Her Story
About Barbara
Barbara Petroff is a pharmacist whose career has spanned nearly six decades, beginning with her education at the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy and continuing through an advanced degree in administration from Central Michigan University. She entered the profession through pharmaceutical research, where she played a role in bringing a product to market, an experience that sparked a lasting interest in sterile compounding. That interest carried her into hospital pharmacy and eventually into home infusion, the specialty that would come to define much of her professional life.
For 28 years, Petroff managed a home infusion company, balancing hands-on clinical care for patients with the operational demands of running a business. She simultaneously built a parallel career as an accreditation surveyor, a role she has now held for more than two decades, evaluating home infusion, specialty pharmacy, and medical supply organizations. Since 2011, she has served as Principal of Shawler Petroff LLC, where she now devotes her time to consulting, guiding organizations through the complexities of sterile compounding practices, regulatory compliance, and the accreditation process from the ground up.
Petroff's influence extends well beyond her own practice through her deep involvement in professional organizations. She is a longstanding member of the National Home Infusion Association, where she has chaired both the Standards Committee and the Sterile Compounding Practice Committee, and of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, where she helped establish the home care section and later chaired its Home Infusion Section Advisory Group. Her contributions have been recognized with the NHIA Women in Leadership Award and the ASHP Distinguished Service Award. Outside of her professional pursuits, she has spent years volunteering with her church and served as a Girl Scout leader for 14 years, reflecting a lifelong commitment to service both within and beyond the pharmacy profession.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Barbara
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the foundation I received at the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy, which sparked my lifelong passion for this profession. My early work in pharmaceutical research, where I helped bring a product to market, opened my eyes to the field of sterile compounding, and that interest has stayed with me throughout my career. Across nearly sixty years spent in hospital pharmacy, research, and especially home infusion, I've made it a point to keep learning at every stage, and that mindset has been the true driver of my growth.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best guidance I received came less as a single piece of advice and more through the mentors and colleagues who invested in me along the way, starting with my time at Ohio State. Their support, along with the relationships I built through my involvement with the National Home Infusion Association, including chairing the Sterile Compounding Practice Committee, taught me the value of surrounding myself with people committed to raising the standards of our field.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell them to never stop learning and to get involved in professional organizations early on. Being active in groups like ASHP, where I held leadership roles including chairing the Home Infusion Section Advisory Group, and in local organizations such as the Southeastern Michigan Society of Health-System Pharmacists, has shaped my career and kept me connected to the people and ideas moving our profession forward.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
After nearly sixty years in this field, I now find myself approaching retirement, which gives me a unique perspective on where our industry is headed. I see evolving regulatory requirements and rising sterile compounding standards as the central challenges facing the field today, while the greatest opportunity lies in helping new home infusion providers achieve accreditation and build strong, sustainable operations from the ground up.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Patient care, service, mentorship, continuous learning, and integrity guide everything I do. Professionally, I take the greatest pride in helping companies become accredited and well-established, and being honored with the Women in Leadership Award at the National Home Infusion Association meeting remains one of the achievements I'm most proud of. Outside of work, volunteering at my church brings me tremendous joy and keeps me grounded.
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