Megan RiordonTo cite: Riordon M. “A vision without a strategy remains an illusion” [commentary]. Can J Hosp Pharm. 2024;77(2):e3623. doi: 10.4212/cjhp.3623
Having spent the last four years working toward securing a sustainable and engaging future for itself, through the 2020–2023 strategic plan, the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (CSHP) is now beginning a new strategic planning cycle. This iterative process is integral to drive organizational change and transformation, and thereby to successfully represent the Society’s vision, effectively allocate resources, prioritize and align the activities of staff and volunteers with the Society’s goals, and ensure that those goals are achieved.
The new planning cycle began with an environmental scan, whereby the CSHP Board, staff, branches, and affiliated board chairs, as well as other key stakeholders, were asked to provide their insights on CSHP’s strengths, areas for improvement, opportunities for change, and emerging threats. Participants were also asked to identify critical issues for the Society and to provide feedback on CSHP’s directional statements—its mission, vision, and values.
Following several weeks of online engagement, the CSHP Board gathered in Ottawa in mid-March to draft our next strategic plan for 2024–2027. Under the direction of a skilled facilitator, we sought to understand our current operating environment, think strategically about where we want to be in the future, and establish high-level priorities to achieve our preferred future.
By the end of the workshop, we had identified five key priority areas as critical issues that CSHP must address, or continue to address, in the next strategic planning cycle: professional leadership, community, advocacy, identity, and organizational excellence.
As we strive to promote excellence and innovation in patient care, we must be the leaders in our profession, guiding standard-setting organizations and influencing the development of benchmarking tools to advance pharmacy practice in hospitals and collaborative care settings.
Fostering a sense of community allows us to continue expanding our numbers and making membership more valuable, given that one of the main reasons why pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy students join CSHP is to network and collaborate with others.
Amplifying the voice of hospital pharmacy through advocacy remains a crucial priority allowing us to build rapport and establish CSHP as the source of a unique, distinct perspective at roundtables, as well as to increase our presence and engage in new strategic collaborations.
Rebranding our identity is more important than ever as our membership grows and becomes more representative of the people and settings we serve, including pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and students, working in a variety of health systems beyond just hospitals.
Organizational excellence through effective governance is the foundational core value that we must maintain if we are to continue providing core member services and thriving in a complex and evolving environment while remaining financially viable.
Over the coming months, these key priority areas will be fleshed out in fulsome detail and will become the guiding signposts for our new strategic plan. With such a motivated and engaged Board leading the way, I have no doubt that our new strategic plan will represent the Society’s renewed vision, inspiring us to continue moving our profession forward in hospitals and collaborative care settings.
*Bolman L, Deal TE. Reframing organizations. 6th ed. John Wiley; 2017.
© 2024 Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists | Société canadienne des pharmaciens d’hôpitaux
Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, VOLUME 77, NUMBER 2, 2024