Stay tuned to this page for the latest in AACP's advocacy efforts and important legislative news impacting pharmacy and pharmacy educators. This page will update bi-weekly in tandem with the AACP E-lert, sent to all AACP members via e-mail.
Latest in AACP Advocacy
ACT Educators Badge Program
ACT Pharmacy Collaborative Community Pharmacy Practice Transformation Educators Badge
The application cycle may reopen in Summer/Fall 2026.
Please note: If accepted into the program, a required fee of $149 will be charged.
Badge Competencies
- Recognize opportunities and challenges within the evolving health care system to advance pharmacy services within community pharmacy.
- Demonstrate evidence-based change practices that drive implementation of pharmacy services.
- Support community pharmacy practice transformation through the application of educational resources and collaborative knowledge.
- Persuasively communicate the value of advanced pharmacy services in the community pharmacy to relevant stakeholders.
Practice faculty, researchers, experiential education directors, and preceptors have completed the program. Find a full list of badge recipients here. Participants shared feedback on reasons to participate in the program. Here are some of their perspectives:
- “It's a great way to enhance your knowledge of how community pharmacy practice is rapidly evolving. This is important because many of our graduates go to practice in this environment but often see it as 'less than' or as something they settle for rather than another pharmacy setting. Helping both faculty and students to understand the innovation that's happening in pharmacy practice will help all of us as a profession to demonstrate our unique value as pharmacists. We should all be advocates for all pharmacy settings!”
- “Regarding community pharmacy, it gives you a space to talk about things that matter with people who (1) care about the problem (2) have tools to address it and (3) can assist you with your goals.”
- “Great way to identify others who are doing similar services and look for ways to collaborate and/or learn from each other.”
- “The combination of components required for the badge is diverse and learner-centric. There is a level of flexibility that allows for participation and engagement in a variety of topics to advance community pharmacy practice that are selected by the individual.”
Eligibility
Currently employed as a faculty or staff member at a college/school of pharmacy or serving as a preceptor for a college/school of pharmacy.
Timeline
Participants will be given notice of acceptance into the program by October 1, 2025. Upon acceptance into the program, participants will be given access to the badge on AACP Learn where all program information and resources will be housed. All required activities must be completed between October 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026, unless otherwise noted below (e.g., engagement/implementation and dissemination activities). All evidence must be uploaded on AACP Learn by June 30, 2026. Digital badges will be disbursed by mid-July 2026.
Required Activities and Evidence
Required Activities | Evidence of Completion |
Knowledge and Training | |
ACT Foundational Modules in Community Pharmacy Transformation
| Self-attestation + session evaluation Participants will be invited to submit alternate evidence of this knowledge (e.g., presenting or lecturing on topics covered in the modules), if desired. Please contact the program coordinator, Miranda Steinkopf (msteinkopf@aacp.org), if you would like to pursue this option. |
Attend at least 4 Networking Sessions. At least 2 must be ACTion Hour Webinars. Eligible ACTion Hour Webinars (Register Here) ACTion Hour Webinars are open to all ACT Pharmacy Collaborative members and partners. During these sessions, attendees have a chance to learn about timely topics from experts and connect with colleagues nationwide.
Taking ACTion Together During these sessions, which are exclusively available to badge participants, attendees will have a chance to connect with others in the program to continue conversations that were started during the monthly ACTion Hour Webinars. Program advisory group members will also be available during these sessions to answer questions about the program, assist in making connections to help get requirements done, and provide advice on current work.
| Attendance tracked via Zoom. |
Complete at least one elective learning activity.
