Home - ICHP KeePosted

Official Newsjournal of the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists

We Need Reasons to Celebrate This Year!
Pharmacy Month, Week and Day are Approaching, so Why Not?

by Scott A. Meyers, Executive Vice President

2020 has left a lot to be desired, am I right?! October is National Pharmacy Month. The third full week in October, the 18th through the 24th, is National Hospital and Health-System Pharmacy Week. And Tuesday, October 20th, is National Pharmacy Technician Day. So even though it is August, get on the ball and start making plans to commemorate all three of these important celebrations! We all know your staff needs a party!

And what’s a pharmacy department to do? A cake is always a good start, but probably not enough for something this auspicious and badly needed. A pizza party for all shifts on any given day during that third week? We’re getting closer. This might not be a good year for an open house in the Department, not to mention IDFPR might frown on that! How about table tents with pharmacy trivia in the cafeteria during the entire month? Simple facts about numbers of prescriptions filled in the U.S. annually, the number of new drugs that were approved by the FDA in 2019, and this year you might even want to talk about treatments for COVID-19! But then again, you might not, but at least you’re cooking if any of these ideas are on your list!

What about tent cards on patients’ meal trays during National Hospital and Health-System Pharmacy Week letting them know that they have access to a pharmacist right there at their bedside if they have questions or concerns about their meds? You might need to invite the dietary supervisors to your pizza party to pull this one off, but it is a great idea!

Whatever you do, don’t miss the opportunity to celebrate! If you’re not the director in your department, ask if you can help or, better yet, coordinate the celebration. Bosses buy ideas if you offer to make them happen. And, if you don’t light the fire, no one will be able to cook! Let’s all make October a month to remember in a year we’d like to forget! ■