David E. Zimmerman, PharmD, BCCCP, BCEMP, FASHP ([email protected]), is an associate professor of pharmacy at Duquesne University School of Pharmacy and emergency medicine pharmacist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-Mercy Hospital. He received his Pharm.D. from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and completed his PGY1 pharmacy practice residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and PGY2 residency in emergency medicine at Maimonides Medical Center.
His service to ASHP includes serving in the New Practitioners Forum and being past chair of the Section of Clinical Specialists and Scientists Advisory Group on Emergency Medicine. He is a past delegate from Pennsylvania to the ASHP House of Delegates and has served on the ASHP Council on Education and Workforce Development. He has presented various times at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and at ASHP state affiliate meetings. He is co-editor of Demystifying Drug Dosing in Obese Patients and has authored chapters in several other ASHP publications. He currently serves as a content matter expert and presenter in the ASHP/ACCP BCEMP Live Review Course and Literature Review Series and has published over 25 peer-reviewed journal articles. His research focus is on medication dosing in large body weight patients and substance use disorder management in the emergency department.
I am honored to run for director-at-large (DAL) for the Section of Inpatient Care Practitioners. ASHP has been an invaluable resource for me since I was a student and has helped guide and shape me into the seasoned practitioner that I am today. My two main goals as DAL are to continue to ensure and even expand those opportunities and resources that the Section offers for the current inpatient practitioners and for the next generation of pharmacists. Secondly, to listen to Section members. It is vital for an organization to listen and utilize feedback from its membership to shape the needs and resources for the organization. The profession is facing numerous obstacles, some old and some new. Newer challenges include the post-Covid-19 pandemic effect on the workforce, declining number of graduates into the profession, and the expanding restrictions on healthcare for women. This is in addition to implementation of USP <800>, emergence of artificial intelligence into the medication use process, and the unrelenting issue of drug shortages, amongst many others. But we can tackle these challenges as a Section by listening to the needs of its members and together be the voice that is needed to promote change.
As DAL, I will use the experience from my service amongst the diverse facets of ASHP, along with the experience that I have from clinical practice and the classroom, to advocate for the Section and all of its members.