The NDSHP Mission is to elevate health-system pharmacy practice and patient care in our region through advocacy, innovation and member support. I am honored to serve as the President of NDSHP this year, and hope to push forward collaboratively in these efforts!

I think we can agree that we have all been through a lot this year. To highlight just a few pandemic-related challenges: converting jobs and duties to virtual formats (and becoming uniquely accustomed to ‘video call fatigue’), dealing with staffing shortages and issues, navigating the rapidly evolving scientific literature while fielding questions that don’t always have answers, juggling work as essential health care providers while our kids (and us as parents) are challenged with at-home school, lonesomeness for our family during periods of quarantine,  loss of loved ones, the resulting burnout that many are feeling, adding the word ‘unprecedented’ to emails and meeting agendas, all while continuing to provide top-notch care to our North Dakota citizens. I commend all of you for your steadfast commitment to this great profession and the health of our state!

On the bright side, there are many exciting developments, perhaps a silver lining in this difficult year, for the pharmacy profession in North Dakota. We have been identified as key clinicians and well-suited for provision of SARS-CoV-2 testing and eventual vaccination. The conversion of many activities to telehealth has opened up new opportunities to reach patients in our largely rural region, as well as easily connect with colleagues, and ASHP is working hard to strive for reimbursement of pharmacist services through telehealth beyond the pandemic.  Research of COVID-19 treatment and supportive care has emphasized our role as the go-to medication experts across all practice settings. As these opportunities continue to evolve, we at NDSHP will work hard to make sure pharmacists are involved, educated and prepared for them, and offer members many benefits for professional development.

One particular opportunity we are excited to host is the NDSHP Virtual Expo and Summit to be held on October 22^nd.  The Expo gives members a unique opportunity to speak personally with industry representatives from across the country.  Later in the day the Summit will have presentations from experts, including Casey White—the current Chair of the ASHP House of Delegates, and discussions with North Dakota pharmacy leaders just like you on many hot topics, including emergency preparedness and clinical pearls. If you haven’t yet registered, click Summit and Expo to do so!

NDSHP also offers you the opportunity to connect monthly with other pharmacists, residents and pharmacy students every second Tuesday at noon for continuing education and networking meetings.  Members often tell us how valuable they have been and how fulfilling keeping in contact with colleagues across the state continues to be.  Visit our Events page Events to see our upcoming schedule!

Finally, as an ambulatory care pharmacist and educator, I am excited to work with a talented and diverse NDSHP Board this year representative of many health-system settings, including Jesse Rue (Past-President and hospital pharmacist), Megan Moore (President-elect and critical care pharmacist), Gabby Anderson (Treasurer and emergency department pharmacist) and Maari Loy (Member at-large and Director of Pharmacy). We look forward to serve you, and would love to hear from you, our members, and will rely on you to keep us informed of important issues. Please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at brodymaack@gmail.com.

Best wishes,

Brody Maack, PharmD, BCACP, CTTS

NDSHP President