This commentary follows an insightful paper recently published on the current milieu in academic pharmacy. The paper was unique in that it reported the results of in-depth interviews of persons with previously well-established, successful careers as pharmacy faculty who left the academy for various alternative paths. The commentary reflects on that paper along with other current literatures and trends in academic pharmacy and the broader context of academia, particularly the evolving work environments for faculty. We argue that evolutions in the work of pharmacy academicians have been witness to losses in autonomy, heightened expectations for productivity, greater involvement in administrative bureaucracy, decrements in the teaching environment, and erosion in culture and collegiality vital for their success. Indeed, the results of the aforementioned and other studies present a complex picture of the current environment, yet we cannot let the complexity preclude more immediate actions to address culture, collegiality, autonomy, citizenship, and quality. We must move past lip service and take real actions to address these phenomena. Academic leadership should make examples of the actions of star, or top performing faculty, provide adequate mentorship and development for all faculty, and use clear and specific communication while avoiding general platitudes. They must encourage innovative solutions and reward those who proffer them. Faculty colleagues can take actions, themselves, to yield more collegial environments. Losing faculty talent is problematic not only for the institution, but for the entire academy, for students, the profession, the academic scientific disciplines comprising pharmacy, and for society at large.

BACKGROUND:There is an increasingly recognized need for competent, self-efficacious, dutiful, resilient, and professionally engaged pharmacy technicians. It has also been established that pharmacy technicians desire further opportunities for development. Mentorship is recognized as an effective mechanism to promote such development. OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this study was to evaluate perceptions of key pharmacy technician leaders and educators about the prospects of a nationwide technician mentoring program, its potential benefits, cautions/limitations, and what the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) might do to help facilitate its success and/or oversee the program. METHODS:The research employed the use of 10 semi-structured interviews of pharmacy technician leaders from a list provided by PTCB. The interview schedule was informed by current mentorship literature. Thematic analysis principles were followed for conduct of the study, and saturation employed to determine the number of interviewees. Coding and thematic analysis was undertaken by two independent coders, applying codes to the transcripts separately using a shared codebook; after which the coders met to resolve discrepancies and identify and compare recurring themes. RESULTS:Participants overwhelmingly supported creation of a formal program. Participants emphasized the importance of relational, individualized, "whole life" mentoring that accounts for personal and professional development. It was recommended that PTCB make a strong, unequivocal commitment to support the program, provide formal structure, serve as a clearinghouse of information, and take great care in matching mentors and mentees. Key barriers included time constraints, workload, and limited mentorship infrastructure. CONCLUSIONS:Pharmacy technician leaders endorsed a formally structured, dyadic, whole person mentorship program that could be overseen by PTCB, who should be aware of potential pitfalls and give its full support to such a program that could enhance technician well-being and position PTCB further in its role of advocacy for the profession.

PURPOSE:To evaluate pharmacy technicians' perceptions of pharmacist leadership styles and their impact on retention, career commitment, organizational commitment, resilience, and engagement in expanded or advanced responsibilities within one division of a large community pharmacy chain. METHODS:A cross-sectional survey was conducted among pharmacy technicians in 22 community pharmacies in eastern Tennessee. The self-administered online survey incorporated validated components from the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and Brief Resilience Scale, as well as coworker support measures. Technicians were recruited using a modified Dillman's approach, with both certified and noncertified individuals invited to participate. Descriptive and inferential statistics, including chi-square tests, t tests, analysis of variance, and correlational analyses, were used to assess relationships between leadership styles and technician outcomes. Pharmacies were stratified into tertiles based on MLQ scores to examine organizational-level differences. Transformational leadership emphasizes coaching and inspiration, whereas transactional leadership emphasizes structured expectations and performance-based rewards. RESULTS:Among 175 invited technicians, the response rate was 48.6%, representing 86.4% of surveyed pharmacies. Top-tertile pharmacies had significantly higher mean scores for both transformational and transactional leadership (P < 0.05) as well as leadership outcomes. Transformational leadership was strongly correlated with coworker support (r = 0.688, P < 0.001) and weakly correlated with resilience (r = 0.218, P < 0.05). Transactional leadership was moderately correlated with coworker support (r = 0.487, P < 0.001) and organizational commitment (r = 0.402, P < 0.001) and weakly correlated with resilience (r = 0.287, P < 0.05). Stratification revealed clear differences in technician retention, commitment, and resilience across leadership engagement levels. CONCLUSION:Higher levels of transformational and transactional leadership, as measured by the MLQ, were associated with more favorable technician outcomes, including stronger coworker support, higher organizational commitment, and greater resilience. Stratifying pharmacies by leadership engagement highlights the organizational impact of effective leadership behaviors. Fostering transformational leadership supported by constructive transactional structure among pharmacists may enhance technician outcomes and support resilient, high-performing pharmacy teams.

