Graduating pharmacists often find themselves in leadership positions early in their careers. In response to stakeholder feedback, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) updated guidelines for Standard 9: The Goal of the Curriculum, with the addition of Guideline 9.3. Guideline 9.3 states, “The college or school curriculum should foster the development of students as leaders and agents of change. The curriculum should help students embrace the moral purpose that underpins the profession and develop the ability to use tools and strategies needed to affect positive change in pharmacy practice and health care delivery.” The Pharmacy Leadership Field Guide: Cases and Advice for Everyday Situations is a casebook designed to equip students, residents, and new practitioners with an “in-print mentor” as they face leadership challenges.

This book consists of 9 chapters from various authors, with the following titles: “Professional Leadership,” “Becoming a Leader,” “People, People, People!” “Motivating the Eeyores,” “Communication,” “Embracing Change,” “Working Efficiently,” “Leading Yourself,” and “Marketing Yourself in Pharmacy.” Each chapter is co-authored by a veteran mentor and a new practitioner leader and starts off with a 3 to 7 page brief introduction that lays the foundation for the cases and advice for the respective leadership topic covered within each chapter. Five to 9 real-life cases are included in each chapter, and cases begin by identifying the leadership principles addressed within the case. Each case is relevant to pharmacy and includes a section on what may be going on in the mind of the person of interest described in the case. Following the case, the veteran mentor and new practitioner leader co-authors each provide advice including what they have found to work well in similar situations.

At the end of each chapter is a 1 to 3 paragraph summary; a bullet list of leadership pearls; a bullet list of leadership exercises; references and/or suggested additional readings; and referral to “Success Skills” articles from the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. The “Success Skills” bonus content may be accessed via the book's Web page or by using a Smartphone to read the QR Code (ie, 2-dimensional bar code) in each chapter. Chapters also include a potpourri of additional materials including self-assessment tools, checklists, leader-development activities, tips relevant to the leadership topic, or games (eg, crossword puzzles, word finds). Every chapter includes profiles of the veteran mentor and new practitioner leader co-authors that engages readers with their responses to interesting questions such as “What is your favorite leadership book?” “Where do you turn for advice when you are stressed?” “Why leadership?” “What are some tips for work-life balance?”

This book may be studied chapter-by-chapter as part of a required or elective course within a pharmacy curriculum, or used as a reference when readers find themselves in a situation that stretches their leadership skills. Reviewing the table of contents or index can help readers identify the most appropriate chapter that suits their situation, ultimately providing guidance on how to make better choices and respond appropriately to challenging situations.

As a whole, this book is an easy-to-read casebook that can help individuals who need a brief overview of leadership concepts with cases applying leadership principles in a variety of pharmacy practice settings. I recommend this book to pharmacy faculty members, pharmacy residency directors, and pharmacy preceptors. Pharmacy faculty members may also consider adopting this book as a required or suggested text for courses designed to meet ACPE curricular goal guidelines for leader-development. It is a terrific book for pharmacy residency directors and preceptors desiring to facilitate discussions on how to apply leadership principles to everyday pharmacy practice situations. This book also fulfills a need in the pharmacy leadership literature for new practitioners by providing a practical resource (ie, “in-print mentor”) for new practitioners needing advice that complements existing mentor relationships. With the significant number of leadership positions available to new practitioners, it is essential for graduating pharmacists to be equipped with the tools and skills needed to succeed in these leadership positions. Therefore, a resource like this book could be of great use not only to students but to new practitioners as well.

• © 2011 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy