Publisher Letter: Soon to Be a Pharmacist

During the April American Pharmacists Association (APhA) convention in San Antonio, the Pharmacy Times team spent a great deal of time interacting with our board of advisors, key contributors, and-most importantly-our readers. Though it is difficult to manage while keeping a busy publishing schedule, the opportunity to find out more about how we're meeting the needs of our readers is immeasurably important.

The APhA show in particular is refreshing, given the youthful exuberance displayed by the thousands of pharmacy students who attend the sessions and walk the exhibit floor. The many students who visited our booth were enthusiastic about being on the precipice of this exciting profession, whether they were in their first year at their first APhA show, or just on the cusp of beginning their professional career. Just being around them served as a powerful reminder to the entire Pharmacy Times team of our mission to provide practical information to today's pharmacist-and tomorrow's.

At the booth, our team was focused more on what we can learn from the students than on what they can learn from Pharmacy Times, although of course we hope this will be a 2-way street throughout their careers. Most of what we learned about the students' reading preferences didn't surprise us. They want to read about technology. They want clinical information presented in a way that is of practical use to them in performing their daily job responsibilities. And, they want continuing education articles that keep them on top of conditions and the very latest treatment options.

They asked us to continue our coverage on the emerging areas of specialty pharmacy, oncology pharmacy, and pharmacy as a health care destination-and we will. This mirrored the feedback we received from our highly regarded board of advisors and the feedback we get daily and monthly from our readers. Students also told us that they would like to see more coverage on the business challenges of running a pharmacy: how to manage a staff; how to choose from among a growing number of technology solutions (including automated dispensing machines, e-prescribing systems, and electronic health records); and how to streamline administrative processes to give pharmacists more time with patients.

We will, of course, continue to provide coverage in all of these areas and many more, including a renewed focus on breaking important news on our new and completely redesigned Web site at www.PharmacyTimes.com. We encourage you to check out the new site, and we hope you will continue to provide us with feedback on all of our editorial offerings. This is, after all, your publication-whether you've been a pharmacist for several decades or are just embarking on a challenging and rewarding career.

Thank you for reading.

Mike Hennessy