May 2021
Greetings fellow SOPIT members,
As I write this I am thinking back on my year as section chair, and what a year it has been. We’ve battled a pandemic, launched a national vaccine campaign, survived and supported one another through natural disasters, and begun our journey to become more equitable, diverse, and inclusive as a society, both within ASHP and I hope within each of your circles, both social and professional. This was a growing and at many times trying year for me, and I would expect it has been the same for you. While I certainly cannot know the individual experiences and challenges each of you have faced, I hope too that you have reflected and grown this last year. I am a different, and I would like to think better person now than I was then. I hope this is true for you as well.
Must Reads
ASHP has been growing and changing this last year too and I wanted to reiterate the need to read these articles shared by ASHP CEO Paul Abramowitz, as I agree that these are a great set of thoughts to consider as we continue to take steps to challenge racism in all its forms and think about what we can do to make positive change in our communities and nation:
- How pharmacists can help heal democracy in America
- Racial and ethnic equality is also about healthcare
- A more perfect future: Driving diversity, equity, and inclusion in ASHP
SOPIT Does ITs Work
Our section has been busy too. Below is a list of fantastic accomplishments of work this year, and I wanted to thank all of our chairs, vice chairs, and SAG/committee members for working diligently through such a hard year. You all are amazing and I am so impressed by all of the work that you have done!
- Final Draft of ASHP Guidelines on Remote Medication Order Processing (RMOP)/Dispensing under review and ready for submission
- Webinar in May: Strategies to Turn Pharmacist Documentation into Actionable Data
- Upcoming blogs on Predictive Modeling
- Informatics and Operations Pearls for COVID-19 EUA Treatments and Vaccines podcast
- New IV Workflow Software Guidelines submitted for review
- Webinar: Medication Data Standards and Operational Applications released
- Webinar: Interoperability: Fundamentals, Standards, and Terminologies released
- Opportunities in Informatics survey released on April 7 to inform future work in the field
- Pharmacy Informatics Preceptor Toolkit web resource center built
- ASHP Statement on Pharmacy Technician’s role in Pharmacy Informatics under final review with ASHP Technician Forum ESC
- Upcoming podcasts on Applications of AI/ML in a Clinical Setting & AI/ML in Clinical Decision Support Applications, RPA/AI/ML in Pharmacy Education, General Overview of RPA and Emerging Technologies in RPA/AI, being finalized and prepped for release
- 2021 Educational Needs Survey developed and distributed
- MANY Member Spotlights and planned presentations for next year and at the Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exhibition
- And several other pieces of work that will be continued over the summer, or transitioned to next year’s SAGs
Thank you to our chairs Tanya Ezekiel, Asha Kalichira, Sarah Bledsoe, Stacy Carson, and Kevin Fuji, and our vice-chairs Andrew Liu, Casey Olsen, David Aguero, Ryan Cello, and Dallas Moore for their great efforts this year; we would not have been able to do this without you!
Man I’m tired, are you tired?
This year has been a lot and not just in the "Yeah we’ve been through a lot" way, but we’ve gone through massive change in many aspects of our life and that comes with additional stressors. I know I’ve written about burnout and stepping away before, and I wanted to share this new article showing the results of a study about break time at work and how much we really need those short breaks throughout a day.
And for those of you feeling the burn(out), understand that your situation is unique and your recovery is going to be too. Research is starting to show that while organizations are ultimately responsible for burnout, you are likely going to the be most effective person to help yourself recover.
Leaders, we can do better
I manage a fantastic team of informatics pharmacists, nurses, and analysts in my day job and one thing I am always looking to do is to learn how I can be a better leader for them. My professional success is largely based on their ability to put their whole selves into the work they do. For them to do that they need me to support them, both with portfolio management, project guidance, and the other typical managerial tools, but also to create a space where they can feel safe at work. You see, if you can start with helping your team feel safe and less anxious (especially in a year with so much adversity), you can build a base for them to operate from where they feel they are able to contribute and trust that you have their back.
Home Work
Are you still working from home, and finding perhaps that you may be doing-so in some capacity on a permanent basis? Remember to set and pay attention to your boundaries while at home, and if you are feeling the extra stress from working at home and having less interaction with your managers and co-workers, follow these steps to reduce your work at home based anxiety.
Fare thee well
I would like to thank the executive committee members who worked hard alongside our SAGs to help provide oversight and direction, and to continue to help with the planning and oversight of the section.
Barry McClain, Carol White, Jeff Chalmers, thank you for your work this year! I look forward to continuing to work with you next year as I step into the immediate past chair role for the committee.
Ben Anderson, thank you for three fantastic years in your director-at-large role. You’ve become a good friend and colleague, and I look forward to what your future holds.
Samm Anderegg, thank you for your leadership and mentorship in your three years as incoming chair, chair and now immediate past chair. We all appreciate all you have done for SOPIT and will miss your friendship, smile, and candor in meetings as we proceed into the next SAG year.
Nish Kasbekar, although there were changes to our Board Liaison transition timing this year and we get to spend our June meeting with you, I wanted to thank you for everything you have done for us this year while I have the chance. You are truly a fantastic leader, and I have appreciated your calm guidance, your mentorship, and your vision throughout the year. Thank you for your time in what has been a very busy year, it has been tremendous to get to work with you!
Amey Hugg, you are a steadfast driver of the section, and without your guidance, your hard work to keep us aligned, and your very successful efforts to continually organize everything that we do, we would be lost as a section. Thank you so very much for everything Amey, you are a true leader in pharmacy informatics and all that you do for us deserves recognition!
Finally, to SOPIT at large, THANK YOU! My chair year has been very different than I thought it would be, and alongside you I have learned how to be more flexible and to put my efforts more into what matters and less into what I think I “ought” to be doing. Thank you for your willingness to grow and change and share what you are learning so that as a community we can grow to become better together.
With much respect,
Seth W. Hartman, Pharm.D., M.B.A.
Chair, Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technology
[email protected]