Report of the 2011-2012 Standing Committee On Advocacy: the relevance of excellent research: strategies for impacting public policy.

According to the Bylaws of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the Advocacy Committee: “will advise the Board of Directors on the formation of positions on matters of public policy and on strategies to advance those positions to the public and private sectors on behalf of academic pharmacy.” COMMITTEE CHARGE President Brian Crabtree charged the 2011-2012 Advocacy Committee to: 1. Examine what AACP should do to balance the advocacy portfolio with respect to education and science scholarship. 2. Recommend strategies for demonstrating the value of education and science scholarship to address the mission of the Academy in communities served by member institutions. 3. Recommend specific approaches and advocacy strategies for consideration by AACP and member institutions for implementing interprofessional education. The Committee met in-person in October in Arlington, VA to discuss the charge and determine the approach to meeting the charge. This face-to-face meeting allowed for a very wide ranging discussion that brought into clear focus: 1. the imbalance/disconnect in the number of AACP policy statements relevant to science (biomedical and translational) research compared to those relevant to education research. AACP has many more policy statements relevant to science scholarship than it does policy statements relevant to education scholarship. 2. that AACP organizational activity related to educational research in terms of programmatic and student assessment, student progress, publication of educational research in AJPE, is extensive and yet there is little organizational policy supporting this activity. 3. Possible answers to questions such as: Who is interested in the quality of our education? Who cares about the good education processes we engage in? What is the value to the public of the way we educate and the outcomes of our education? How long does “we are teaching you for the future” remain relevant? 4. The fact that many communities and stakeholders do not fully understand or appreciate the importance of either science or education scholarship and their contributions to individual and public health. 5. AACP members engagement in science and education scholarship is worthy of recognition of its social impact. 6. The importance of moving from identifying barriers to effective interprofessional education toward overcoming and eliminating these barriers. Continuing reflection by the committee resulted in an approach that would increase the public’s appreciation of the benefits of pharmacy education to health. Public appreciation would be increased by rearticulating the connection between both education and science scholarship as the foundations for continuous quality improvement of pharmacy education. An organizational policy agenda, broad in its application to our Academy, and focused in its application to public policy, was developed. This policy agenda is framed within the teaching, research and service expectations of pharmacy faculty. It establishes the importance of: 1. teaching as the primary contribution of the Academy to the public’s health through the education of a pharmacist competent to work collaboratively and interprofessionally with patients, caregivers and other health professionals; 2. the creation, integration and application of education and science scholarship as essential contributors to the continuous improvement of pharmacy education; and 3. the importance of the educational and science scholarship and interprofessional education as a key opportunity for addressing the public policy question of how best to reorganize our healthcare system. BACKGROUND The benefit of academic pharmacy to the health of our nation and the world is a direct result of the teaching, research and service of its faculty. These three components, reflecting the mission of higher education, are relevant and important to improving individual and population health, improving health care processes and delivery, and preventing further escalation of associated costs. Teaching is the Foundation of the Academy’s Commitment to the Public The primary purpose of pharmacy education is to improve the public health through the education of a health professional, the pharmacist, competent to meet or exceed the public expectations of the pharmacist as expressed in state practice acts. Pharmacy education meets that competency expectation through a progressive series of educational experiences guided by educational outcomes, accreditation standards and individual institution priorities. The mission of AACP is to improve the quality of pharmacy education so that our public contract is met. As stated by AACP policy passed by the House of Delegates and proposed by the Academic Affairs Committee in 2007 “The mission of pharmacy education is to prepare graduates who provide patient-centered care that ensures optimal medication therapy outcomes and provides a foundation for specialization in specific areas of pharmacy practice; participation in the education of patients, other healthcare providers, and future pharmacists; conduct of research and other scholarly activity; and provision of service and leadership to the community.” The continual assessment and use of that assessment for the improvement of individual faculty, courses, programs and entire curricula is essential. Support for these activities is stated in the AACP policy “AACP supports and encourages the implementation of on-going program assessment processes at member institutions for the purpose of enhancing the quality of educational programs and student services approved by our House of Delegates in 2004. This assessment process also addresses a significant public policy discussion regarding the value of higher education in light of continually increasing tuition and education costs. Scholarly teaching and the study of effective education approaches are both important contributions of our faculty to the assurance of public health.