Congratulations, pranishk. I am a pharmacy manager for a 1200 bed academic health system. I echo those who advise you to not forget about the people. Pharmacy school and your residency likely gave you a good clinical foundation but very little personnel management training. This is something you must learn and keep learning. You must take care of your peeps. If you don't, personnel issues can really drag you and the department down.

I recommend you find a mentor or several mentors. These can be past preceptors but I recommend you find folks who can serve as a mentor who work in your hospital - other department heads or even a long time pharmacy employee. They can guide you through the bureaucracy of the hospital. They can teach you who you can go to when you need something done, what committee you need approval from to keep a project moving and can help with wading through budgetary issues.

Learn the regulatory issues that you MUST deal with - The Joint Commission, USP 797, CMS-HQI, State Health Department, FDA, The Board of Pharmacy.

As someone else said - nurses run the hospital - know what they and your other customers expect. Perception = reality so learn how they perceive your department; adjust your reality to improve their perception as needed.

Take Management/Leadership courses - either through the professional orgs like ASHP or ACCP or through your hospital or local college. If are not a member of local/state/national professional orgs - you should join. Remember - just like Verizon - it's your network that matters - your professional network of colleagues you can turn to for advice/help.

And of course - follow a system that will help you keep track of your projects and close those open loops. I have used GTD for a couple of years now. It helps me to keep track of all my areas of responsibility - Academic, Administrative, Clinical, Committees, Operational, Personnel, Professional Organizations, and Research.

Finally - maintain a healthy work/life balance.

Good Luck. Keep Learning. Never Quit.