Grid of headshots of 2023 Preceptors of the Year Danielle Porter, David Ross Barkley, Robert Campbell and Sandra Gerges

Preceptors recognized for outstanding teaching and mentorship during advanced practice rotations

Four pharmacists representing a range of pharmacy practices have been selected as the 2022-2023 Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) Preceptors of the Year. This student-nominated award recognizes preceptors who go above and beyond in delivering outstanding teaching and mentorship to students during their final year advanced practice rotations.

Preceptors provide critical practical learning experiences, and their perspectives and teaching can shape how students approach their practice as they embark on their new pharmacy career. As such, preceptors play important roles in educating the next generation of pharmacists.

“Preceptors and their sites provide real world perspectives on the opportunities and challenges we face in health care. Their enthusiasm and commitment to teaching motivates our students to excel in every facet of practice,” says Debbie Kwan, Assistant Professor – Teaching Stream and Chair of the Preceptor Awards Selection Committee at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. “We are eternally grateful that we have such a dedicated group of preceptors to guide our APPE students and serve as exemplary role models.”  

Congratulations to the 2022-2023 APPE Preceptors of the Year!

Danielle Porter Headshot

Danielle Porter
Schulich Heart Program, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

“I enjoy helping students connect the dots. Clinical placements help students synthesize different concepts that they learned in school, and witnessing their progress is truly gratifying. It’s important to allow students to make mistakes - and learn from them. 

Being recognized by students for this award reinforces my passion for teaching. I learn just as much from precepting students as students learn on rotation with me.” 

David Ross Barkley

David Ross Barclay
Rexall #1974

“I enjoy engaging with each student, getting to know how their learning styles vary, and inspiring them to become more confident in themselves and involved in patient care.

I suggest to preceptors to take moments to sit with your student and have discussions along their rotation, from clarifying learning objectives to going through topics of interest to highlighting what should be focused on. 

I'm very grateful to the students and humbled by this award. It's a testament to what we've been through together over the last year in health care.”

Robert Campbell

Robert Campbell
London Family Health Team (retired)

“Being a preceptor gave me a chance to connect with the new generation of pharmacists, allowed me to reflect and improve on my practice by learning to say, ‘how else can this be done’ instead of ‘that’s how it’s always been done.’ … It always given me pleasure to see the student’s light bulb go off when they made the connection from academics to practice. Lastly, being a preceptor allowed me to silently honour the great teachers I had that helped make my career what it was.

As this award came after my retirement, it allowed me to reflect on the changes over the years in pharmacists' practice and the different students I have taught over the years. It’s been an amazing journey from typewriters to prescribing, and I felt that it helped validate my career choices over the years. I am extremely honoured to receive this award.”

Sandra Gerges

Sandra Gerges, Professor and Program Coordinator
Pharmacy Technician Program, Humber Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning

“Being a preceptor allows me to share with students what I do and how passionate I am about my work. I am able to get a fresh perspective on my teaching from the point of view of the APPE students that I mentor. There is nothing more rewarding to me than being able to see my APPE students teaching and mentoring my pharmacy technician students. … Having APPE students is not only an opportunity to teach and mentor students, but it is a great way for me to continue learning and growing as an educator. 

One of my main goals as a preceptor is to connect with my students and to allow them to reach the peak of their potential. Being recognized by them makes me believe that I have achieved that goal and that they were able to see growth in themselves after the time we had together.” 

 Honourable Mentions

Nominee

Site

Anna Chan

Markham Stouffville Hospital

Catherine Chung

Loblaw Pharmacy #1010

Cinzia Briganti

William Osler Health System - Brampton Civic Hospital

Jane Li

Michael Garron Hospital

Joey Wong

Rexall Pharmacy #6938

Michael Nawar Metro Pharmacy #575
Molly Yang Whole Health Pharmacy Partners
Peter Pagacz Green Shield Canada

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