Preceptors of the year recognized

September 01, 2021
Elizabeth Weed and Celia Dennison stand holding awards with Dean Hall
From left to right: Elizabeth Weed, Dean Hall, Celia Dennison

The 2021 Palmetto Experiential Education Partnership (PEEP) Awards were announced in August, recognizing the dedication and excellence of the program’s outstanding preceptors.

PEEP is a collaborative experiential education program between the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy and the Medical University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy. The partnership capitalizes on each college’s strong network of alumni preceptors, providing a wide-ranging portfolio of experiential opportunities for students.

The program focuses on is to providing students with the structured environment needed to develop professional judgment, technical skills, and practice skills. Preceptors encourage critical thinking to solve problems, facilitating a student’s knowledge base, as well as the ability to provide excellence in patient care.

Jennifer Baker, Pharm.D., director of the experiential programs for the UofSC College of Pharmacy says students would not be able to complete their graduation requirements were it not for the dedication of preceptors in devoting their time and the expertise.

“Our preceptors are vital to the success of our Colleges of Pharmacy - they play such a critical role in developing not only our students but the future of our profession,” she adds. “Because they open up their lives to teach and share their professional experiences, our students have the opportunity to see their identify a passion they may not have known existed, were it not for the experiences they have outside of the classroom.”

Elizabeth Weed serves as director of experiential education for the MUSC College of Pharmacy and says this past year has been challenging for everyone in health care.

“Our preceptors have never wavered in their commitment to our students’ professional development and their dedication to quality patient care. Their ability to be flexible and adapt to meet the demands of the ever-changing healthcare environment while being available to teach and train our students is beyond compare,” she says.” They lead by example, promoting excellence in patient care and showing such grace in how to be a pharmacist, a leader, a preceptor, and a human being during a pandemic. Our preceptors are our unsung heroes.”

The PEEP Awards are based on student nominations and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) 2016 Standards for preceptors and journal articles that identify role-modeling behaviors, attitude, facilitating behaviors, and teaching/coaching behaviors in both IPPE and APPE rotations in a variety of settings.

The winners were divided into three regions:

Lowcountry

 Preceptors Type Rotation Site 
 Sandra Garner ’89  APPE Acute/Gen Med  MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital
 Jennifer MacDonald ’15  APPE Am Care  MUSC Hollings Cancer Center
 Tom O’Donnell  APPE Community  CVS at Target
 Nicole Pilch  APPE Elective  MUSC Medical Center
 Sommer Mintz ’17  APPE Hospital  Tidelands NextStep Infusion Center
 Courtney Kaye ’07  IPPE Community  Beaufort Jasper Hampton Comprehensive Health Services, Inc.
 Justin Williams  IPPE Hospital  MUSC ART Inpatient Pharmacy

Midlands

Preceptors  Type  Rotation Site
 Krishnan Brown  APPE Acute/Gen Med  Prisma Health Baptist Parkridge
 Morgan Rhodes  APPE Am Care  Prisma Health - USC Family Medicine Center
 Wendy Knox  APPE Community  Kirkland Pharmacy (S.C. Dept of Corrections)
 Betsy Blake ’00  APPE Elective  Prisma Health Internal Medicine
 Kathryn Morse  APPE Hospital  Prisma Health Richland
 Lacey Paschal  IPPE Community  Blythewood Pharmacy & Home Medical Equipment
 Derek Rhodes  IPPE Hospital  Prisma Health Baptist

Upstate

Preceptors   Type Rotation Site 
 Mike Scalese  APPE Acute/Gen Med  Prisma Health – Heart Hospital
 Nancy Blumer ’00  APPE Am Care  Gibbs Infusion Center at Spartanburg Regional
 Amanda McEvoy  APPE Community  Associate Family Pharmacy
 Pam Whitmire ’80 MHSA ’90  APPE Elective  Southwest Carolina Treatment Center
 Lloyd Sarbacker  APPE Hospital  St. Francis Hospital - Downtown
 Travis Oliver ’05  IPPE Community  McLeskey-Todd Pharmacy
 Tiffany Lancaster  IPPE Hospital  Union Medical Center – Spartanburg Regional