About the Campaign

Our vision for this campaign is simple. We want the public to be aware of, seek, and value hospital and health-system pharmacists as essential patient care providers. Many patients have benefited from having a pharmacist responsible for their medication therapy, but many, many more people need to know who you are and what you can do. ASHP is diligently working to bring the campaign to life, focused on three key tenets for success:

Partnering with you, our members, to tell real stories
The most important element of the campaign is the stories of ASHP members. Sharing the real experiences of hospital and health-system pharmacists, through their own words and those of their colleagues and patients, is the very best way to showcase your value and impact on patient care.

Leveraging the power of multimedia to bring visibility to the campaign
We will use a wide array of mediums, including print, video, and the written word to bring member stories to life, and activate through our dedicated campaign website, social media, digital advertising, targeted emails, and more.

Making the campaign local
It’s critical to create partnerships and develop tools and resources to help spread our campaign’s message throughout communities across the country. We will create toolkits with sharable content for hospitals and health systems, colleges of pharmacy, and our state affiliates. This will help generate grassroots momentum for the campaign.

Through these efforts, we are driving toward two primary outcomes:

• Informing the public about the full range of pharmacy practice in all hospital and health-system settings, our immense value, and impact on patient care
• Generating increased interest in pharmacy school and careers in hospital and health-system pharmacy

We’ll need a sustained, consistent effort to achieve our goals. Things won’t happen overnight, which is why ASHP committed $3 million to fund a multi-year campaign. We also gratefully acknowledge the ASHP Foundation for its recently announced $1 million pledge to support this initiative. These additional dollars will be critical to the campaign’s success, helping us extend our reach and amplify your stories.

Bringing the Campaign to Life

The Midyear meeting was an exciting stage to share a first look at the kind of stories we plan to tell through the campaign, and the initial response was fantastic. From seasoned pharmacists, to new practitioners, to students just beginning their career journeys, we received universally positive feedback. Numerous pharmacists commented and shared the video on social media, emphasizing their excitement for showing the public what they do each and every day in hospitals and health systems. Some of our favorite comments included:

“LOVE THIS! National campaign for pharmacists. Thank you to ASHP for being our voice.”

“Shining the spotlight on what pharmacists can do to help improve patient care brought me to tears.”

“Loved the effort ASHP is making to promote the important work pharmacists make in acute and ambulatory settings (often behind the scenes). My first thought? Why has it taken us this long to start sharing this story? Excited for the visibility this will bring.”

The resounding message we heard was “it’s about time our story gets told!” We agree wholeheartedly, and ASHP is excited to bring visibility to the full spectrum of settings, specialties, expertise, and patient care that define hospital and health-system pharmacy practice.

A Campaign Fueled by Member Insights

To succeed, we need our members to support the campaign and to feel like ASHP is on the right track with our messaging. We started collecting member feedback on potential campaign messaging at the Midyear meeting, where pharmacists from various practice settings and stages of their careers participated in an onsite focus group. We have continued to collect feedback on the campaign since then from a diverse group of our members.

Participants overwhelmingly say hospital and health-system pharmacists are often not seen by the public, and our impact sometimes goes unrecognized. We are pleased by the support we have received for launching this campaign and the excitement around what it can accomplish.

Some of the messages our members want to convey through the campaign include:

• Focus on how pharmacists build a trusting relationship with their patients — and the benefits of that relationship for the patient and caregivers.
• Be inclusive in describing patient–pharmacist interactions, highlighting that pharmacists can meet patients in a variety of settings, including behind the scenes, to administer the care they need.
• Champion pharmacists and what we do, while recognizing that we are integral members of a broader team practicing patient-centered care, which helps patients succeed.

These insights, and others we are gathering along the way, will be critical as the campaign matures.

Member Stories — The Heart of the Campaign

It bears repeating how essential it is to feature real stories of ASHP members who bring the experiences of health-system and hospital pharmacy practice to life. We had a terrific response to our initial call for stories. Members across the country shared personal anecdotes about their practice experiences and what they wish patients and the public knew about their work.

Member stories are the very heart of this campaign, and we want to hear from as many of you as possible. Visit ashp.org/yourstory to submit your personal reflections. This will keep the campaign’s content relevant and authentic.

What’s Next

As we prepare for the May launch of the campaign, ASHP will keep you updated on our progress. We may even share some “behind the scenes” footage and photos of our production team in action as they capture stories of pharmacists at work.

ASHP is investing in this effort for one reason: you, our members. This campaign is about you and for you. Your unwavering commitment to patients and the profession deserves recognition. We can’t wait to make it happen.

Thank you for all that you do for your patients and our profession.

Sincerely,

Paul

Posted on February 23, 2024