Daniel Aistrope: Leading Change for Clinical Quality

During his time as a pharmacy student, Dr. Daniel Aistrope’s search for a residency that would expose him to as many opportunities as possible brought him to the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy’s Combined PGY1 Residency & Practice Advancement Fellowship. 

Heavily involved as a student, Aistrope believed that “being a part of leadership helps build things for others” and engaged in student organizations, advocacy, and community service. The more he learned about the College of Pharmacy’s residency program, the more interested he became. 

“I knew I wanted something unique that would help me build clinically and I knew that I really enjoyed taking care of patients in both the ambulatory and clinic setting… Minnesota was one of the places that was definitely ahead of the curve,” Aistrope said. “Going through the interview process really reinforced that it was going to be my number one pick— that's where I wanted to be to accomplish the career goals that I had.”

Aistrope appreciated that both years of residency were bundled into one program, easing the stress residents might typically experience when wondering if they will have to transition to a new health system, new program, or new city. Despite changing clinics and facing new goals and challenges, Aistrope said staying embedded in the same network and not having to uproot his life made it simpler to “hit the ground running in year two.” Where some programs may feel like a “crash course,” he said this track allowed residents to build and refine leadership skills longitudinally— skills he continues to rely on and credits for his success. He also said the support system and professional network built into the college’s residency program has persisted throughout his career and sets graduates up for success. 

“[Employers] were truly blown away by the experience that I had from the University of Minnesota, how unique the program was and how the skills it helped me build were exactly what they were looking for in young faculty— many of whom would be setting up services in clinics that hadn't previously had a clinical pharmacist,” Aistrope said. “To have that layer built into the program itself and have that safety net around you with all the preceptors, everything from clinical support to practice management support, and really honed leadership skills— it positions graduates well.”

Following graduation from residency, Aistrope was hired as faculty at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy to build clinical programs in primary care. 

“All the while I was doing a lot of advocacy work and was involved with our state association, continued to be involved in all of the national associations, and helped foster students' growth through that process too,” Aistrope said. “So I continued all of those threads I had pulled out of residency that were an important part of my journey.”

Five years later, he accepted a role with the American College of Clinical Pharmacy as their director of clinical practice advancement, in which he served members as they built out their programs and practices across the country. In 2020, he began a position at the Cardiometabolic Center Alliance (CMCA) working to “de-silo” diabetes and heart disease treatment and create a more interdisciplinary model. The organization’s goal with this model was to improve trajectories of health and consistency of high-level care regardless of where in the country they are. In October, the CMCA was acquired by the American Heart Association (AHA), so Aistrope and his colleagues will continue their mission with the backing of additional resources like AHA’s patient education materials and increased personnel. 

“We built a platform for members around the country to join and we would coach them through how to build their program, develop a business plan, refine their workflows, and understand what the puzzle pieces are for their interdisciplinary teams,” Aistrope explained. “They're housed in cardiology, nephrology, endocrinology, primary care, you name it. We can't live in our silos anymore.”

Though he feels valued in his work, when Aistrope occasionally feels distant from his pharmacy network he recalls his advocates within the residency program who taught him that the program’s aim isn’t necessarily to train and stay in the same state, but to “go forth and do.” While many programs may claim to offer residents a lifelong and steadfast network, he said the University of Minnesota’s program “sincerely allows you to [create] that in unique ways.” 

“That group of mentors and preceptors have stayed with me and you don't get that in every program…There are people that I can pick up the phone any day of the week to call for a catch-up conversation and to seek advice and it's invaluable,” Aistrope said. “It's only been a little while since I left residency, but I feel like I've been able to make a mark and expand pharmacy's footprint in a lot of spaces; to have a voice has been really important in that and that's all because of the skills that were developed [in the residency program].”