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Members of the SIDP Public Outreach Committee recently published an editorial in the Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy on pharmacists’ role in antimicrobial stewardship (ASP) interventional research. 

Most healthcare institutions in the U.S. rely on pharmacy services to develop and expand ASP initiatives. In 2019, members of the committee sought to characterize trends in ASP interventional research. Using PubMed to identify studies evaluating the impact of an ASP intervention from 1990-2019 in North America, SIDP found that the frequency of pharmacist authorship has been increasing over the last twenty years. Overall, two-thirds of publications included a pharmacist as an author. A subset of one-hundred studies was further reviewed for intervention type, outcomes of interest, study setting, population, and descriptive methodology. The findings of this report informed the following recommendations and opportunities for expansion in ASP interventional research:

• Pharmacists should have a direct role in conducting and disseminating research that evaluates ASP interventions and the impact on patient outcomes.
• Pharmacists should expand ASP research beyond adult inpatient settings and routinely evaluate areas of need for interventional research.
• Pharmacists should create collaborative networks to facilitate multicenter studies, increase the generalizability, diversify populations, and promote leadership and professional growth.
• Publications on research evaluating ASP intervention should document the pharmacist(s) role and the ASP/pharmacy practice model in the intervention.

The second annual Infectious Diseases Pharmacists Day will be held on Sunday, May 22, 2022. This day recognizes the importance of ID pharmacists in promoting appropriate antimicrobial use and the contributions they make to patient care, education, and research. This year’s theme is deprescribing antibiotics in COVID-19. Please check out the SIDP - Infectious Diseases Pharmacists Day website for opportunities to show your support, including a Twitter Storm, access to the Advocacy tool kit, and Share Your Story to be featured on our social media pages. We look forward to an exciting virtual turn out!

The SIDP Board of Directors and Nominations and Bylaws Committee would like to thank all of the extremely qualified members who ran in the 2021 election for President-Elect, Secretary, and Board Member-at-Large. We appreciate your commitment to SIDP and advancing our profession. Additionally, we would like to thank everyone for participating in the election and to our Website and Social Media Committees for their assistance. Please join us in congratulating these individuals!

President-Elect Melissa Johnson, PharmD, MHS, AAHIVP

Secretary Jamie Wagner, PharmD, BCPS

Board Member-at-Large Alan Gross, PharmD, FCCP, BCIDP, BCPS

On Behalf of the SIDP Nominations and Bylaws Committee

Chair: Wes Kufel
Vice Chair: Lindsey Childs-Kean
Immediate Past-Chair: Cynthia Nguyen
Board Liaison: Jason Pogue
Committee Members: Karrine Brade, Monica Mahoney, Lee Nguyen, Katie Parsels, Brian Potoski, Melissa Steenhoek

Please consider nominating either a colleague or yourself for an SIDP Recognition Award, to be given at the SIDP Business and Lecture Series this fall. Each year, the Society recognizes the excellence of its members with the Young Investigator of the Year, Pharmacotherapy Paper of the Year, Clinician of the Year, and Gita Patel Best Practice Award. In addition, a Distinguished Service Award may be awarded by the Society to recognize truly outstanding and lasting service (this award is not necessarily given annually).

Nominations need to be received by Monday, April 12, 2021. Supporting materials for each nominee will be due Monday, May 17, 2021. Winners will be notified no later than Monday, June 21, 2021 for Clinician of the Year and Friday, July 30, 2021 for other Recognition Awards.

All nominations and supporting materials can be sent to Kate DeSear (deseak@shands.ufl.edu) and Shelley Warnock (shelley@affinity-strategies.com).

Each award description, criteria, and required supporting materials are detailed on the website via the following link: SIDP Recognition Awards.

Please consider your deserving colleagues or yourself for these awards!

Sincerely,
The SIDP Recognition Awards Committee

The Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP) is pleased to solicit nominations for Fellowship in SIDP (FIDP). The Fellowship distinction was developed to recognize outstanding SIDP members who have made a significant and sustained contribution to the area of infectious diseases and the mission of SIDP. Successful applicants for Fellowship in SIDP demonstrate a commitment to promoting the appropriate use of antimicrobials for the prevention and management of infectious diseases through leadership and collaboration in infectious diseases practice, education, research, and advocacy.

Please consider nominating a colleague for this award, to be given at the SIDP Business Meeting and Lecture Series this fall. Further information regarding the nomination and application process is provided below.

Minimum Eligibility Criteria

Nominees for FIDP must meet all of the following criteria:

1.    Be a current active member of SIDP

2.    Have been in practice in the field of infectious diseases for at least 10 years since receipt of terminal training (not including residency or fellowship)

3.    Have made sustained contributions to SIDP as detailed in the evaluation criteria

4.    Be present at the SIDP Business Meeting to be recognized.

*Note: Current SIDP board members or Recognition Awards Committee members are ineligible for nomination

In order to be considered for distinction, an initial nomination in the form of a letter from an active member of SIDP is required. The nomination letter should be submitted via email to the Chair of the Recognition Awards Committee, Kate DeSear (deseak@shands.ufl.edu). The nomination letter should outline how the nominee fulfills the eligibility criteria, including a brief description of the nominee’s sustained contributions to SIDP and excellence in the field of infectious diseases through practice, education, scholarship, etc. The nomination letter should also include the nominee’s current email and phone number. Nominations will be accepted annually. The deadline for nominations this cycle is Monday, April 12, 2021.

Nominees fulfilling minimum eligibility requirements will be sent a link to an online application form. The deadline for full applications is Monday, June 14, 2021.  Awardees will be notified no later than Friday, August 27, 2021. More details on the application process including a copy of the application and the scoring rubric can be found here.

