The Power of One: Moving Mountains

If you don’t think that one person alone can make a difference in this country, we can prove you wrong. Fortunately, the entrepreneurial spirit survives, and it can be found in the most unlikely places, yielding remarkable results. A single person can move mountains.

Pharmacy Times is proud to announce 10 such individuals as the winners of the Next-Generation Pharmacist^TM Awards. They are represented by the 10 categories that showcase the pharmacists, student pharmacist, and technician who have made an impact—and have moved mountains in their own special ways.

We are proud of all the category finalists in this awards program, a unique program in partnership with Parata Systems, which is now in its fourth year and is our way of giving back to the profession. These individuals embody the best of pharmacy and community service. Each of them was profiled in the July issue of Pharmacy Times and their stories can be found online at www.pharmacytimes.com/next-gen.

Now, we unveil the category winners and continue to tell their stories. And there is a remarkable collection of stories here—and many mountains have been moved as their accomplishments are tallied. The issue you hold in your hands will be unveiled at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ Total Store Expo in Las Vegas at a gala dinner event.

The top honor, chosen by our judges from among the category winners, is the 2013 Next-Generation Pharmacist^TM—and she graces our cover. Amy Bachyrycz, PharmD, works in the Walgreens Patient Care Center at the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she combines her knowledge and experience gained behind the counter as well as behind the lectern as a working pharmacist and a pharmacy professor.

Dr. Bachyrycz is well known in her New Mexico community, and it will not surprise anyone there that she has been chosen as the winner of the Patient Advocate of the Year category. Meet the woman who can move mountains—and has done so—as she accepts the special top honor as the 2013 Next-Generation Pharmacist^TM. Here’s what her nominator said, “Amy is the epitome of an industry trailblazer. She puts her smarts to work for the betterment of her state and its citizens.”

These Next-Generation Pharmacist^TM award winners all prove the power of one—as they put their smarts to work in their communities.

Thank you for reading!

Mike Hennessy

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer