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In 2005 Sara J White published a leadership survey in AJHP titled “Will there be a pharmacy leadership crises?” As a follow up to that study, David Chen, Bill Kernan, and I worked with ASHP’s Section of Pharmacy Practice Leaders Executive Committee to update the national pharmacy leadership survey. The survey and results were published in a recent article in AJHP titled “Pharmacy Executive and Mid-Level Manager Perceptions of Leadership in Contemporary Health-System Pharmacy”. We talk through the origins of the survey, key results and what do as next steps with the information gathered.  Dr. Bill Kernan, PharmD, MBA, FASHP, is the Director of Pharmacy at Orlando Health Watson Clinic Lakeland Highlands Hospital in Orlando, Florida. David Chen, RPh, MBA, is the Vice President for Pharmacy Leadership and Planning at ASHP.

Dr. Desai is the Interim Vice President for Pharmacy Services at Stanford Health Care and Dr. Hartman is the Vice President for Clinical Applications and Chief Pharmacy Information Officer at University of Chicago Medicine.  They recently published a white paper titled “Advancing the Autonomous Pharmacy: Leveraging AI to Transform Medication Management.” Learn about their paper and more about AI in this great episode!

Kate Schaafsma, PharmD, MS, MBA, FASHP is the Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer at Rush University System for Health.  Dr. Schaafsma started over a year ago in her role and we talk through the onboarding of a Chief Pharmacy Officer as well as her first year in the role!

Robert Mancini, PharmD, BCOP, FHOPA is the current President of HOPA and the Oncology Pharmacy Program Coordinator and PGY2 Oncology Residency Program Director at St Luke’s Cancer Institute in Boise, ID.  Dr. Mancini talks through his priorities for HOPA this year and the latest in the world of oncology!

Melanie Dodd, PharmD, PhC, BCPS, FASHP, is the current President of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and Professor at the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy.  Dr. Dodd talks through her priorities for ASHP this year, her involvement in the progressive New Mexico Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and her advice to those looking to get involved!

Jami Mann, PharmD, MBA, is the Executive Director of Virtual Care Services at UNC Health.  Dr. Mann has a pharmacy background - I was fortunate enough to serve as one of her preceptors in residency - and then went outside of pharmacy 5 years ago to lead virtual care for UNC Health. You’ll hear about her path along with how virtual care fares in the post-COVID world. It will get your wheels turning as mine did on how we can further our virtual care offerings to expand care overall. We also talk about leadership and how to utilize your skill sets to lead an unchartered area and do it through authenticity. It’s an episode you don’t want to miss!

Vibhuti Arya, PharmD, MPH, is a Clinical Professor at St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and is an Advisor for Policy, Resilience and Response for the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She has worked for the past 15 years to bridge the gap between healthcare, well-being, and equity. A racial dialogue expert, Dr. Arya brings together her experiences in social justice, education, theatre, and mindfulness to create brave spaces for people and systems to intentionally work towards dismantling structural racism. In her role at the Department of Health, she works to integrate pharmacists into public health initiatives, particularly among high-risk, medically underserved areas in NYC, and advises on legislation. Dr. Arya is a Global Lead for Gender Equity and Diversity Workforce Development for the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). She recently gave a TEDx talk on structural racism. We talk through many things including how to continue the work around equity, social justice, and inclusion!

Stephen Eckel, PharmD, MHA, FAPhA, FASHP, FCCP, is the Associate Dean for Global Engagement and an Associate Professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. He is the Residency Program Director for the Health System Pharmacy Administration and Leadership Residency at UNC Medical Center (he was also my RPD!). Dr. Eckel is also the co-founder of ChemoGlo and founder of Assure Medical Technologies, LLC.  We talk through leadership training and his involvement in FIP and global pharmacy practice. In addition, he has a passion for entrepreneurship and we talk through how he has identified business opportunities and has created successful companies from them. It's a jam packed episode and one you don't want to miss!

Daniel O’Neil, PharmD, MS, FASHP, is the Assistant Vice President of Pharmacy Services at WVU Medicine. We talk through building a technology philosophy for the pharmacy enterprise and you’ll hear the direction WVU has taken. You’ll also learn pathways and tips to be successful in justifying new technology!

Josh Blackwell, PharmD, MS, BCSCP, is the Co-Founder of Pharmacy Initiative Leaders (PILs) and is a Clinical Pharmacy Manager at UT Southwestern Medical Center.  We talk through the power of mentorship and how PILs was designed to fill a gap in mentorship for pharmacy professionals. PILs has helped pharmacy leaders to be at their best for every stage of their career. He has great advice for new and seasoned practitioners on being both a mentee and a mentor!

This episode of small scripts highlights the 2025 impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Thanks to Dr. Molly Powers and Dr. Kristel Geyer for bringing the topic up!

Leigh Briscoe-Dwyer, PharmD, BSPharm, BCPS, FASHP, serves as President of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). She has also served in various organizations and professional societies in New York.  We talk through her current presidential year with ASHP and her message of telling your stories that coincides with ASHP’s ‘We Are Your Pharmacist' campaign. She is passionate about pharmacy and you’ll hear the top issues she is focused on this year!

Alex C. Varkey, PharmD, MS, FAPhA, serves as President of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) and is the Director of Pharmacy Services at Houston Methodist Hospital-Texas Medical Center. We talk through his involvement in APhA as a health system pharmacist and his goal for his presidential year of being all in and having APhA represent every area of pharmacy!

Jolynn Sessions, PharmD, CPP, BCOP, FHOPA, serves as President of the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA). She is an EXCLAIM Pharmacogenomics Pharmacist and an Oncology Clinical Pharmacist Specialist at the Western North Carolina VA Health Care System in Asheville, NC.  We talk through her top three priorities for HOPA this year. You’ll hear the top issues in oncology pharmacy and how HOPA is finding ways to solve them!

Ryan Mezinger, RPh, is Senior Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer at MetroHealth in Cleveland, Ohio.  Ryan and his team have built an impressive outpatient pharmacy strategy and have grown their footprint immensely in the last few years. We also talk through the automation they implemented to help increase their capacity. You’ll hear how successful they have been and get tips on how to justify a similar strategy with urgency in your own health system!