ASHP's Practice Advancement Initiative (PAI), formerly known as PPMI, is something that my SSHP chapter at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy has worked hard this semester to promote among our members and school as a whole. Before this semester, our members did not have much exposure to PAI, so our goal was to ensure that each of our members became educated on what exactly the initiative is, its goals, and how it impacts their role as student pharmacists as well as their future in pharmacy practice. Although the PAI directly impacts practicing pharmacists, it is essential for students to become familiar with the PAI now and how it has been embraced by the profession as a framework to advance the vital roles pharmacists play as clinicians and patient care providers. As students, the PAI influences our future as pharmacists, so promoting the PAI within our SSHP chapters is becoming increasingly important and valuable for student pharmacists across the nation.
Our chapter leaders worked tirelessly to dedicate an entire week to promoting the PAI. We not only hosted speaker events but also utilized the power of social media and encouraged our chapter members to share facts on Facebook about PAI and current pharmacy practice. For the events, each day of our PAI week was dedicated to promoting one of the five goals of the PAI. On Monday, we brought in speakers from our technology department to talk to our members about emerging technology. On Tuesday, we invited clinical pharmacists from nearby hospitals in the Raleigh/Durham Triangle area for a roundtable dinner with our students to discuss how they have become leaders in medication use. On Wednesday, we hosted a student panel of pharmacy interns who serve in unique technician roles within various hospital systems to educate our members about how to leverage pharmacy technicians. On Thursday, we brought in a post-doctoral fellow at our school to host an interactive session on collaborative practice and care team integration, and lastly, Friday was dedicated to educating our members on pharmacist credentialing and training.
This is just one of many examples of how you can promote the PAI at your school- the key is to be creative, and plan initiatives that will get your members engaged, involved, and excited about the PAI and the future of pharmacy!