President's Message - Tis the Season to Celebrate You!
by Jen Phillips, PharmD, BCPS, ICHP President
January 19, 2016
December is a month of many holidays – Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice Day, Festivus, and many others. It is the time of year that many of us look forward to – an opportunity to spend long overdue time with friends and loved ones. While many of us may be showering others with gifts and/or unwrapping beloved treasures ourselves, it is also a good time to take inventory of all of the intangible gifts we have in our lives that are so easy to take for granted.
There are many things I am grateful for. First of all, my family and friends. Life is so much easier when you can share the ups and downs of life with others in an environment of mutual respect and love. I am also grateful that I get the opportunity to go to my “dream job” everyday, where I get to work with inspirational people and do the things I thoroughly enjoy – teaching, research, and service. I am also thankful for all of the experiences I have had in life (positive and negative) as they have undoubtedly shaped my character and allowed me to evolve into the person I am today. I know I still have a long way to go, but I will take slow progress as it comes!
When it comes to ICHP, I am very thankful to all of the selfless, dedicated members who help keep this organization running. I always knew there were a lot of spinning wheels, but now, in my role as president, I am able to see just how many there are and how much time and effort goes into keeping the organization running and moving it forward. If I listed everyone’s name, this column would be very long, so I have opted to thank select groups of individuals. I will let you decide which category (or two or three) you fit into:
- The Board of Directors: The individuals who give up countless hours of their time to enact the vision, mission, and goals of ICHP. Your leadership, perseverance, and dedication are commendable and very much appreciated!
- Volunteers: You are the ones who skip your lunch break to attend a Division call or stay up late reviewing best practice submissions or miss out on brownies/cookies during the program break to judge posters. I thank you for all of these little sacrifices that help keep the organization running.
- Students: You bring invaluable insight and energy to the organization. Thank you for taking time away from studying to help ICHP achieve its mission.
- Clinicians/Technicians: You are the ones who work tirelessly everyday to help provide better care for our patients. Thank you for your efforts in making our patients’ lives better one dose at a time!
- Advocates: You are the ones who spend time talking to state senators and representatives trying to lobby for issues of importance to ICHP and the profession as a whole. Thank you for all of your continued efforts in furthering our advocacy agenda.
- Sponsors: Thank you to all of the generous sponsors who help make our educational programming and other endeavors a success!
- Educators: You are the ones who ensure that the next generation of pharmacists has the intellect, character, leadership, and ingenuity to practice in today and tomorrow’s world. Thank you for helping to move our profession forward!
- Members/Supporters: You are the ones who come to the NISHP meetings and/or the Annual and Spring meetings. We always look forward to seeing you there, and we are so thankful for your continued support. Remember, if you ever want to get more involved, just let us know! We would love to use your thoughts/ideas/insights to help make the organization better!
- The ICHP Staff: Finally, to the individuals who do all of the behind-the-scenes work. I am thankful for your relentlessly positive attitude (which may or may not be due to the Diet Coke runs to McDonald’s) and your hard work. You certainly do make being President an easy job.
Hopefully that covers everyone! I thank you all for your contribution to ICHP, and I wish you the best in 2016!