A University of Arkansas at Little Rock graduate has been elected as the future president of the largest association of pharmacists in the United States. 

Nicki Hilliard, a professor of pharmacy practice at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy, will serve as the 2017-18 president-elect of the American Pharmacists Association and become the association’s president in March 2018.

Founded in 1852, the American Pharmacists Association is the largest association of pharmacists in the country, with more than 62,000 practicing pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians as members.

“I am very excited and very honored to have this position,” Hilliard said. “I am very passionate about pharmacy practices. I will be the first nuclear pharmacist to be the president of the association, so it goes to show that the association works for all pharmacists in all practice settings.”

Nuclear pharmacy is a specialty area dedicated to the dispensing of radioactive materials for use in nuclear medicine procedures.

Hilliard graduated from UALR in 1990 with a master’s degree in health services administration. Her degree from UALR helped broaden her understanding of the healthcare system and healthcare management, Hilliard said. After UALR, she earned a doctorate in pharmacy from UAMS.

She has pharmacy practice experience in both independent and chain pharmacies and free medical clinics. In addition, Hilliard has focused on becoming an innovative educator of nuclear pharmacy practice and management and has expertise in inter-professional education, online learning, and educational technology.

Hilliard is a former member of the American Pharmacists Association’s board of trustees, where she served on the Governmental Affairs, Strategic Directions and Policy Standing committees. She served on the Board of Pharmacy Specialties and is the current chair of the Pharmacy Provider Status Task Force and the Government Affairs Committee for the Arkansas Pharmacists Association.

As president-elect, Hilliard will serve on the association’s board of trustees and the Executive Committee and lead the association Academy Leadership Meeting.

One of Hillard’s focuses will be the association’s goal to have pharmacists identified as health care providers eligible for Medicare Part B reimbursement in the Social Security Act. This identification would allow pharmacists to provide more services for people who are covered under Medicare and Medicaid.