2012 Prescott Lecture: The nonpharmacologic basis of therapeutics: To get to the next level in interprofessional patient care, pharmacists need to recognize the social and interpersonal aspects of medical decision making

Abstract

I'd like to start off by saying I'm very honored to receive the Albert B. Prescott award for this year. To be recognized among the other distinguished recipients is very humbling. I've given a lot of presentations, but never an award acceptance speech like this. So I tried to apply the principles I've learned in giving other presentations. First, know your audience. What do they know? What are they expecting coming into the talk? What level of knowledge do they already possess? It's much harder to pin down this group than, say, third-year student pharmacists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) or even clinicians attending an infectious diseases conference. But I can imagine that you're going to want to hear about leadership, or education, or both, since this award is given by the Pharmacy Leadership & Education Institute. Second, be prepared. So I read all of the Prescott acceptance speeches for the last few years. There were many visionary speeches about the future of pharmacy or what it takes to be a leader. Well, I've never been too good about predictions. In college, we had to turn in an assignment over e-mail and I thought, “This will never last.” Now e-mail runs my life. And I've never really considered myself to be a leader in the traditional sense. So I'll adapt a third piece of advice often given to writers—“write what you know”—and talk a little bit about the challenges I see in my daily work as a clinician in infectious diseases and a teacher of student pharmacists, and from there perhaps draw out some broader implications for the future of pharmacy education and practice. Wait, didn't I say I wouldn't talk about the future of pharmacy? Well, I guess it's just too tempting to give your opinion on such things when given such a platform! About the Prescott Award Albert B. Prescott was a maverick in the late 1800s because of his advocacy of an academic basis for pharmaceutical education. Founder and dean of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Michigan, Prescott nurtured his idea for nearly 40 years before the rest of the profession caught up with his vision. In 1900, Prescott was the first president of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. This chemist, educator, and leader of pharmacists was also instrumental in founding Phi Delta Chi Pharmacy Fraternity at the University of Michigan in 1883, and he was the advisor to the Alpha Chapter and the first Honorary Brother of the fraternity. The Albert. B Prescott Leadership Award was established by Phi Delta Chi in 1987 to honor young pharmacists who lead their field. Now administered by the Pharmacy Leadership & Education Institute, this annual award is bestowed on a pharmacist who is no more than 10 years into his or her career and who has demonstrated exemplary leadership qualities as a student and young pharmacist. The recipient delivers a scholarly lecture on issues such as pharmacy as a profession, leadership, or future trends in pharmacy practice or education. About the Prescott Award Albert B. Prescott was a maverick in the late 1800s because of his advocacy of an academic basis for pharmaceutical education. Founder and dean of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Michigan, Prescott nurtured his idea for nearly 40 years before the rest of the profession caught up with his vision. In 1900, Prescott was the first president of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. This chemist, educator, and leader of pharmacists was also instrumental in founding Phi Delta Chi Pharmacy Fraternity at the University of Michigan in 1883, and he was the advisor to the Alpha Chapter and the first Honorary Brother of the fraternity. The Albert. B Prescott Leadership Award was established by Phi Delta Chi in 1987 to honor young pharmacists who lead their field. Now administered by the Pharmacy Leadership & Education Institute, this annual award is bestowed on a pharmacist who is no more than 10 years into his or her career and who has demonstrated exemplary leadership qualities as a student and young pharmacist. The recipient delivers a scholarly lecture on issues such as pharmacy as a profession, leadership, or future trends in pharmacy practice or education.