PSW Practice Advancement Leadership Team (PALT)

What is PALT?

Founded in 2010, the PSW Practice Advancement Leadership Team convenes Health-system Pharmacy Administration and Leadership (HSPAL) residents and HSPAL directors across the state of Wisconsin to heighten practice standards and improve patient care. PALT’s work takes place on a yearly basis and can focus on a specific area of pharmacy practice, or encompass multiple practice settings, depending upon priorities and opportunities for the year. In addition to advancing pharmacy practice and patient care alongside PSW, PALT participants gain experience in project management, advocacy on behalf of the profession, and teamwork.

Purpose Statement

To advance patient-centered care and pharmacy practice in Wisconsin, through the growth of innovative programs and the development of professional and technical pharmacy workforces.

History of PALT

The PSW Practice Advancement Leadership Team (PALT) group began under the name of PSW Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative (PPMI) in late 2010. The group was formed after several residency program directors and Wisconsin leaders attended the ASHP PPMI Summit in November of 2010. Wisconsin leaders that attended the summit wanted to be able to bring some of the ideas discussed at the summit home to Wisconsin as a means to advance the practice of pharmacy throughout Wisconsin.

Early in 2011, the first meeting of what is PALT was held at PSW headquarters. All Health-system Pharmacy Administration and Leadership residents and program directors in the state were invited. At that first meeting, PALT affirmed an interest in advancing practice throughout the state and talked about ways to accomplish that goal. PALT focused on use of the semi-annual PSW Health-system Leadership Forum as a vehicle of practice advancement. That continues to this day. Early on, the group set its sights on helping ASHP to create and validate a practice model self-assessment and action planning tool. Wisconsin then led the way in completion and use of the self-assessment survey to the extent that we were asked to help other states make the same progress. Ever since then, ASHP Research and Education Foundation has been giving grants to state affiliates to conduct workshops featuring leaders from Wisconsin.

The PALT group then switched gears and spent one year each working on a tech-check-tech toolkit, improving transitions of care and advancing the role of pharmacy technicians. PALT meets at the beginning of each residency year, under the direction of the residency program directors, and selects an area of practice that is ripe for rapid advancement. PALT sets goals and structure for the upcoming year, based on the advancement topic and the work begins. Typically, members of PALT present work or topics at PSW and other conferences and will also develop tools that are cataloged on the PSW website. Over the years, PALT has made substantial contributions to the advancement of pharmacy practice in the state of Wisconsin.