Please consider your deserving colleagues for this award! 

Sincerely,

The SIDP Recognition Awards Committee

Congratulations to the Newly Elected SIDP Board Members for 2020–2021! 

President-Elect
Scott Bergman

Treasurer
Erin McCreary

Board Member-at-Large
Meghan Jeffres

The SIDP Board of Directors and Nominations and Bylaws Committee would like to thank all of the extremely qualified members who ran in the 2020 election for President-Elect, Treasurer, and Board Member-at-Large. We appreciate your commitment to SIDP and advancing our profession. Additionally, we would like to thank everyone for participating in the election and to our Website and Social Media Committees for their assistance. Please join us in congratulating these individuals!

On Behalf of the SIDP Nominations and Bylaws Committee

Chair: Cynthia Nguyen
Vice Chair: Wesley Kufel
Immediate Past-Chair: Brandon Dionne
Board Liaison: Kerry LaPlante
Committee Members: Karrine Brade, Lindsey Childs-Kean, Monica Mahoney, Brian Potoski, Jenny Shroba, Melissa Steenhoek

Today, the National Institute of Health (NIH) released the COVID-19 treatment guidelines, available at covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov. The NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guideline is a living document that will be updated as new information becomes available. 

The Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists President-Elect Susan Davis represents SIDP on the treatment guideline panel. The panel was convened urgently in late March and includes clinicians with expertise in infectious diseases, critical care, emergency medicine, and pharmacy. Dr. Davis is one of six clinical pharmacists on the panel, joining others from federal agencies and the Society of Critical Care Medicine. 

"I'm honored to work with this diverse group of clinicians and scientists on the treatment guidelines panel. The pharmacy team has been working nonstop to critically evaluate emerging literature and provide pharmacotherapy expertise," says Dr. Davis. "These guidelines will provide essential information for healthcare professionals trying to understand the rationale and limitations of proposed COVID-19 therapies."

"We are very pleased to have SIDP represented on the NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel. SIDP members around the country have been working with their colleagues and communities to design local treatment guidelines, facilitate access to therapies, and educate patients and staff. ID pharmacists provide unique expertise and perspective that is crucial during this ongoing pandemic. We applaud the National Institutes of Health for recognizing and seeking out this expertise," said SIDP President Jason Pogue. 

Further information from the NIH regarding these guidelines is available here.

Please visit sidp.org/covid19 for additional educational offerings and resources from SIDP related to COVID-19.

Dear Friends and Colleagues,   

It is with great sadness we share that Dr. Amy Pakyz, Pharm.D., M.S., Ph.D., and SIDP Board Member at Large (2017-2019) has passed away.  Amy was an Associate Professor of Pharmacy at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) with an international reputation for her work in infectious diseases epidemiology.

In Amy’s short career, she created a legacy for herself and for the ID pharmacy family.  Amy started her career as an Infectious Diseases fellow with Ron Polk.   After fellowship, Amy left VCU for University of Virginia (UVA) and then returned to VCU in a faculty role in the early 2000s. While a full-time faculty member she received her Master’s in Health Evaluation Science at UVA in 2003, and then her PhD in Health Services Organization & Research at VCU in 2013.   Amy received funding from AHRQ and CDC for research related to antimicrobial stewardship and utilization measurement as well as examining the incidence of and risk factors for C. difficile infection.  She authored over 60 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.   One of Amy’s most significant contributions was her 2008 Archives of Internal Medicine paper “Trends in Antibacterial Use in US Academic Health Centers 2002 to 2006” describing increasing use of antibiotics driven by broad-spectrum agents and vancomycin. 

A proud SIDP member since 1996, Amy served the Society as chairperson, vice-chair or member on nearly every SIDP committee.  Amy was also highly involved with SIDP-partner organizations, including serving on SHEA’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee, the Vizient Antimicrobial Stewardship Task Force, and the Virginia Healthcare-associated Infection Advisory Group.

In Amy’s candidacy statement for SIDP Board Member at Large she shared that “I have personally treasured SIDP’s networking and education opportunities. Importantly, I value the comradery with colleagues who face the same challenges I do in infectious diseases pharmacotherapy. I am continually impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment of fellow members. I look forward to the opportunity to give back to SIDP”  

Amy was a wonderful colleague, mentor, and leader across our ID pharmacy community.  She was a quiet achiever and her work was highly impactful.   Amy was also very private about her illness, and we all respected her wishes.  As her Chairperson Don Brophy, Pharm.D., M.Sc., FCCP, BCPS said, “She simply wanted to be known for her work in the field of infectious diseases epidemiology, and this will indeed be her legacy.”

And finally, from her long-time mentor and friend, Ron Polk – “Amy showed a very strong interest in infectious diseases when she was a Pharm.D. student at Virginia Commonwealth University. When she expressed her interest in an ID fellowship at VCU I was thrilled. And at some point, when I became department chair, Amy was my first hire to add to the program. We enjoyed many productive years as colleagues and friends. Since my retirement 9 years ago, Amy continued to collaborate with members of the ID division at VCU as well as those outside of VCU. Amy has made important contributions to the stewardship literature, as well as having secured substantial funding from CDC. Finally, Amy was one of the most kind and thoughtful persons I have met. She will be missed by everyone fortunate enough to have gotten to know her. And I have lost a friend.” 

From your SIDP family, thank you Amy, you will be dearly missed by all of us. 

Jason, Susan, Kerry, Emily, Warren, Doug, and Julie

Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists Board of Directors

CMS has issued its long awaited Conditions of Participation.  They are requiring all hospitals to have implemented an antibiotic stewardship program within 6 months of the final rule.

Click here for more information