La declaración de Granada fue el resultado de la necesidad de fortalecer la farmacia práctica clínica, social y administrativa como un área de conocimiento que se materialice en la práctica, la investigación y la política. Para ello, un grupo de editores de revistas de farmacia práctica, clínica y social puso en marcha en el año 2022 en Granada una iniciativa para discutir formas de mejorar la calidad de las publicaciones en esta área, y que culminó en el documento denominado Declaración de Granada. Se desarrollaron dieciocho recomendaciones, agrupadas en seis ámbitos principales: 1) uso apropiado de la terminología; 2) elaborar resúmenes impacto 3) necesidad de las revisiones por pares; 4) limitar la dispersión de revistas; 5) uso más efectivo y adecuado de las métricas de impacto de revistas y artículos; y 6) selección por los autores de la revista de farmacia práctica más apropiada para publicar su trabajo. La declaración de Granada ha sido publicada íntegramente en 14 revistas. Este documento pionero tiene sus antecedentes en otras iniciativas similares desarrolladas por académicos de otros grupos de profesiones de la salud, fomentando el concepto de consenso interdisciplinar y avanzando en el paradigma científico.

Organizational culture has an important role in implementation science, but unfortunately, it is often defined inconsistently or treated as a unidimensional construct, sometimes, even by equating individual perceptions of the culture with the organization, itself. This commentary advocates for a systematic, multidimensional way of defining and measuring organizational culture in implementation research, with particular attention to pharmacy practice and medication use services. Using organization theory, we describe how culture exists within a dynamic interaction between internal processes and external forces. By reviewing frameworks and empirical studies, we show that culture is multifactorial and evolves alongside implementation; it influences readiness, leadership engagement, and practice behaviors in healthcare and pharmacy settings. An example from rural community pharmacies further illustrates how cultural support for change can coexist with uneven structural capacity, underscoring the need for context-sensitive, multidimensional assessment. Research indicates that differences in how cultural dimensions are perceived within an organization can shape outcomes, suggesting that implementation strategies may need adaptation for different subgroups. Multidimensional tools like the Organizational Culture Profile and PRACTICE offer stronger approaches to assessing cultural conditions relevant to implementation. A multidimensional perspective indicates that strategies must be determined based on the cultural climate of the organization. Furthermore, sustainable change depends on assessing culture before planning and implementation, and pharmacies must continually review the internal and external cultural conditions to safeguard patient welfare.

Despite increased attention to, and frameworks conceptualizing person-centered care, systematic, organizational, and provider-level barriers continue to discourage the development and delivery of person-centered care (PCC) in pharmacy practice and beyond. This commentary describes existing pharmacy-specific literature related to PCC, barriers to PCC within the context of pharmacy practice, and potential solutions to increase person-centeredness in pharmacy services. Literature to substantiate and describe barriers and potential solutions was identified from 2008 to 2023, a period where the emphasis on PCC in pharmacy practice dramatically increased. Overall, pharmacy-specific literature was identified describing four key barriers to PCC. Several potential solutions were identified, including: using innovative and theory-informed approaches to collecting individual need and preference information, employing processes and equipping providers to facilitate trust, changing organizational culture, and aligning quality metrics and financial incentives with PCC. Identified solutions may be used to address individual, organizational, and systematic barriers to promote PCC.

This paper calls for further study of transformational leadership and its further use in educating PharmD students as well as inclusion of continuing education programming and mentoring the behaviours of current pharmacists. It does not present an argument for reduction in use or diminishment of other leadership theories, many of which have at least some overlap with transformational leadership. Rather, emphasis on transformation leadership might be one of many solutions to challenges plaguing the profession currently, with some sense of negativity and challenging workplace conditions among many pharmacists; support personnel and drug shortages; and a need for more collegial citizenship behaviors and stronger organizational culture. Transformative leadership behaviors and communication, versus others particularly more transactional in nature, envisage a future for the entire profession as well as for the individuals who comprise them, articulate the value of the contributions made by the employee, and help imbue a sense of professional identity. These are things sorely needed in the modern workplace and are either explicitly stated or tacitly implied in educational standards and professional competencies. A recent study on transformational leadership as measured by the Multifactorial Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) found more parsimonious structures toward the definition of transformational leadership and the outcomes resulting from its use, which actually makes it easier to discern and thus even more applicable to incorporate into models of pharmacy education and practice. The time to further study and employ transformational leadership is now.

