June President’s Letter: Reflecting on a Year at the Helm

Amy Werremeyer, PharmD, BCPP, AAPP President

Greetings,

How quickly a year comes and goes! It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly a full 12 months since I assumed the role as your President. As I prepare to hand off the reins to Incoming President Michelle Geier on July 1^st and reflect back on the year, it’s fun to think about what has been accomplished. The AAPP Board of Directors has been busy and has engaged in activities that are likely to impact AAPP’s trajectory into the future. I’d like to highlight a few of those activities:

1. Leadership Team: In August, we continued our focus on cementing and perpetuating a positive, collegial and transparent board culture. This team building and expectation setting was important, not only for the Board to function well and lead optimally, but also to have a trickle-down effect throughout the whole organization. It is my hope that this culture is felt in big or small ways by everyone who engages with and within AAPP.
2. Staff: We made significant progress on reviewing the compensation and benefits packages for the Executive Director and staff in order to prioritize AAPP’s staff, appropriately reward their excellence, and to position us competitively in the association marketplace. Alongside work with compensation consultants, this also included work with a consultant to formulate a written AAPP leadership succession plan, a necessary exercise to ensure we’re well positioned to keep moving forward should we need to transition expectedly or unexpectedly to a new Executive Director in the future. This work outlines a search plan, priorities, and general steps and roles within such a process. Please note: This does not mean that our current Executive Director, Brenda Schimenti, has immediate plans to go anywhere. It simply means that the Board wanted to attend to our fiscal, leadership, and visionary responsibilities to ensure that AAPP is future-focused and prepared.
3. DEI:The Board members engaged in significant training and conversation related to the diversity, equity and inclusivity focus of AAPP, a leading charge in our strategic plan. Outcomes from this activity include (1) an organizational DEI plan, developed by the DEI committee and approved by the Board and (2) an in-depth look at our annual meeting and event site selection policy (see related article) with associated revisions. Both of these outcomes will help to set the course of AAPP as it continues to promote access and equity across its activities and endeavors going forward.
4. FAAPP: The Board approved the AAPP fellow program developed by the AAPP Fellowship Task Force, and as called for in our organizational strategic plan. Implementation of this program will begin by the end of the summer – watch for announcements soon! I’m so excited about how this will bring visibility to AAPP and its outstanding members who go above and beyond to elevate patient care, leadership, education, research, and volunteerism within the profession of psychiatric pharmacy.
5. Research: Nearly 2 years in the making, AAPP awarded its first Outcomes Research grant to directly support multi-site research related to the impact of psychiatric pharmacists on patient care to be implemented through the AAPP Foundation. AAPP is working hard to standardize and improve clinical research through various initiatives and the awarding of this grant represents a significant milestone in a multi-phase initiative involving hundreds of ours of volunteer and staff effort.
6. Advocacy: This fiscal year continued our trend of increased advocacy for psychiatric pharmacy. A plethora of important organizational papers, Hill visits, and other profession advocacy combine together to increase our visibility and our message to allow psych pharmacists to practice at the height of their license and be paid accordingly.

I want to close my final presidential newsletter by saying that it has been an extraordinary honor to serve! I love AAPP and couldn’t have asked for a greater group to be involved with. Thank you for the privilege of being at the helm of this wonderful association and I look forward to serving as your Past President in the year to come!