pharmaceutical Association and the first president of NCAP, my 18 months was spent primarily in transition. The board and I were charged with creating a new organization that would be an umbrella for all of the different areas of practice. It was a challenging time because NCPhA had served us so well in the past and was always considered to be one of the top five associations in the nation. Over time, however, everything needs to be reevaluated and our professional association took the time to look at itself and the future and determine how we might best meet the needs of pharmacists and our ancillary personnel. We determined that speaking with one voice had been a weakness when approaching professional issues. Having multiple pharmacy groups was sometimes beneficial in networking with pharmacists in a particular area of practice as well as 8 North Carolina Pharmacist, Winter 2010
The Asheville Project
Pharmacists in North Carolina have made a tremendous difference in the health and lives of patients since the Asheville Project was born. NCAP worked through its affiliate, the North Carolina Center for Pharmaceutical Care, to help develop, support and advance this well-known, national model for patient care. The Asheville Project proved that pharmaceutical care is a cost-effective intervention that will reduce longterm complications of chronic disease. NCAP continues to promote the pharmacists’ role in chronic disease management.
focusing continuing education towards specific practice. We determined, however, that these silos created disinterest in other practice areas and a certain amount of ignorance on issues affecting our colleagues and the health of their practice. Redundancy in office expenses and management expenses with so many groups could be reduced if we focused on one staff for all. A physical facility already existed and the ability to communicate with vast audiences in a timely manner would be possible with paid staff as opposed to volunteers as some groups were accustomed. Some economy of scale should be achieved with combining organizations. In retrospect, NCAP has accomplished many of those things but we must continue growing our outreach and programs if we are to be the model for others to emulate. More voices need to be heard and that comes with increased membership. When NCAP speaks, we should be representing the majority of registered pharmacists working in the state, not onefifth. The luxury of a strong association protecting the profession and providing enriching continuous learning opportunities must be valued by every pharmacist.
As a pragmatist, I think everyone should join because you believe your support is crucial to advancing every facet of our profession. Yet, the question that we ask ourselves today is, “what will I get if I join?” I don’t think there’s a good answer for that because our profession is constantly changing. Whether its legislation, practice standards, or patient care issues, these issues will constantly influence the answer to that question. Therefore, joining at the times when it’s important to you is not an option, and sitting on the sidelines knowing that someone else is protecting the profession is freeloading. For the past few decades we have talked about not giving our services away for free. I think we should think about that in our response to NCAP membership. Don’t expect them to give their services away for free. The accurate question might be, “what will I miss if I don’t join.” All of the above issues are being monitored by your professional association. NCAP volunteers are meeting regularly to work on pharmacists’ behalf. If you are too busy to be actively involved in NCAP, as a member you can trust and rely on others to protect our profession and make it better for the patients that we have pledged to serve.