ChangElizabeth “Liz” Chang, Pharm.D., Ph.D., is chair of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and an associate professor at Taipei Medical University (TMU) College of Pharmacy in Taiwan. She also serves as deputy director for education in the pharmacy department at Wanfang Hospital, an affiliated hospital of TMU. Chang earned a B.S. degree in pharmacy from National Taiwan University, then went on to earn her Pharm.D. and M.S. in pharmacy administration degrees from the Ohio State University and a Ph.D. degree in pharmaceutical socioeconomics from the University of Iowa. Chang completed an internship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Chang educates students on social and administrative pharmacy topics and coordinates a clinical skills lab and advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs). She serves as a college liaison for international collaboration with U.S. colleges of pharmacy and has coordinated an international clinical faculty training program in collaboration with partners in the United States and Singapore. Committed to education and as deputy director for education, Chang facilitated the development of a pharmacy residency program at Wanfang Hospital and a specialist pharmacist career ladder system for TMU-affiliated hospitals. She strongly believes that pharmacists must practice at the top of their license.
With her specialization in qualitative and mixed methods research, Chang’s recent research projects focus on practice-based issues, including medication adherence, medication reconciliation, and pharmacy education. Other projects include health literacy and cultural competence. An area where Chang envisions practice advancement is the pharmacist’s role in immunizations. In Taiwan, pharmacists currently play no role in vaccine administration but are striving to change that!
Chang did not begin her membership with ACCP until becoming faculty at TMU. After joining, several ACCP Fellows and members became role models in transforming Chang as a pharmacy educator and administrator. In 2021, Chang co-founded the ACCP Taiwan Chapter, which afforded further networking and international partnerships. The collaboration of the ACCP Taiwan Chapter and the ACCP Cardiology PRN is especially meaningful to Chang because it has revealed differences in practice across countries, ultimately advancing current practices in Taiwan. Currently, she serves as secretary/treasurer of the ACCP Taiwan Chapter. Recruitment continues to increase for both the Taiwan Chapter and the ACCP international membership! She attributes her professional growth to connecting with ACCP members and the readily available resources:
My advice to all pharmacists, students, and residents is to reach out to other members of ACCP. You may be surprised with how much you gain just by reaching out! I have truly benefited from the generosity and experience-sharing from other ACCP members.
A startling number of common barriers currently prohibit advanced practice across international sites, which Chang believes can be overcome by simply sharing experiences. In fact, she intentionally integrates advocacy for pharmacists’ value into her roles as educator, pharmacist, and mother. She reminds her student pharmacists of the importance of joining professional societies, volunteering for projects, and staying informed on new practice and reimbursement models. In addition, she teaches the need for community outreach and spreading the word about how pharmacists contribute to medication safety. And finally, Chang teaches that the status quo can change if like-minded individuals collaborate and advocate to expand, advance, and show the importance of the pharmacist’s role as part of the health care team.