August 30, 2022
For Additional Information Contact Info@aapp.org
The College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists (CPNP), the home association for psychiatric pharmacists, has changed its name to the American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AAPP).
“The new name-American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AAPP)-comes as the result of internal and external forces creating an inflection point for the association,” said Cindy Gutierrez, PharmD, BCPP, President of the AAPP Board of Directors. “As an association, AAPP is representing a growing number of psychiatric pharmacists who are heavily engaged in expanded roles in all health care settings and infusing critical expertise into the health care team. The organization must be laser-focused on the growth and development of psychiatric pharmacists and support the attainment of the Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist (BCPP) certification by pharmacists caring for the increasing number of individuals with mental health conditions to provide expanded patient access to BCPPs.”
The name change aligns with AAPP’s detailed Vision Paper, Positioning Psychiatric Pharmacists to Improve Mental Health Care, which provides a roadmap for members and partners and will be distilled and incorporated into all organizational messaging. AAPP will provide all the same important educational opportunities and programs it has in the past as well as continue to openly welcome all members and attendees, including international pharmacists, neurologic pharmacists, nurses, administrators, and any of the hundreds of other roles our potential and current members fulfill.
“As we celebrate 25-years of existence as an association, we are immensely grateful for all those who came before us to establish the specialty of psychiatric pharmacy and AAPP,” said Gutierrez. “Their efforts prepared us to be part of the conversation at this pivotal moment in the evolution of mental health care. The clarity of our role as an organization and who we represent will magnify the impact of our efforts in the coming years.”
The new name is effective immediately and will be implemented across AAPP’s products and services and in all 54 AAPP student chapters throughout the calendar year 2023.