Leadership training for pharmacists

In our opinion, leadership development is a research-sparse area of the pharmacy profession. As such, we would like to open by applauding the efforts of Shikaze et al.1 for conducting and reporting research in this critical area. The “hard to hear” but honest assessments from their work provide substantial evidence of the need for further leadership development in our profession. We concur with the paper’s recommendation for formal education and structural incentives for leadership. Upon reflection, their findings, while incredibly valuable, are not all that surprising; leadership is only 1 of 7 key competencies, or roles, described in the Association of Faculties of Pharmacy in Canada (AFPC) Educational Outcomes for First Professional Degree Programs in Pharmacy.2 Furthermore, the leadership role from AFPC is split with management. Although, in practice, potential overlap exists between the 2 roles, they require distinct skillsets.3 Considering all competing priorities, pharmacy education may not fully prepare individuals with the needed leadership skills for their career and to advance the profession. We would like to address activity in the area of leadership education