Medication use has assumed a significantly greater role in 21st century healthcare than in the past. Important new prescription medicines, biologics, nonprescription medicines, devices, and complementary and alternative therapies offer consumers, patients, and health professionals exciting and powerful tools for disease prevention, control and cures. The medication component of overall healthcare spending is a considerable portion of total health dollars as well.
As a result of this evolution in healthcare more attention is now paid to managing the pharmaceutical component of health services. It is increasingly apparent to colleagues in other health professions, to private and public sector decision makers and to consumers, that quality healthcare requires access to the knowledge and skills of a well-trained medication use specialist. That specialist is a graduate of one of the nation’s colleges and schools of pharmacy.
The profession of pharmacy, and academic pharmacy specifically, anticipated the increased needs of society for expertise in managing pharmaceuticals and related technologies in the era of cost and quality conscious healthcare. In the 1990s the decision was made to change the accreditation standards for pharmacy education such that all colleges and schools of pharmacy now graduate candidates prepared to enter pharmacy practice with the professional doctoral degree (Pharm.D.). This academic program, which is comparable in length and rigor to medical and dental doctoral degree education, equips graduates with essential insights into the physical, biochemical and genetic aspects of disease and the knowledge of how pharmacotherapy impacts patients and their health. Pharmacy faculties deliver student-centered, problem-based coursework to the growing number of professional degree students enrolled in colleges and schools of pharmacy. In addition, pharmacy educators lead a variety of residency, fellowship and graduate degree programs at the masters and doctoral levels.
The nation’s pharmacy faculty members are scholars and specialists in all aspects of medications and their use. Faculty members pioneer new clinical service roles in all settings where healthcare is delivered, partnering with physicians, nurses and other care givers to deliver quality care. Pharmacy faculty members engage in the discovery of new medicines and identify new targets for drug action. They synthesize new products and refine methods for the manufacture and delivery of pharmaceutical agents. Researchers in colleges and schools of pharmacy identify new uses for older agents and investigate how genetic factors influence the safe use of powerful pharmaceutical technologies. Pharmaceutical health policy, outcomes research, pharmacy practice, medication systems, and social and behavioral analyses are additional strengths of the research programs of colleges and schools of pharmacy. Hundreds of extramurally funded research projects and clinical trials are conducted annually with pharmacy faculty as principal investigators.
The collective result of the education, research and service activities of U.S. colleges and schools of pharmacy is an expanding base of knowledge into the systems, services and technologies that will result in the finest medication use system available. Pharmacy school graduates’ contributions to a healthcare system that is patient-centered, evidence-based and delivered by effective interprofessional teams have never been greater or more important to quality and cost-effective healthcare.AACP Core Ideology – to provide leadership in advancing and enhancing the quality of pharmacy education at all levels.
The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy is a national organization whose mission is to serve its member colleges and schools and their respective faculties, by acting as their advocate at the national level, by providing forums for interaction and exchange of information among its members, by recognizing outstanding performance among its member educators, and by assisting member colleges and schools in meeting their mission of educating and training pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists.
The Association recognizes a special responsibility to provide leadership in advancing and enhancing the quality of education and training in its member colleges and schools while respecting the diversity inherent among them. AACP also recognizes that academic pharmacy plays an important role in and shares responsibility with the broader profession of pharmacy in leading efforts to improve medication use.
In carrying out its responsibilities, the Association places great value on high caliber of professionalism among its staff, the strong role of volunteer members in its operations, and a democratic approach to the resolution of issues and establishment of policy. [Modified from bylaws version approved by the 1989-90 AACP Board of Directors by striking "and spokesman" after "advocate" in line 2 in paragraph 1 and by the addition of sentence 2 in paragraph 2.]
AACP recognizes all member institutions share a commitment to providing excellent educational experiences for professional degree students and engaging in scholarship and research that create new knowledge to enhance healthcare and health professions education. All institutions require a healthy applicant pool of interested prospective students who appreciate the contemporary roles pharmacists assume in 21st century health care delivery. Each degree program requires talented faculty adequately prepared for teaching, research and service activities. All institutions need strong leaders who can guide and manage our programs; leaders who can individually and collectively advocate for the resources and recognition to advance pharmacy education. AACP strives to maintain strong programs to meet these member needs while honoring the diversity among members.