| Self-attestation Answer: Do you recommend adding your elective to the “Suggested Electives” list? Why or why not? |
Engagement/Implementation | |
| Complete a site visit at a community pharmacy and use the Flip the Pharmacy Community Pharmacy Self-Assessment Tool | Upload a photo from visit and a brief reflection statement about the impact of the visit on you and/or the pharmacy. |
Complete at least one of the following*:
*Engagement/Implementation activities listed above that were completed July 2025 – June 2026 can be used as evidence to achieve these requirements. | Please upload a brief description (100-250 words max) of the additional engagement/implementation activity you completed, including its impact, and the date it was completed. |
Dissemination | |
Complete at least two of the following**:
**Evidence of dissemination within 3 years prior to the time of Badge application will be accepted. Any dissemination activities completed between July 2023 and June 2026 will be accepted. | Upload a poster, manuscript, meeting agenda, reflection, or web link, as appropriate based on your activity choices. |
Badge Verification Review
AACP staff will review and determine that all badge requirements have been met. Once eligibility requirements are verified, a digital badge will be awarded via Credly.
Program Advisory Group
Gale Garmong (Lead), Ed Cohen, Kevin Fuji, and Megan Smith (ACT Task Force Liaison)
Badge Recipients
Recipients of the ACT Community Pharmacy Practice Transformation Educators' Badge proved their commitment to and competencies in community pharmacy practice transformation through knowledge, training, engagement/implementation, and dissemination activities.
Click on the tile below to see the full list of recipients.
Pharmacy SuRGE Community Statement
Below is a draft of the Pharmacy SuRGE Community Statement. The SuRGE Planning Group invites feedback on this Statement, which will be discussed at the December 16 virtual quarterly SuRGE meeting. You can send feedback to sending email to Dorothy Farrell (dfarrell@aacp.org) or by using this Padlet discussion board.
Seven Student Pharmacists Awarded Walmart Community Pharmacy Scholarship
AACP has selected 7 individuals as recipients of the Walmart Community Pharmacy Scholarship for Pharmacy Students recognizing their leadership, academic success, and a commitment to serving rural or medically underserved patient populations upon graduation.
Advocacy Champions Engagement Survey
The AACP 2025–2026 Strategic Engagement Committee (SEC) is updating the list of individuals identifying themselves as ‘Advocacy Champions’ for schools and colleges of pharmacy. The committee defines advocacy as multifactorial and characterized as any action taken to speak in favor of, recommend, argue for, support, defend, or plead on behalf of yourself or others.
Pharmacy School Interest Rises as Applications Jump 6%
According to recently released data from AACP, applications to pharmacy school jumped 6% from Fall 2024 to Fall 2025, signaling growing interest in the pharmacy profession. This marks the second consecutive year of growth in both the total number of applicants and applications to pharmacy schools.
ACT (Academia-Community Transformation) Pharmacy Collaborative
ACT Pharmacy Collaborative
This is an operational learning and ACTing collaborative between colleges/schools of pharmacy and community pharmacy practices, including clinically integrated networks of community-based pharmacies. The Collaborative goal is to support the transformation of community-based pharmacy practice from a product-based care model to a community-based pharmacy care delivery model. The operations of the Collaborative are now run through AACP within the AACP Transformation Center.
The ACT Pharmacy Collaborative will:
Current engaged colleges and schools of Pharmacy
A total of 97 colleges/schools of pharmacy are currently committed to and engaged in the ACT Pharmacy Collaborative. Each college and schools of pharmacy will now have more than one ACT Champion designated, serving as the main community pharmacy contact person.
ACTion Hour Webinars
Register here to join our 2025-2026 series of ACTion Hour Webinars and Virtual Talks, each one curated with fresh, relevant topics and designed to connect you with pharmacy professionals.
Partners
Founding Partners: Community Pharmacy Foundation, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, CPESN, and AACP
Collaborative Partners: National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), and American Pharmacists Association (APhA)
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Collaborative Culture
The ACT Pharmacy Collaborative culture is focused on networking highly engaged faculty with community pharmacy leaders nationwide to mobilize efforts and amplify the collective work to advance community pharmacy practice. The Collaborative works “in the moment” with agility to meet the needs of practice advancement by connecting faculty and students to projects and programming that are needed in practice. The Collaborative focuses on both “short-term wins” to accelerate awareness of issues (i.e. COVID-19 intern match program, map of pharmacy closures), and long-term development of tools and resources (i.e. 50 stories from 50 states, ACT research group). The Collaborative further focuses on supporting the work of the national associations by connecting and encouraging faculty expertise to needed association committees, working groups, and leadership (i.e. development of the ACCP Community-based PRN).
