Megan RiordonTo cite: Riordon M. Professional leadership: how CSHP is leading pharmacy professionals [commentary]. Can J Hosp Pharm. 2025;78(3):e3861. doi: 10.4212/cjhp.3861
In my most recent executive commentary (Riordon M. “A Vision Without a Strategy Remains an Illusion”. Can J Hosp Pharm. 2024;77[2]:e3623. doi:10.4212/cjhp.3623), I introduced the five key priority areas that have been established as the pillars for the Canadian Society of Healthcare-Systems Pharmacy (CSHP) 2024–2028 strategic plan: community, advocacy, identity, organizational excellence, and professional leadership. As we approach completion of our year 1 objectives, the Executive Committee has been reflecting on the critical issue of professional leadership and how this concept can take on different meanings depending on the context. Whether it’s by developing and optimizing training programs for members, publishing position statements, exploring opportunities for specialization and credentialling, guiding standards-setting organizations, or influencing benchmarking tools, it’s a certainty that CSHP is leading the pharmacy profession in order to advance practice in healthcare systems while promoting excellence and innovation in patient care.
As an attendee at CSHP’s Professional Practice Conference (PPC), held from June 6 to 8, 2025, in Ottawa, I was amazed by the depth and breadth of sessions available, as well as the spectrum of pharmacy professionals represented: from the logistics contributions of pharmacy student volunteers, to the networking event for students and residents, and even an advocacy workshop for senior pharmacy leaders. Furthermore, not only was the excellent programming geared to front-line hospital and primary care pharmacists, but it also included a session on maximizing pharmacy technicians’ scope of practice and optimizing the role of technicians in leadership.
As evidenced by this year’s PPC program, CSHP is there for members through every step of their professional journey: offering guidance, structure, and connection to students and residents and then awarding travel grants, recognizing career achievements, and conferring Fellowship status for excellence in leadership, practice, and service to members as they grow in their careers. Throughout my own journey from student to front-line practitioner to leader, CSHP has been my professional home, and I’m proud to be part of an organization that prioritizes developing pharmacy professionals and investing in ways to ensure we feel supported throughout our careers. Leaders provide direction as well as inspiring and motivating others to grow and succeed. By facilitating member networking and allowing us to see others grow and succeed in their careers, CSHP motivates and inspires its members to do more for our profession, and for providing that opportunity to Canadian healthcare-systems pharmacists, CSHP is in essence a professional leader.
As the Board reviews the strategic plan’s year 2 objectives, I am confident we will renew our focus on professional leadership and develop meaningful deliverables aligned with the evolving needs of our members and our healthcare systems. I’m grateful for the leadership that CSHP is demonstrating to enable pharmacy professionals to practise to the full scope of their education and to lead within healthcare systems.
© 2025 Canadian Society of Healthcare-Systems Pharmacy | Société canadienne de pharmacie dans les réseaux de la santé
Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, VOLUME 78, NUMBER 3, 2025