RESUMEN
Goal: The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Leadership Development Special Interest Group (LD SIG) held a one-hour "Virtual Think Tank" (VTT) interactive session in 2020 for pharmacy educators interested in leadership development. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quantitative and qualitative outcomes of this VTT. Methods: VTT attendees worked together in small groups created based on pre-selected common interest areas related to leadership development to create collaborative leadership initiative plans (CLIPs), which were ideas for new collaborative scholarly or programmatic initiatives. Principal findings: Quantitative outcomes of this VTT included statistically significant increases in positive perceptions toward the organization hosting the VTT regarding networking, scholarly collaboration, educational collaboration, and professional service opportunities, as well as significant improvements in attitudes regarding engagement with the sponsoring organization. Additionally, 18.4% of VTT attendees continued communicating with CLIP groups post-VTT and 13.2% of respondents indicated that they successfully implemented the CLIP ideas that were generated during the VTT. Qualitative outcomes included findings that the two most commonly encountered barriers were insufficient traction of the initial idea and lack of time (41.9% (n = 13) for both). Other barriers included lack of alignment with priorities at 12.9% (n = 4). Practical applications: This leadership VTT for pharmacy academicians led to development and implementation of important scholarly and programmatic outcomes, and fostered cross-institutional partnerships. Findings from this study evaluating a VTT provide a framework of expectations for other organizations seeking to implement a similar initiative.
RESUMEN
The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Leadership Development Special Interest Group (LD SIG) created a Virtual Social Networking Hour (VSNH). The VSNH explored pharmacy leadership educators' connections through discussing topics of interest that influence current teaching and scholarship practices. The VSNH also served to connect members in the LD SIG through informal networking, which was vital during a time when in-person connection was heavily restricted due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The VSNH functioned as both a space for members to connect with LD SIG leadership and other members of the LD SIG and a tool to areas of leadership development the SIG should explore in future programming. Each of the four sessions included a skeleton structure that grew organically based on the conversations of the attendees. Common themes of scholarship, adaptation to a virtual landscape, leadership, and student-focused endeavors were interwoven across all four sessions. The VSNHs have since become an integral component in LD SIG Programming.
RESUMEN
The AACP Leadership Development Special Interest Group (LD SIG) held a one-hour Virtual Networking Session during the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) 2020 Annual Meeting. The purpose of the session was to connect attendees with colleagues from other institutions sharing similar interests related to leadership development through an engaging "Virtual Think Tank" (VTT). The VTT included facilitated collaboration which enabled small groups to develop "Collaborative Leadership Initiative Plans" (CLIPs) based on shared leadership interest areas. A CLIP is an idea for a multi-institutional programmatic or scholarly initiative that is expected to lead to deliverables or outcomes mutually beneficial for all collaborators. Facilitators then assisted the CLIP groups with identifying specific deliverables and potential outcomes of successful implementation, as well as a plan for group follow-up. Seventy-two attendees from 55 unique institutions participated to form seven CLIP groups consisting of an average of ten individuals each. CLIP ideas generated included an initiative to align faculty tenure and promotion criteria to incentivize entrepreneurship and innovation among faculty, incorporation of a leadership project into Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences in the experiential pharmacy curriculum, and creation of a cross-institutional co-curricular program for students. An important legacy of the session was a leadership networking contact list, called the Leadership Networking Database, which will serve as an enduring leadership networking tool. This session offered an innovative solution to a canceled in-person professional meeting and replaced missed networking and collaboration opportunities resulting from cancellation of the in-person meeting.
RESUMEN
The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Leadership Development Special Interest Group (LD SIG) embarked upon a one-week virtual symposium (VS) across three years. The purpose of the VS was to disseminate leadership content, case studies, and various topics of interest utilizing technology. This electronic format provided a new communication approach to facilitate content and discussion of leadership materials amongst faculty colleagues nationally. The VS allowed participants to gain knowledge and skills to address leadership development in a timely, flexible manner that can be challenging during in-person professional meetings and conferences due to conflicting programming and travel limitations. Evaluators across each of the VS (100%) indicated that they either agreed or strongly agreed with the scaled evaluative statements that the video presentations met their educational needs.
RESUMEN
While innovation in pharmacy education can be sparked through many avenues, the opportunity to learn and engage with others through practice communities is considered by many as a creative outlet for exchange and discovery. This commentary specifically describes a contemporary approach to promote such a dialogue globally through podcasting, which is a free and highly accessible medium for dissemination and exchange of innovative teaching practices. In 2018, two faculty from two colleges of pharmacy created a podcast titled Leadership Development in Pharmacy Education (LDPEcast), which provides a unique modality to stimulate discussion and disseminate ideas within the community of practice. This commentary provides a case illustration for how a podcast can be intentionally designed and implemented with the goal of inspiring engagement across a global practice community. Early results of the podcast have been largely successful with nearly 1000 episode downloads and an additional 445 episode streams from audience members. While this podcast was designed specifically to discuss leadership integration within pharmacy training, opportunities may exist for further exploration of podcasting to spread innovative ideas, practices, and evaluative approaches in pharmacy education, while strengthening connections and elevating communities of practice across institutions.
RESUMEN
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has created approval pathways and designations to accelerate access to medications indicated for serious or life-threatening conditions with limited treatment options. Implemented in 2012, the most recent of these is the breakthrough therapy designation (BTD). The purpose of this article was to review the evidence surrounding approval of medications with nononcology indications approved with the BTD designation from 2012 to 2016. Fifteen medications were identified for eight conditions, ranging from conditions that are relatively common, such as chronic hepatitis C infection, to those that are extremely rare, such as lysosomal acid lipase deficiency. The quality of evidence behind these approvals was highly heterogeneous. Much remains unknown about the safety and efficacy of many agents approved through the BTD. Health care professionals should be aware of these limitations to better educate patients and other providers appropriately.