This commentary explores how a change in the professional identity of pharmacists from medicines supplier to clinical decision-maker might take place. Three leverage points are identified that support this change. The first leverage point involves workplace culture. Pharmacists require workplaces that support them to assume direct responsibility for drug therapy decisions that may not have traditionally been part of pharmacy practice. The second leverage point involves terminology. Pharmacists need to be able to name and describe the process they use when making decisions about drug therapy. The third leverage point encompasses pharmacy education. Future pharmacists require a foundation that enables them to mobilize their knowledge and skills about drug therapy to act as clinical decision-makers with patients that require complex care. By acting on multiple leverage points, advocates for change in the pharmacy profession can assist pharmacists to establish themselves as decision-makers about drug therapy, shift their professional identity, and reformulate their view of the profession.

Background: Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy has been expanding in the last decade. The recently published Granada Statements offer key recommendations to improve the quality of research in this field. Objectives: To identify the factors associated with the citations of articles in the field of social, administrative, clinical pharmacy and practice research. Methods: This study was a retrospective, observational analysis of articles published in three leading journals. Per article Google Scholar citations was the dependent variable. Predictor variables were extracted from all articles published from 2013 to 2015. The dependent variable was dichotomized using sample's median Google Scholar citations. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of citations >= median. Results: The median number of citations per article was 17 (range 0-341), with a mean of 24.2 (SD 27.6). The number of references included in the articles (OR 1.03, CI 1.02-1.04), the year of publication (OR 0.31 CI 0.21-0.46 for articles published 2015), article social media mentions (OR = 1.01, CI 1.01-1.03 and OR 1.10 CI 1.04-1.18 for Facebook and X, respectively), the topic area of research namely pharmacy services (OR 1.65, CI 1.06-2.57) and medication adherence (OR 2.22 CI 1.13-4.33) were independently associated with article having citations >= median. Conclusions: The number of references, the year of publication, social media mentions and the topic area of research, namely pharmacy services and medication adherence, were associated with citations above median in the leading journals of social and administrative pharmacy research. Authors may consider providing a thorough literature review in their articles, while researchers, editors, and publishers are advised to use social media to promote newly published work. This article complements the Granada Statements and may contribute to fostering wider dissemination of the discipline's outputs.

Across the world traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) product use is prevalent with some countries reporting greater than 50% of the population using these products. T&CM products are primarily self-selected through retail outlets including pharmacies. Pharmacists across the world generally agree they should play a role in ensuring the appropriate and safe use of T&CM products but report being time and resource poor to do so. In this commentary, it is proposed that pharmacy technicians as members of the pharmacy workforce who with adequate education, and supportive technologies could support pharmacists in providing guidance to consumers and patients about the appropriate and safe use of T&CM products. Pharmacy technicians play a crucial role in the pharmacy workforce, serving as integral members of healthcare teams fulfilling a wide array of tasks essential for the efficient functioning of pharmacies and ensuring the safe dispensation of medications. They have been described by pharmacists as the “the face of the pharmacy” in the community setting and relied on not only for mitigating and triaging problems, but also be primarily responsible for developing rapport, eliciting trust and even loyalty from pharmacy patrons. As such, there is a momentous opportunity for pharmacy technicians to play a role in providing T&CM advice and triaging the need for pharmacists’ intervention where harm, or risk of is identified.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore and identify motivational factors and barriers for pharmacy personnel participation in specific opioid mitigation programs, using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as an investigational framework.MethodsA naturalistic inquiry method was employed involving semi-structured interviews with pharmacy personnel to assess their intentions, attitudes, normative beliefs, and behaviors towards participating in naloxone dispensing and provision of at-home drug disposal solutions. Purposive sampling was utilized to recruit participants, with saturation achieved after 12 interviews. Interviews were transcribed and coded to identify recurring themes.ResultsFour primary themes emerged: 1) the value and benefits of helping others, emphasizing societal, patient, and environmental benefits; 2) limits and barriers to participation, including financial concerns, management support, and time constraints; 3) pharmacists’ intrinsic motivators, highlighting personal motivations and differentiation between programs for specific patient types; and 4) program implementation challenges and strategies.ConclusionThe findings underscore the applicability of the TPB in understanding pharmacy engagement in opioid abatement programs. Despite facing barriers such as financial considerations and time constraints, the overall positive attitudes towards the programs indicate a strong motivation to contribute to public health efforts. Addressing identified barriers and leveraging motivators could enhance participation, potentially mitigating the opioid crisis. Future research should incorporate patient perspectives to fully understand the impact and effectiveness of pharmacy-led interventions, such as naloxone dispensing and disposal solutions, in opioid misuse prevention.

