Linked Into Leadership - The Spring Meeting Summary

by Trish Wegner, B.S. Pharm., Pharm.D., FASHP
June 10, 2011

Leading is something you do; it is not a position you hold. That was one of the messages in the keynote presentation.

Whether in the pharmacy profession or in your home life, good leadership skills are vital to success.  You do not have to be summa cum laude to be a leader; emotional intelligence (EI) is just as important as having a high IQ.  You can be a leader without being a manager, but you have to use the correct principles.  Attendees at the meeting learned how to incorporate EI principles in their daily lives.  The healthcare environment is changing and pharmacists need to be prepared to take a leadership role on the healthcare team to improve patient outcomes or find themselves overlooked by providers and public policy makers.   Available pharmacy and residency positions are shrinking.  How can you set yourself apart from all the others?  Well, great leadership skills can place you on the top of the list.  That is why getting linked into leadership was the theme of this year’s Spring Meeting.

A total of 231 pharmacy professionals attended the Spring Meeting – that is up 4% from 2009 when we were in St. Charles the last time.  That’s great in an era when meeting attendance is on the decline.  When asked “Based on your experience (at the meeting), would you recommend future Spring Meetings to your colleagues”, 94% said YES.  Ninety-four percent (94%) of those turning in evaluations liked the overall meeting organization and meeting materials, and 95% felt the format and content of the meeting allowed them to maximize their educational opportunities.  The vast majority (94%) liked the meeting facility and location.  Here is a sampling of comments from registrants:

Great meeting and CE sessions.  The meeting excelled some national conferences.  Thank you for all your hard work!
  • Good meeting. Excellent credentialed speakers.
  • Very good program.  Enjoyed all the speakers and loved the hotel.
  • Truly enjoyed this meeting!
  • Good location, good meeting.  I like having the exhibitor hall at two different times.  I thought that was very interesting and good.  Liked the CE program at lunch.
  • Excellent content
  • I was quite pleased with the topics covered.

Educational topics did not focus merely on emotional intelligence but also on professional knowledge.  Based on the top requests from members through needs assessment and past meeting topic suggestions, the planning committee assembled great sessions.  Here’s how the meeting met the requests of members (top subjects requested):
  • Regulatory issues – session on REMS and Drug Shortages; sessions on Illinois and Missouri law
  • New Drugs – session on Clinical Pearls for new drugs on the market
  • Critical Care – pearl  on neuromuscular blocker use for rapid intubation
  • Residency/Fellowship training – session on how to be a better preceptor; session on how to start a residency
  • Quality Improvement – session on the new pharmacy practice model and how to incorporate into your own institution

Specific sessions were also available for students on leadership and for pharmacy technicians on future job trends and intensive care medicine.

No matter where you find yourself in your pharmacy career or what title you now hold, there was something there for you.  If you were unable to attend the Spring Meeting, copies of the handouts is still available on the ICHP website.  A special thank you goes to Merck for providing an educational grant.

The Poster Session was a huge success!  There were 22 submissions from ICHP and 26 submissions from MSHP.  Here were the ICHP winners in each category:

ICHP First Place Original
Mansi Shah, John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County
Pharmacist Discharge Counseling: Bridging the Gap by Transitional Care

ICHP First Place Encore
Jered Bauer, Aspen Healthcare Metrics, A MedAssets Company
Outcomes of a Piperacillin-Tazobactam Extended Infusion Dosing Protocol in a Community Teaching Hospital

ICHP First Place Student
Erika Hahn, SIUE School of Pharmacy
The Compatibility of a Mixture of Four Ophthalmic Drops Plus Sterile Lidocaine Jelly Used as Preoperative Therapy for Cataract Surgery

The exhibit program drew 48 vendors!  That’s up over 26% from the last joint meeting.  Those represented included the pharmaceutical industry and packaging, medical devices and equipment, service vendors, education and training groups, and pharmacy recruitment.  The vendors really appreciated having the attendees thank them for their support.  Without the support of our colleagues in industry, we would not be able to have this meeting without increasing the registration fee significantly, so we owe them a big round of applause!  Many thanks to our Gold Sponsor – Cardinal Health; and our Silver Sponsor – RxRemote Solutions.  Please thank all of those who supported our organization and be sure to spend time in the exhibit area at our next meeting so that they continue to exhibit and keep your registration fees down! 

Those in attendance hopefully got linked into leadership as well as knowledge and networking.  It’s important to still stay connected – make plans to attend the next statewide meeting “Build Your Connections” September 15-17, 2011 at Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace for the ICHP Annual Meeting. ΓΆβ€"Β 

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