Signature Programs
Community Pharmacy Practice Transformation Badge Program
This program aims to provide a fun, contemporary way to connect community pharmacy practice leaders and educators, ultimately leading to recognition of educators with proven competencies in community-based pharmacy practice transformation.
Community Pharmacy Student Scholars Program
This program engages student pharmacists nationwide who aspire to be leaders in community pharmacy practice.
Community Pharmacy Centers of Excellence Program
This program recognizes colleges and schools of pharmacy based on work they are doing to lead community pharmacy transformation through teaching, service/advocacy, scholarship, and leadership support. The purpose of the ACT Community Pharmacy Centers of Excellence is to serve as trailblazers and a blueprint for the pharmacy academy, collectively mobilizing and amplifying community pharmacy practice transformation efforts nationwide. This is achieved by fostering a community of learning to identify, document, and disseminate best practices, approaches, and models of excellence across three pillars of the COE framework: teaching, service/practice, and scholarship/research.
Featured Resources and Initiatives
Pharmacy Closures Map
Pharmacies are often the most accessible point of healthcare in a community, and the alarming rate at which both corporate and independent pharmacies are closing poses a grave public health risk. This map from the ACT Pharmacy Collaborative highlights only a fraction of these closures across the country, providing media stories where available about how each closure is affecting local communities.
50 Stories from 50 States Challenge & Multimedia Library
The 50 Stories from 50 States Multimedia Library, an initiative from the ACT Pharmacy Collaborative, showcases the vital patient care services that community pharmacies are providing nationwide. The written narratives, videos and photos can be used in educational and advocacy efforts to showcase pharmacists’ increasingly complex and crucial role in healthcare.
ACT Curricular Framework
The ACT Pharmacy Collaborative developed a consensus Community Pharmacy Practice Transformation Curricular Framework for colleges/schools of pharmacy to utilize as they revise courses and curricula to meet the changing expectations for delivery of patient care services in community pharmacies nationwide. This document presents a curricular framework for community pharmacy practice transformation as a recommendation to all colleges and schools of pharmacy. We invite you to use this Framework to engage faculty and administrators on curricular design and outcomes to help drive practice transformation.
ACT Patient Casebook Challenge
Colleges and schools of pharmacy nationwide were invited to participate in the 2020 ACT Patient Case Challenge. The goal of this Challenge was to collect and share impactful cases that demonstrate enhanced patient care provided by pharmacists and student pharmacists in community pharmacies. Collected cases were compiled into an online workbook available for use by colleges and schools of pharmacy. Key components of the cases include that they are based on an actual patient encounter, represent enhanced patient care services in a community pharmacy, integrate documentation using eCare Plan Standard language, and that they demonstrate value.
Access the ACT Patient Casebook
Access the Challenge Participants
To learn more on the background of the ACT Pharmacy Collaborative, please download the ACT Blueprint here. For any questions, please contact aacpcenter@aacp.org.
A Multi-University Institute Advances U.S. Medicine Making: 20 Years and Counting
NIPTE university faculty members collaborate with government and industry to address challenges in drug development and manufacturing.
ACT Educators Badge Application
ACT Community Pharmacy Transformation Educators Badge Application
The Cohort 3 application cycle for the Community Pharmacy Practice Transformation Educators Badge Program is now closed. It may reopen in Summer/Fall 2026.
Please note: If accepted into the program, a required fee of $149 will be charged.
Interim Meeting 2026 - CEO Dean/Development Officer Program Speakers