Background The use of telehealth has rapidly increased, yet some populations may be disproportionally excluded from accessing and using this modality of care. Training service users in telehealth may increase accessibility for certain groups. The extent and nature of these training activities have not been explored. Objective The objective of this scoping review is to identify and describe activities for training service users in the use of telehealth. Methods Five databases (MEDLINE [via PubMed], Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Web of Science) were searched in June 2023. Studies that described activities to train service users in the use of synchronous telehealth consultations were eligible for inclusion. Studies that focused on health care professional education were excluded. Papers were limited to those published in the English language. The review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines for scoping reviews and was reported in line with the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines. Titles and abstracts were screened by 1 reviewer (EG). Full texts were screened by 2 reviewers (EG and JH or SC). Data extraction was guided by the research question. Results The search identified 8087 unique publications. In total, 13 studies met the inclusion criteria. Telehealth training was commonly described as once-off preparatory phone calls to service users before a telehealth visit, facilitated primarily by student volunteers, and accompanied by written instructions. The training content included guidance on how to download and install software, troubleshoot technical issues, and adjust device settings. Older adults were the most common target population for the training. All but 1 of the studies were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, training was feasible and well-received by service users, and studies mostly reported increased rates of video visits following training. There was limited and mixed evidence that training improved participants’ competency with telehealth. Conclusions The review mapped the literature on training activities for service users in telehealth. The common features of telehealth training for service users included once-off preparatory phone calls on the technical elements of telehealth, targeted at older adults. Key issues for consideration include the need for co-designed training and improving the broader digital skills of service users. There is a need for further studies to evaluate the outcomes of telehealth training activities in geographically diverse areas.

Resumen:The Granada statements were a result of the need to strengthen clinical, social and administrative pharmacy practice as an area of knowledge that translates into practice, research and policy. As a re-sponse, a group of clinical and social pharmacy practice journal editors launched an initiative in Grana-da in 2022 to discuss ways to improve the quality of publications in this area, which culminated in the Granada statements. Eighteen statements were developed, clustered into six main domains:1) the ap-propriate use of terminology; 2) developing impactful abstracts; 3) having the required peer reviews; 4) preventing journal scattering; 5) more effective and wiser use of journal and article performance met-rics; and 6) authors' selection of the most appropriate pharmacy practice journal to submit their work.The full Granada statements have been published in 14 journals.(1-14) These pioneering statements are rooted in similar endeavors undertaken by scholars in other health professions groups, fostering the concept of interdisciplinary consensus and advancing scientific paradigm.

Abstract Background: There has been increasing evidence that “task shifting,” when a provider entrusting specific responsibilities to another member of their team, can increase care access and may lead to better patient care outcomes. This has been particularly underscored in underserved communities throughout the world where task shifting has led to increased healthcare access in areas of provider shortages. Within the profession of pharmacy, pharmacy technicians are the primary pharmacist-assistants and recipients of pharmacist-delegated tasks. Recently, such task delegation has placed the pharmacist in more direct patient care responsibilities beyond medication dispensing – and one such model with a growing evidence base is the Optimizing Care Model. Through task shifting, the Optimizing Care Model has been shown to reduce medication errors and increase the quantity of patient care services offered by the pharmacist. However, means to spread and scale the model have yet to be reported in the literature. Methods: This article describes the development of a package of implementation strategies designed to facilitate implementation the Optimizing Care Model in a single division of nationwide supermarket pharmacy chain. The Implementation Mapping approach was used to systematically develop strategies. Results: The application of the five steps of Implementation Mapping are described in detail. Implementation objectives, models, and strategies are outlined, as well as the final implementation protocol. There was an overall increase in weeks meeting the 10% Optimizing Care Model threshold; 33% at baseline to 83% after the intervention. Conclusions: The implementation mapping process led to development of multi-faceted implementation strategy for implementing the Optimizing Care Model into community pharmacy practice. The strategy improved Optimizing Care Model implementation. Further research is needed to understand which strategies were most impactful.

