This year's W. Mike Heath ASHP Federal Forum features educational sessions that will be moderated by Lieutenant Colonel Sherry Kwon, who is completing a fellowship program at ASHP headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland, through the U.S. Army's Training with Industry program.
ASHP News caught up with Kwon in October to talk about her experiences with the fellowship, what’s in store for the Federal Forum in December at the Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exhibition, and what lies ahead for ASHP’s Practice Advancement Initiative (PAI). An edited transcript of the conversation follows.
ASHP: Welcome! Tell us a little bit about your service and how you became ASHP’s newest army fellow.
Kwon: I was in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program in college, spent some time on active duty after graduation, and went into the reserves while I pursued pharmacy school. I worked as a civil servant while starting a family and transitioned to full-time active duty as an army pharmacist in 2019. I’m posted to Joint Base San Antonio in Texas, but I’ve been at ASHP in Bethesda since this summer for the industry fellowship.
The Army’s Training with Industry program has been around since the 1970s, and it offers experiences in many different fields outside the service. It’s a great opportunity to learn about advanced practices that are happening in the private sector and how to adapt them to meet the army’s needs.
I’ve been an ASHP member since I was a student. I was really happy to have the opportunity to apply for the ASHP Training with Industry program, because I know it’s not offered every year and it’s quite possibly the best-kept secret among all broadening opportunities in the army. I had heard good things about the program from Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Joe Taylor, one of the previous fellows.
What’s the biggest highlight of the fellowship so far?
Kwon: Hands down, Policy Week, and especially Legislative Day. It was amazing to visit Capitol Hill to see, in person, how pharmacists can share their opinions with their representatives — and really be heard — about topics that affect pharmacy practice. In the military, we can’t always be as vocal about issues as you can be as a civilian. But there’s still room for us to influence policy. So the whole experience just reinforced to me that every pharmacist can help shape policies that affect the profession.
Is moderating the Midyear sessions part of the fellowship program?
Kwon: It’s not. I first volunteered to help with the Federal Forum after being in the audience a few years ago. So this will be my third year as moderator. And I’m looking forward to it, even though I’m always nervous about public speaking.
What do you like best about attending the Federal Forum?
Kwon: It’s a great feeling to look out at the audience and see so many people representing every part of federal pharmacy all in one place and supporting each other and the profession. It’s really inspirational.
Tell us about the Federal Forum sessions you’re moderating.
Kwon: We have two great educational sessions at the Midyear. The first, Pioneering Advanced Therapeutics in Federal Healthcare, is important because federal healthcare increasingly includes access to cell and gene therapy products and other advanced treatments. We want to learn from federal sites that have successfully adopted these therapies and think about how they can be more broadly and effectively integrated into clinical practice.
The second session, Federal Burnout: Why It Happens and What We Can Do, covers a problem that’s stressing the whole healthcare workforce, including federal pharmacy. In the military, burnout in the health professions can harm practitioners and patients, and it also affects readiness. This session will discuss the causes of burnout in our federal workforce, how to minimize burnout, and how to prioritize and support the well-being of our federal healthcare providers.
What PAI activities should attendees be on the lookout for at the Midyear?
Kwon: Although we won’t have dedicated sessions for PAI at the Midyear, I welcome all who are interested to connect with myself, ASHP’s Eric Maroyka, or any of the PAI Advisory Panel members, including the panel’s chair, Kuldip Patel, to learn more.
Right now, we are starting to reimagine PAI. We’re looking for a new target date and new streamlined recommendations. ASHP held its initial advisory panel meeting at the Conference for Pharmacy Leaders in October, and we’re continuing the momentum with asynchronous focus groups with our sections and forums. The feedback from our ASHP members will be important to shape the bold and aspirational future of pharmacy practice we envision.
So be on the lookout to share your thoughts when we call for your ideas. Everybody’s opinion matters!
