This was written for the membership of the Kansas Council of Health-System Pharmacists (KCHP) however, I feel that many of the reasons you should belong to your affiliate no matter what the state are expressed in this blog entry as well. If it is renewal time for your membership in your state it is time to act. We need everyone's hands on deck!
KCHP -Value to your profession, your patients, and yourself!
To complete my geeky obsession of the Twilight Zone, I have one more episode to share with you. This storyline involves a group of gold thieves who concocted an elaborate scheme to elude the law and increase the value of their stolen booty by using what they called "suspended animation." In short, they hid the gold - and themselves - in a desert cave for 100 years, using an unspecified gas that allowed them to "sleep" all that time while the gold, presumably, multiplied exponentially in value. But when they awoke in the next century, they discovered the gold was essentially worthless because it could now be manufactured. Furthermore, what was truly valuable at that point, as they tried to walk out of the desert, was the most common of elements - water.
This story triggers thoughts about value: what do we think is valuable now, what will actually be valuable in the future, and how do these factors diverge or converge? And as president of KCHP, of course I started thinking about the value of membership in the Kansas Council of Health-System Pharmacists. What is it worth?
I have been asked this very question many times over the past few years, but haven't put much thought into it... until now. Membership fees are only around 2-3 hours of your hourly salary per year, yet somehow we struggle to find the value in paying this small fee to our professional organization. Recently someone approached me and asked if they could pay only 50% of the KCHP annual dues because they were only a part-time pharmacist. I couldn't help but wonder - what kind of value did this person hold in being a member of KCHP? Did they view their chosen profession as just a job to meet their spending obligations, or as an avocation that entails a commitment to lifelong learning and sacrifice for the betterment of society as a whole? Was this person only committed to our profession 50% of the time? I suspect not, and I know that KCHP as an organization works on the behalf of pharmacists 100% of the time.
Between question about "part-time" dues and the Twilight Zone episode, I've now thought a lot about value. And I believe the cost of a KCHP membership is worth immeasurably more than the annual dues when we consider the value we receive in professional advancement for ourselves, our patients, and our profession as a whole.
What kind of value does KCHP membership provide to us, personally?
For me personally, the connections I have made on a state and national level with other likeminded individuals has been invaluable. Being able to learn and share from others trying to advance our profession keeps me intellectually stimulated and excited about the work I do. In addition, KCHP has personally helped me expand my skills in leadership development. By serving on the board and in different committees, I've been stretched to learn new things that benefit my own career by making me more well-rounded and confident. As I've said before in this column, the days of pharmacists just counting pills are coming to an end, and pharmacy of the future calls for individuals with a diverse skill set. And speaking of the future, although I am very happy in my current position, it is reassuring to know that if I fall victim to a "pharmacist job shortage," I will be well-equipped to find a new position. The leadership opportunities provided by KCHP plus the invaluable professional connections will provide me with a value that can only be gained through participation with our organization!
What kind of value does KCHP membership provide to our patients?
While value to us as pharmacists is important, it pales in comparison to the importance of the value KCHP membership can bring to the very core of our existence - our patients. It may be as simple as providing you with the latest continuing education to keep you up to date on the most current guidelines for treatment of your patient's condition. Or, it could be as complex as working with other organizations such as the Board of Healing Arts in developing collaborative practice guidelines with physicians. It could be developing pharmacy practice model initiatives in our state that will evolve the practice of pharmacy, allowing pharmacists more time to truly counsel and educate patients. It could also be finalizing the pharmacy technician certification in Kansas, which would also allow more time for pharmacists to work at the top of their licensure, working one-on-one with patients to provide the top level of care. It could be the work recently started by a joint task force regarding those critical transitions of care for our patients. As an organization, KCHP is working hard on these many initiatives and others, all of which have tremendous potential to improve patient outcomes. Your membership and involvement helps make all of this happen!
What is the value does KCHP membership provide to our profession?
Pharmacy practice advancement doesn't happen in a vacuum. It involves working on many different levels, with different organizations and legislators on the local, state, and national level. The changes in the law we witnessed last year - the Pharmacist Collaborative Practice and Pharmacy Technician Certification legislation - must be born and developed by organizations such as KCHP. Although it helps to have one or two persistent people knocking on doors, the collective voice of membership is what it takes to get these types of professional advancement bills passed. Working together as an organization helps our profession not only survive, but thrive, in the ever-changing world of healthcare. Although last year was terrific in terms of our progress, our work is not done. KCHP will continue to advocate for advancement of health-system pharmacy in the state of Kansas and nationally. We will continue to work on a national level with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists to get legislation passed that will recognize pharmacists as providers within key sections of the Social Security Act. I cannot overstate the importance of this work ahead... and it can't be approached with a part-time attitude!
What value do I bring to KCHP?
Finally, let's not forget about the value that you personally bring to our organization. Even if you just pay your annual KCHP dues, you provide value by allowing the organization to continue and expand our mission, goals and objectives. These include Continuing Education development and dissemination, networking opportunities, pharmacy student engagement, and professional advocacy at the state and national level.
And while the dues are important, please remember that KCHP is a membership organization... and you as an active member keep the organization at the top of its game. We need your talents, expertise, skills and energy in so many different areas. Do you have a knack for website development or a background in marketing and promotion? Do you understand budgeting and finances - or at least want to learn? Have you always been interested in government affairs or policy creation? Whether you have a developed skill set, or the aptitude and desire to learn, your participation is vital to our organization. We have positions available on various committees, and board of director positions become available every year. Thank you to those of you that have already stepped into these roles, and thank you to those of you that are considering these roles in the future.
No matter what your current level of involvement with KCHP is... THANK YOU for being a member, and renewing your membership for 2015. The gold thieves in the Twilight Zone woke up to a world where what they had valued so much was now worthless. Unlike their plight, the "gold" you invest today in KCHP - your dues, your time, your commitment - will prove to be invaluable both today and in the future, to ourselves, our patients, and our profession.
To join KCHP please click on the following link: http://www.centrichq.com/join/kchp/