Preceptors of the year recognized

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