CrismonM. Lynn Crismon, Pharm.D., FCCP, DABCP, BCPP, has been chosen by the Parker Medal Selection Committee as the 2021 recipient of the College’s Paul F. Parker Medal for Distinguished Service to the Profession of Pharmacy. Crismon currently serves as a faculty member with the Psychiatry Residency Program and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program with Dell Medical School at the University of Texas (UT) – Austin and Seton Family Hospitals. In addition, Crismon serves as the Behrens Inc. Centennial Professor of Pharmacy and as professor, Department of Psychiatry, Dell Medical School at UT – Austin. He served as dean of the UT College of Pharmacy from 2007 to 2020.
Paul Parker was one of clinical pharmacy’s most influential proponents. Before his death in 1998, Parker spent 24 years as director of pharmacy at the Chandler Medical Center/University of Kentucky in Lexington. His innovations included developing decentralized pharmacy services, placing pharmacists in the hospital’s clinical areas, and developing the nation’s first pharmacist-staffed drug information center. Parker’s vision for pharmacy practice was passed along to the more than 150 residents and fellows who trained in the Kentucky program during his tenure. These disciples include many of today’s leaders in clinical pharmacy who continue to pass on his wisdom and vision to their trainees and colleagues. The Paul F. Parker Medal recognizes an individual who has made outstanding and sustained contributions to the profession that improve patient or service outcomes, create innovative practices, affect populations of patients, further the professional role of pharmacists, or expand the recognition of pharmacists as health professionals.
The Parker Medal Selection Committee selected Crismon as the 2021 Medalist on the basis of his lifetime record of contributions that have advanced the professional role of pharmacists and his impactful leadership in academia and psychiatric practice. After reviewing the letters of recommendation for Crismon, the committee took note of several distinguishing comments from the nominators and included them in its report to the ACCP Board of Regents:
Dr. Joseph DiPiro described Crismon as a “leading-edge clinical pharmacist in mental health, national leader in pharmacy education and training, and guiding expert on psychopharmacotherapy that has assisted countless mental health care providers and their patients,” adding that Crismon “has been among the very best clinical pharmacists in the country in psychiatric practice.”
Dr. John Murphy wrote: “I have known and respected Dr. Crismon nearly 30 years. He has been a leader in psychiatric pharmacy practice and academia for all of those years and before.” Murphy also noted that “Dr. Crismon has been a force in pharmacy-related and other organizations since his days as a student when he was elected Speaker of the House for the Student American Pharmaceutical Association (now APhA-ASP). At the national level, he has provided high levels of service to APhA, AACP, and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. He served at the board level for ACCP twice, first as a member of the Board of Regents and most recently as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Research Institute (now Foundation).” Murphy’s letter concluded: “In addition to being a powerhouse in the advancement of the profession, he is a good person, worthy of admiration.”
Dr. Robert Talbert wrote that “Dr. Crismon established the first accredited residency in psychiatric pharmacy at the Austin State Hospital and has supervised a large number of trainees in the program,” adding that many of those trainees “have gone on to become nationally recognized leaders in the profession.”
Finally, Dr. Diane Ginsburg used these words to describe Dr. Crismon: “integrity, ethical, moral compass, character, caring, passionate, selfless, servant-leader.” She added: “He is an amazing and special person. He is committed to others and to service at all levels. Our profession is fortunate to have such a caring and distinguished practitioner amongst our ranks. I truly believe he embodies the spirit of this award and would honor the man for whom this award was established.”
At the time of his nomination, Crismon had published 148 peer-reviewed papers, 38 book chapters, and more than 200 abstracts and had made 438 selected presentations over a 43-year period. As a principal investigator or co-investigator, he has successfully obtained more than 100 research grants, contracts, and awards. In addition, he has trained numerous residents, fellows, and M.S. and Ph.D. candidates throughout his career.
Crismon will be awarded the Parker Medal on Sunday, October 17, during ACCP’s 2021 Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. The Parker Medal Selection Committee is composed of representatives from member organizations of the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners, together with past presidents of ACCP. Members of the 2021 selection committee were Terry Seaton (chair), Nancy Alvarez, John Armitstead, Jean-Venable “Kelly” Goode, Thomas Hardin, Judith Jacobi, Jill Kolesar, J. Robert Powell, Steven Scott, and Janet Silvester.