Save the Date Leadership, and professor and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Detroit Mercy. Covering many legal issues that come up at higher education institutions, Zarkowski discussed strategies as well as requirements. A few highlights: When dealing with an employee’s inappropriate conduct, “document, document, document,” and implement progressive discipline. The stages include verbal and written notice. “Never assume that the employee knows what the problem is.” Even an abusive employee who is told by colleagues that his or her behavior is unprofessional “still might not get it.”
feature story Mark your calendar for the next AACP Interim Meeting, Feb. 9–12, 2013, in Puerto Rico. Dr. Lucinda L. Maine, AACP executive vice president and CEO, talks about teamwork with ACPE Associate Executive Director Dr. Jeffrey W. Wadelin and Dr. Douglas J. Pisano, dean of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences School of Pharmacy– Boston and associate provost for pharmacy education.
Be careful about “hallway remarks.” When you make inappropriate informal comments to another person in the hall, “it always seems that there’s no one else in the hall, but somehow 50 other people hear it.” Define the expectations of faculty for workload and process, and make sure all expectations are applied consistently. For example, a faculty member might want to telecommute one day each week. In that case, develop fair rules for telecommuting, and allow all faculty the same opportunity. Develop policies related to social media and Web sites at your institution. Are faculty allowed to friend students on Facebook? What’s a reasonable amount of time for a faculty member to spend looking at Web sites for personal purposes while on the job? Are you getting permission to take photos of students for marketing purposes—to use the photos on the school’s Web site for recruitment? Check your compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Make sure your school is providing reasonable accommodations and that ADA-related policies are easy for students to find. On the flip side, make sure that a student’s disability is documented. “Students sometimes lie about having a disability so they can get extra time for a test. And these days, students might seek accommodations such as: ‘I can only concentrate on a test if I use my iPod and have soothing music playing in my ears.’ That is not a disability—that accommodation is not required.”
Accent on Interprofessional Education The CEO Deans pre-session for the Interim Meeting focused on creating value in healthcare. AACP President-elect Dr. J. Lyle Bootman, senior vice president for health sciences, and dean of the College of Pharmacy, The University of Arizona, opened the discussion of where pharmacy education, practice and research align with emerging health delivery system and policy changes. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg, president at the Institute of Medicine, and Dr. Denis A. Cortese, president at the Healthcare Transformation Institute, commented on many issues, including challenges to interprofessional education and practice. Integrated, team-based care—with clinical pharmacists working alongside nurses and others—is essential, noted Fineberg.
Cortese agreed: “A byproduct of integrated and coordinated care is high-value care. …Integrated care makes lives better; people enjoy their lives more. “Imagine an orchestra where everyone playing an instrument plays as loudly as [they] can,” he continued. “That doesn’t work—that’s not what they do. [Musicians] come together because they want to make the right music for their customers. They optimize their contribution to the system.” Fineberg pointed out that IOM is launching a global forum on innovation in health professions education. Among the issues on which the forum will focus is interprofessional education. The biggest barrier to teamwork in practice, Fineberg said, is the lack of role models that students are seeing in teamwork.
It Takes at Least Two Throughout the Interim Meeting, participants appeared to combine self-reflection with power networking. The collaboration mindset was strong, as participants teamed up for everything from learning to dining. Clearly, they took Judith Albino’s words to heart: “The best thing about teamwork is that you always have someone on your side.” Gerry Romano is Director of Communications and Marketing at AACP; gromano@aacp.org.
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