Siobhan De Urioste

De Urioste has proudly served the community as a pharmacist for 20 years. She graduated from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University at Buffalo and trained as a clinical pharmacist in a rural community hospital for 10 years where she was instrumental in developing an antimicrobial stewardship program which was recognized by the CDC for its early implementation in a small hospital setting. In addition to board certification in Pharmacotherapy, de Urioste holds certifications in immunization delivery, persity, equity and inclusion, wellbeing and resilience, and is working towards diabetes management.

Facility:
The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) is a leading academic medical center and teaching affiliate of the University of Rochester, focused on patient care, education, and research, particularly in areas like cardiology, cancer, and neurology. The main hospital, Strong Memorial Hospital, contains 897 beds, and is designated as a Level One regional trauma and burn center. URMC is recognized for its advanced clinical services, extensive research funding from the NIH, and comprehensive approach to care that emphasizes teamwork and advanced technology.

Current Responsibilities:
As the clinical coordinator for Med/Surg pharmacy services, I support cardiology, psychiatry, transplant, and internal medicine services including our Practice Advancement team which blends conventional medication therapy review with an analysis of medication use and access to ensure clinical recommendations align with each patient's needs. I serve as a mentor for clinical pharmacists, interns, and PGY1 residents. Opportunities are also offered for pharmacy technicians to shadow our medication history technician program to support the expansion of technician services. Clinical services expanded under my leadership includes internal medicine and general cardiology services under a Practice Advancement model.

Recent Significant Projects:
In collaboration with a nurse practitioner dedicated to improving the care of patients with diabetes, we developed the Glycemic Optimization Committee as a stewardship initiative in which I am the co-chair. With less than one year since its inception, I've brought the voices of nurses, medicine residents, endocrinologists, diabetes educators, and most recently, our surgical team to the table to update guidelines, review error events, create dashboards, modify our formulary list, and assess software programs for dosing insulin.

Advice for Someone New to a Specialty Area:
My advice to any pharmacist is to overcome the fear of taking risks. Many times, our focus on perfection causes us to avoid trying a new process or initiative for fear it will result in failure. The growth of the inpidual, as well as the profession, depends upon those who are willing to learn from their failed experiments and move ahead to try another approach.

Involvement with ASHP:
For the past three years, I participated in the Section for Inpatient Care Practitioners for Medication Stewardship. Currently, I am a member of the Section of Clinical Specialists and Scientists Advisory Group. At the local level, I sit on our regional ASHP committee board as the Membership chair.

Reason for ASHP involvement:
My interaction with ASHP came later in my career as I did not follow a traditional path of residency. In order to expand my expertise, I pursued board certification in pharmacotherapy and found ASHP education (at Midyear and online) optimal in providing the support and resources I needed. Their program for ongoing credits and support works well for my busy schedule. As I moved forward in my career, I found ASHP Connect invaluable for providing opportunities for shared support and networking with pharmacists across the nation. Most importantly, the ability to expand clinical services and advocate for the profession on a national level highlights the reason I chose to get involved in the section advisory groups in ASHP.

Value of ASHP for Peers or Colleagues:
ASHP provides key resources for success within the profession at any level. I did not pursue a residency following graduation but was driven to continue to expand my knowledge and skills. I found ASHP to provide all the tools I needed to prepare for board certification and certification in specialty areas. Whether I was managing a rural community hospital, or managing clinical services in the large academic center, I found ASHP a valuable resource for networking with clinicians around the country, for providing a framework for stewardship, residency, and formulary services, and for guidance for managing frequent drug shortages.

Value of ASHP for the Profession:
ASHP reflects the core values I hold for our profession. The organization upholds the belief that pharmacists are key members of the health care team by enhancing safety, patient outcomes, and providing resources necessary to support the care of the patient. As such, ASHP has not only endorsed but advocated for expansion of pharmacist and technician services. Examples include everything from preventative care such as immunization of patients, to acute care needs such as incorporation of pharmacists on patient care teams, and medication therapy management with prescriptive authority. This support for advancing the practice of pharmacy is unmatched. The organization's ability to advocate at regional, state, and national levels is unsurpassed.