From the President

Re-engaging in the Profession to Bring North Carolina to the Forefront

Happy (upcoming) Spring! By now, many of you have probably changed out your wardrobe in anticipation of warmer weather. Some of you have probably started getting outside and interacting with neighbors and friends who you didn’t see much during the winter months. As you do this, I encourage you to interact with your profession. This is where I need your help! Every volunteer and service-minded organization struggles with membership from time to time. NCAP is facing that challenge now, which is why our Board has decided to focus on membership for 2018. Whether you work in acute care, ambulatory care, community practice, long-term care, academia, industry or any other part of pharmacy, we have a home for you! I need your help convincing others that this organization is an important voice helping influence public policy as it relates to our profession. If all of our members recruited one person to renew or join NCAP, our numbers would double. The math is that simple. Recently, I worked with Penny to identify all UNC faculty who did not renew their membership, and I sent them a personalized message to rejoin. This took minimal effort on my part. I encourage you to find one person you work with to renew or join.

As you encourage your colleagues to consider NCAP their professional home, remind them of our forum meetings. In March, we have our chronic and health-system practice meetings in Concord. In addition to educational sessions, continuing education programs, and a chance to connect with old friends and meet new ones, you can also splash around at the Great Wolf Lodge – the venue for this meeting. We have also secured our location and time for our annual meeting. We will be returning to the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem from September 21-22, 2018. Mark your calendars for a great event.

NCAP is open to new ideas and revitalizing the organization. During my presidency I want to hear from you and the priorities you need NCAP to focus on. So much is happening in health care these days. Some of us are battling DIR fees, others are focused on quality metrics, and some are trying to move from volume-based, feefor-service to value based, pay-forperformance. Whatever your interest is in pharmacy, I want to hear from you and the help NCAP can provide. When I first moved to North Carolina, I was in awe of how pharmacy could be practiced in this state. I moved here from the northeast where pharmacy practice typically lags behind. I was and I am still inspired by the type of care that pharmacists could provide in this state. However, as time has passed (this year marks my 20th anniversary in the Tar Heel state), I feel that other states have caught up and some have surpassed our practice. I want to bring North Carolina to the forefront again, and the larger our membership, the more powerful our voice can be. Please share your pharmacy ideas with me on Twitter @stefanieferreri or email me at stefanie_ferreri@unc.edu

Stefanie Ferreri, PharmD

Letters to North Carolina Pharmacist – The Editorial Board and Editor welcome your comments regarding the journal and any of its contents. In particular, we would like to hear from you concerning professional issues related to practice/professional dilemmas/potential conflicts of interest. If you have comments, please send to Ralph H. Raasch, Editor, mail to: ralphhraasch@gmail. com.