Deans' Columns

THE ONES WHO ADMINISTER HOPE

Renae Chesnut, EdD, MBA, RPh

Dean & Professor Drake University CPHS As we reflect on the past year, we are proud of the Iowa pharmacy community for its continued dedication to the profession. A phrase that has been a staple at Drake University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences over the last year is "administering hope." As we pass the one-year anniversary of administering vaccines, we appreciate the immense work the Iowa pharmacy profession has done to protect and instill a sense of hope in our communities. The College administered hope through 10,000 vaccines to Polk County residents on Drake’s campus in the 2021 spring semester in partnership with the Iowa Public Health Department and Hy-Vee. This number does not include the thousands of vaccines administered by students and faculty at their sites and volunteer clinics throughout Iowa and the country to date.

Administering hope also occurred through several initiatives: • The University kicked off a new fundraising campaign – The Ones: The campaign for the Bold and the Brave, with priority areas in digital proficiency, strengthening America’s heartland, creating a

University for all ages and walks in life, developing leaders and changemakers, and transforming lives every day. • A $1.6 million federal grant to the CPHS will fund a new telehealth initiative for rural communities in partnership with Certintell Health and Tabula Rasa

HealthCare, Inc. • Several new scholarship awards were announced for students including a research award, a first-generation college student award, and an award for students who plan to serve rural Iowa in their careers. • We welcomed the third Drug Development Fellow at Drake in partnership with Vanadro Drug Development Consulting.

Our students continue to excel in obtaining residencies, highly competitive fellowship positions, and other post-graduate positions. Our program was ranked first among private Midwest programs and third among all Midwest programs in the 2021 ASHP residency match. Several students were also the recipients of national honors: • Gustavo Flores (P2) was one of five pharmacy students in the nation among 489 applicants to receive a CVS Health Minority Scholarship. • Isabelle Tharp (P4) was named one of three 2021

Next-Generation Future

Pharmacist Award finalists by

Parata Systems and Pharmacy

Times. She also received the APhA-ASP Good

Government Award. • Anna Braun (P1), Ali Goldensoph (P2), and Anna Parr (HSCI-JR) were three of 18 students in Iowa awarded 2021-22 Iowa Space Grant Consortium Research

Scholarships.

Recent recognitions and awards for the faculty include the following: • Lynn Kassel was named the 2021-22 Drake University Troyer Research Fellow. • Erik Maki was appointed to a three-year term on the Iowa Board of Pharmacy by Governor Kim

Reynolds and received the 2021 Drake University

Levitt Distinguished Community Service Award. • Tim Welty was appointed to a five-year term on the International League Against Epilepsy – North

American Board. • Sally Haack received the University’s 2021 Principle

Financial Group Global Citizenship Award.

In addition, congratulations to Drake pharmacy alum and retired otolaryngology head and neck surgery physician, Steven Herwig, who received the 2021 Lawrence C. and Delores M. Weaver Medal of Honor, the highest honor given by the College.

As a result of the work of our faculty, staff, preceptors, alumni and students that led to these collaborations and accomplishments, the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences continues to live up to its mission of preparing today’s learners to be tomorrow’s health care leaders. To all of the IPA members who support our College and assist us in these endeavors, thank you for your commitment to our College and your communities as you administer hope. ■

RESILIENCE: PROCESSING AND OVERCOMING

For nearly two years, I have observed a persistent and profound measure of ‘can-do.’ Family, friends and professional associates of all kinds, including student colleagues, have exhibited a level of inner strength that merits admiration. Through sheer grit and determination, many have more than survived the travails of the pandemic…they have flourished!

News outlets and other forms of media saturate the senses with relentless negativity. It would be easy to cave to such pessimistic thought. Instead, on so many fronts—among them educational pedagogy, scientific inquiry, patient care delivery, innovative conceptualization and actualization, and community service engagement— individuals have rolled-up their sleeves, shifted personal resolution into high gear, and found the means, often without precedent, to overcome the adversity they were facing. I recall vividly how, in a matter of days in mid-March 2020, our faculty and preceptors, along with the enabling assistance of a highly talented team of IT specialists, literally turned on a dime to address the needs of students… didactically, skills-based, and experientially…to ensure that students fulfilled all requirements for that academic year. Yes, remarkably, the Class of 2020 graduated ontime!

On one hand, I still harbor a profound sense of sadness, an emotional void if you will, regarding the way we said “goodbye” to the Class of '20. On the other hand, I gush with pride at the way our College family came together to provide all students the opportunity to maintain their intended course of study to continue progressing through the program on-time and on-schedule. Moreover, during the darkest days of the pandemic when the lack of a vaccine limited social interaction, our Offices of Professional and Graduate Education working in concert with student-led learning communities, fraternities and professional organizations found much-needed ways to stay connected. Their actions served to greatly bolster spirits. Through my lens, their actions were a Godsend knowing that so many were hurting mentally and emotionally because of persistent isolation, the likes of which none of us had ever experienced before, no matter one’s age.

Now, here we are again at the start of a new year and dark clouds prevail. The pre-pandemic freedoms we have worked feverishly to restore seem to constantly slip through our fingers as new viral variants emerge. Frustration blossoms anew, yet so does determination… the ebb and flow of those two countervailing emotions seem as constant as a sine wave.

Resilience…the word flows from one’s lips so easily but exercising what it means requires more than lip-service. Resilience is the ability to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life events. Being resilient does not mean that individuals do not experience stress, emotional upheaval, and suffering. Rather, resilience provides the strength needed to process and overcome hardship.

Being part of such a special pharmacy family both within the University itself and more broadly across the state, especially during these challenging times, infuses a sense of pride and honor that defies explanation except that you know it when you have it. The sum of the collective effort is always greater than the addition of the individual contributions. I have felt it; I have seen it. However, what truly takes my breath away is observing the resilience demonstrated day in and day out by those who collectively comprise our profession…students, residents, faculty, preceptors, practitioners, scientists, technicians and so many more.

I have witnessed their strength countless times throughout my career but never more profoundly than I have the past two years. Yes, undeniable resilience. Like a well-conditioned boxer, I observed colleagues’ relentless perseverance as they persistently got up off the mat after they had been beaten down…countless times… countless ways. This pandemic will one day end, or at the very least find a reasoned coexistence with our need to embrace a redefined sense of normalcy, and when it does, we need to take pause and celebrate the manner in which pharmacy demonstrated unequivocally extraordinary resilience. ■

Donald E. Letendre, BSPh, PharmD, FASHP

Dean & Professor UI College of Pharmacy

Word Cloud Credit: pharmacy.uiowa.edu