It's Time to Say Good-bye

In 1986, I was asked by Ray Gosselin, the newly appointed publisher of Pharmacy Times, to join his team as editor of Hospital Pharmacy Times. Irv Rubin had just retired from the journal, which he had nurtured for a large part of his career. Because I had admired the contributions that Irv had made to pharmacy, I, perhaps a little naively, gladly accepted the offer. What I thought would be a brief experience in pharmacy publishing became an important part of my own pharmacy career.

In 2002, Publisher Jim Granato asked me to become editor-in-chief of Pharmacy Times. Many saw me as a hospital pharmacist and/ or an academic pharmacist, so the question raised was could I focus on promoting community pharmacy, too? I remain grateful to both Ray Gosselin and Jim Granato for taking a chance with me and giving me an opportunity to become associated with Pharmacy Times, the leading massaudience pharmacy publication.

As editor-in-chief, I have tried to help advance the role of the pharmacist in all settings, especially community pharmacy. At times, my vision of pharmacy’s future was too far ahead of where most pharmacists saw their profession. I guess my academic side prevailed, and I was criticized for being too idealistic. I was not always right in my predictions, but I think my vision for pharmacy has mostly been on track.

Some of my editorial goals were to make pharmacists think, challenge them to get out of their comfort zone, and realize that pharmacists in all practice settings have most things in common. My readers can answer how well my commentaries made them think. I have written more than 300 commentaries in my Pharmacy Times roles. Bringing a new perspective on a pharmacy issue each month turned out to be easier than I thought. Only once in my 30-year career did I experience writer’s block and need help. I am grateful to my Creator for endowing me with the ability to write so easily.

The success of Pharmacy Times is a team effort, and in my 3 decades with the publication, I have worked with great team members. Thank you all for your support and encouragement, but it is now time for me to put this part of my career in the past.

On a Saturday night many years ago, I was working in my community pharmacy, and Bernie Chernoff asked, “Fred, did you ever think of becoming a pharmacist?” Little did I know how blessed I would be to make that decision. Yes, pharmacy has been a great career, and I am proud that both my children followed me into the profession. Getting to work with my son as part of the Pharmacy Times family has been special, too.

Of course, I need to thank you, my readers, for supporting me. I would not have had 30 years as editor of Pharmacy Times without the readers’ support. I particularly appreciated the criticisms because they made me think.

The new editor-in-chief is someone I worked with in my role as executive director of the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists, someone I worked for briefly as an employee of Community Care of North Carolina, and someone I taught as a faculty member at the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy; so, I am pleased to pass the baton to a part of my pharmacy family. I wish Troy Trygstad success in his new role as editor-in-chief of Pharmacy Times. I know he will continue to challenge our readers to become engaged in the roles that pharmacists are playing in bringing value to health care outcomes, improving chronic disease management, and taking responsibility for patients’ drug therapy outcomes. What a great time to be a pharmacist!