To achieve its goal of providing evidence-based information on a spectrum of critical topics for nurses, Nursing2023 is guided and supported by its editorial board (EB)-a diverse group of experts whose knowledge and judgment are instrumental in ensuring the journal's success. In this new Editorial Board Spotlight, get to know our EB member, Dan Sheridan, MS, RPh, CPPS, medication safety pharmacist at OhioHealth Marion General Hospital & Hardin Memorial Hospital in Marion, Ohio.
Q: How did you start your career and how did you get to where you are now?
I have been a pharmacist for almost 43 years. I originally went into pharmacy because I saw it as a way to own a business. However, after working in a small independent pharmacy as a student, I decided to try hospital pharmacy. I applied several times for a job at a local hospital but was rejected because two of my classmates already worked for them. One day, one of those students called me and said, "I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that they have a job for you now. The bad news is that the other pharmacy student and I just got fired." The two students were having a water balloon fight in the hospital hallway just as the hospital president came around the corner. Their misfortune was my gain, as it started my career in hospital pharmacy.
While in college, I spent a winter in the remote Alaskan village of Tanana and worked in a small Alaska Area Indian Health Service hospital. I lived in the same building as many of the nurses, and we developed close friendships as we teamed up to care for patients flown to our hospital from several dozen remote villages.
Upon graduation, I started working at a community hospital in Marion, Ohio and pursued a master's degree in pharmacy administration. I soon became the pharmacy manager, and then moved to my current hospital when the two hospitals in town merged. I developed a love for medication safety, and eventually stepped down as a manager and moved into my current role as a medication safety pharmacist. In this role, I work with other professionals to make medication therapy safer at my hospital, as well as at a critical access hospital 25 miles away, and across our health system.
Q: What do you love most about your job?
I love the teamwork in a hospital and the mutual respect that we have for each other. Working together, we can help people at a time when they are very vulnerable. I have worked with the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) on many projects over the past few decades, and treasure the opportunity to work with colleagues across disciplines to make patient care safer on a national or international level.
Q: What made you say "yes" to our invitation to join the Nursing2023 Editorial Board? How do you think research, writing, and getting published highlight the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration?
I saw the invitation as an opportunity to learn more about nursing while also contributing what I have learned as a pharmacist.
As a young pharmacist, I subscribed to nursing journals so that I could better understand the challenges that my nursing partners face every day. None of us have a complete picture of what other health professionals do, and the more we learn, the better we can serve our patients.
When we work together across professions to do research, it is stronger research. When we solve problems with research, we make our workplace better. When we publish that research, we extend the impact beyond our workplace and improve healthcare on a broader level.
Q: Share a memorable experience working with nurses that shows the value of interdisciplinary collaboration.
I lead medication safety committees at my hospital and a nearby critical access hospital. These committees include nurse managers, informaticists, educators, frontline nurses, pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians. We have drafted more than a dozen safety strategies that we have shared with ISMP so other hospitals can learn from our collaboration. For example, we have shared strategies to prevent errors with vitamin K administration in neonates, safer prescribing of opioids, and a project to optimize the use of secondary administration sets to deliver intermittent small-volume I.V. piggyback medications.