A themed series of papers titled “Selfcare for Health System Sustainability: An International Series on the Role of Community Pharmacy” were published in the Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy journal between 2022 and 2024. The themed series covered 13 countries and had three objectives:Objective 1 to describe selfcare policies, strategies and developments in countries and the key changes envisaged to ensure a more effective use of non-prescription products and ensure patient safety regarding drug, non-drug products and practices; Objective 2 to provide country-based selfcare activities and services with examples of programs; and Objective 3 to discuss the challenges and opportunities community pharmacy/pharmacists face in relation to the provision of selfcare services.Most countries stated that there was little or no government policy recognition of selfcare and when they do exist, pharmacists' roles are rarely mentioned. Some countries stated that there was “no meaningful translation of the term selfcare” and on many occasions, different terminology such as “health promotion”, “prevention” or “disease prevention” were used.Minor ailment services and counselling on self-medication were the only two services listed by all authors related to selfcare. Although some services may include selfcare elements, most services identified include selfcare as a side component. One could question whether the term “selfcare” is understood in its broad definition by the pharmacy profession.Some of the challenges identified by authors were lack of service remuneration, lack of standardization of services, lack of selfcare training for pharmacists or lack of integration of pharmacies within the healthcare system. Pharmacies are reportedly already providing many services related to selfcare; however, it might be beneficial if the concept of selfcare was better defined, used more inclusively, more formally codified in regulatory policy to facilitate improvements and recognition of the roles of pharmacists and other health care providers.

Top faculty talent recruitment, mentoring, productivity, and retention are paramount for organizational success among institutions of higher learning. Programs would do well to treat these various aspects of faculty management/development as inextricably linked to one another, rather than viewing recruitment or retention in a vacuum. The Strategic Academic Recruitment (StAR) program at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Dublin was founded to bear these things, along with best practices in faculty development, in mind to enhance organizational effectiveness. This paper provides some background, description, and outcomes of the program thus far, revealing positive trends in scholarly productivity, teaching, program faculty commitment, and the development of future leaders for the institution, even while further evaluation and continued quality improvement for the StAR initiative are called for. It is hoped that the details provided here can be helpful for other academic organizations as they consider any of various initiatives aimed to attract high-quality labor capital, position those faculty for success, and enhance organizational effectiveness and reputation.

Interrogating the literature is among the first steps a researcher undertakes when actuating a research project or also when any scholar might seek to know what has been done in an area, best practices for conducting a certain activity, or simply to seek answers for a question ranging from one's own personal curiosity to those that might affect departmental or institutional guidance. Decisions on the type of review process to undertake is one that is not taken lightly. This methods commentary outlines the reasons for conducting a scoping review versus a systematic review for topics related to pharmacy education. Considerations for conducting the scoping review are outlined including considerations for writing a protocol prior to conducting a scoping review, to potential platforms to use for transparency of sharing data, processes related to guidelines for data extraction and types of search strategies utilized.

The use of telehealth became widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic, including in child and adolescent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) services. Telehealth is defined as live, synchronous phone and video appointments between a healthcare provider and a parent and/or child with ADHD. There is a dearth of research on the use of telehealth within this population. The aim of this study was to examine parents' and caregivers' perceptions of telehealth for children and adolescents with ADHD. A cross-sectional survey design was employed. Recruitment of parents and caregivers of children and adolescents with ADHD was conducted online. The survey asked participants about their views of telehealth, previous experience, and willingness to use telehealth. Quantitative data were analysed using STATA. Qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. One hundred and twelve respondents participated in the survey. Participants were mostly female (n = 97, 86.6%) and aged between 45 and 54 (n = 64, 57.1%). Of the 61 (54.5%) participants with experience of telehealth, the majority reported that that they were at least satisfied with telehealth visits (n = 36, 59%), whilst approximately half rated their quality more poorly than in-person visits (n = 31, 50.8%). The majority of respondents (n = 91, 81.3%) reported that they would be willing to use telehealth for their child's future appointments. Most common reasons selected for wanting to use telehealth included saving time, improvements to the family routine, and reducing costs. Reasons selected for not wanting to use telehealth included not being able to receive hands-on care, belief that the quality of care is poorer than in-person consultations, and distraction of the child during telehealth visits. The study demonstrates that parents recognise deficits and benefits of telehealth, suggesting a need to build their trust and confidence in remote ADHD care.