AACP places value on opportunities to collaborate with other organizations, both within pharmacy and external to the profession, on programs and priorities relevant to its members. The AACP strategic plan has been developed to complement plans of the profession of pharmacy and other health professions to transform healthcare, and medication use specifically, into a patient-centered, team-delivered experience that places the quality of care at the forefront. Pharmacy educators, and AACP specifically, will play significant roles in moving the profession forward in the next decade.
The AACP strategic plan is designed to direct Association resources to assist member institutions and individual members to excel in their endeavors to enhance the quality of education and provide leadership in medication use. To this end, AACP pursues the following goals.
Goal IAACP will enhance the ability of member institutions to recruit, develop and retain a diverse and highly capable faculty and academic/professional staff to advance teaching, research and service programs.
Priorities in this area will include maintaining effective programs to recruit a diverse array of talented individuals into careers in academia and targeted programs to enhance and recognize capabilities of faculty in teaching, research and service throughout their careers.
Goal IIAACP will lead the development and continued enhancement of educational programs (professional degree, graduate degree, postgraduate residencies and fellowships, and continuing professional education) offered by colleges and schools of pharmacy.
Priorities in this area will include assistance to schools in defining and developing measures of program quality for all levels of degree programs and advocacy for consistent application of quality measures in program delivery and accreditation.
Goal IIIAACP will promote and support members’ work to discover and apply new knowledge that advances pharmacy education, pharmaceutical sciences, and the profession of pharmacy in the U.S. and throughout the world.
Priorities in this area include promoting a culture of scholarship within our member schools and encouraging dissemination of scholarly works, including presentations and publications documenting advances, reporting research and providing a forum for opinion related to all dimensions of pharmacy education.
Goal IVAACP will assist members in the delivery of outstanding experiential education.
Priorities in this area will include development of programs for recruitment, development and assessment of quality experiential preceptors and sites as well as support for the advancement of residency programs as priorities of schools and colleges of pharmacy to expand access to quality patient care.
Goal VAACP will assist member institutions with the design and implementation of continuous program assessment processes.
Priorities in this area will include the expansion of AACP’s annual cycle of institutional research and design of templates to assist institutions to collect, organize, analyze and interpret quality assessment data.
Goal VIAACP will stimulate recruitment and admission strategies to ensure diverse and competent student bodies for educational programs (professional degree, graduate degree, and postgraduate residencies and fellowships).
Priorities in this area will include efforts to elevate public awareness of the critical role that pharmacists play in assuring optimal use of medications to generate interest in, and access to, pharmacy education and careers among a diverse and robust pool of prospective students while promoting full participation in PharmCAS.
Goal VIIAACP will provide leadership for the development of inter-professional and multidisciplinary education, research and patient care opportunities for faculty and students at all colleges and schools of pharmacy. Priorities in this area will include collaboration with institutions and organizations in and outside of pharmacy education to promote, assess and recognize interprofessional teaching, research and service, and expand appreciation that safe medication management is a multi-professional responsibility in which pharmacists play a leadership role.
Goal VIIIAACP advocacy efforts will yield recognition of the contributions of pharmacy educators, researchers and graduates in the delivery of quality and cost-effective healthcare services. Priorities in this area will include expanded legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts and a comprehensive external outreach plan that promotes academic pharmacy leaders as key sources of expertise in policy formulation, program development and research.
Goal IXAACP will work collaboratively with other pharmacy organizations to build strong external relationships. Priorities in this area will include multi-organizational efforts to plan strategically for pharmacy’s envisioned future and collaborative projects to build more effective partnerships at the practice/education and practice/research interface.
Goal XAACP will assist members to assume key leadership roles. Priorities in this area will include delivery of programming for emerging and current leaders that meet the full spectrum of professional development needs for members and their institutions, as well as the identification of opportunities to promote pharmacy education leaders into positions of leadership in higher education and health policy.
Goal XIAACP will operate in a fiscally responsible manner and will assist member organizations in identifying, securing, enhancing and maintaining resources. Priorities in this area will include public and private sector efforts to identify programs that offer resources to expand and enhance pharmacy education, research and service activities through legislation, public relations and networking activities.
To achieve these goals, AACP will:
Approved by the AACP House of Delegates July 2004