We interviewed Ana Herranz, Chief Pharmacist at the Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañon

Why did you decide to become a SILCC Host?

Hosting an European pharmacist in our department is going to be an incredible experience, both for the host and the fellow we welcome into your home. It is a chance to discover new ways of providing pharmaceutical services while at the same time sharing the best of what we do! Our team is used to share experiences with other colleagues from Spain and also from South America. We think that SILCC can be a big opportunity to network in Europe and to improve the Hospital Pharmacy.

Are there any specific pharmacy procedures or services that you are excited to show to the SILCC Fellow that will join your hospital?

We are especially proud of the pharmacists’ work distribution by area of knowledge that we have set in our department, instead of a more traditional (inpatients, outpatients, compounding,…) . That means that for a that specific area (oncology, infection, digestive, intensive care, pediatric…) the phamacists is responsible from the logistics, clinical services, patients safety, …to education and research. 

We are really excited about sharing experiences, inspire and encourage other countries fellows to improve practice, helping with the barriers and having their feedback improving our processes too.

Do you have any words to encourage any potential hospitals considering applying for SILCC Host position?

All European pharmacists win with this initiative.  Participating directly in it is an honour, being a protagonist and contributing to the fact that hospital pharmacists are constructing the future of our profession. 

In our experience having foreign visitors is very motivating for everybody in our team, they explain what they do, they have to take some time to organize the visit but by sharing and discussing they improve their own process and their results.

We must create pharmacists-pharmacists relationships and networks that allow us to improve our presence in the institutions, patient and healthcare practitioners organizations to make visible the value that high quality pharmacy services bring to the safe and effective use of medicines.