College of Pharmacy honours preceptors

Preceptor of the Year awards are presented annually by the College of Pharmacy, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, to recognize the outstanding mentors that students train with, and learn from, while on their educational experience. The preceptors set aside time in their busy schedules to support and encourage the future pharmacists.

Graduating pharmacy students nominate preceptors for Hospital Preceptor of the Year, Preceptor of the Year for the Electives Program and Community Preceptor of the Year.

Hospital Preceptor of the Year

Christopher Dupont, a pediatrics pharmacist at Health Sciences Centre, is the College of Pharmacy’s Hospital Preceptor of the Year.

“Chris was a fantastic preceptor,” pharmacy student Catherine Le wrote in her nomination letter. “From the beginning, he was well prepared for the rotation and was familiar with the SPEP (structured practical experiential program) manual and what I had to accomplish by the end of six weeks. He laid out his expectations of me and how we would achieve it.”

Dupont, who graduated from the UM College of Pharmacy with a B.Sc. (Pharm) in 2013, said he is grateful to receive the award. He became a preceptor to give back to his profession and to pay it forward as a thank you to all of the preceptors he had as a student.

“And herein lies the reward for me – to see the confidence and pride in the students that comes with providing sound recommendations for real patients that they can justify and follow,” Dupont said. “I’m an optimist at heart and enjoy being a part of and watching the journey of self-improvement.”

Preceptor of the Year for the Electives Program

Dr. Elizabeth McLachlan, a biologist with the viral exanthemata and STD program at the National Microbiology Laboratory, is the College of Pharmacy’s Preceptor of the Year for the Electives Program.

“Several criteria are used to select this award including the feed-back from the students and the involvement of the preceptor with the final report produced by the students – some preceptors such as Dr. Elizabeth McLachlan go the extra-mile to help students complete a good research project and write a good report on their work,” said Dr. Silvia Alessi-Severini, College of Pharmacy professor.  

McLachlan has worked in the viral exanthemata and STD lab since 2010. Her role is to manage the lab’s research projects and lead the herpesvirus diagnostics. One of her responsibilities is to supervise and design projects for co-op and elective students that come through the lab.

“I was pleasantly surprised to receive a Preceptor of the Year award, though I credit this recognition to the success of my students this year who were eager and very competent,” McLachlan said. “This was my third time acting as a pharmacy elective preceptor, and I look forward to hosting another pharmacy student this winter.”

Community Preceptor of the Year

Dan Kyrzyk, pharmacy manager with LifeSmart Pharmacy, is the Community Preceptor of the Year.

“Dan is one of the best preceptors I had throughout pharmacy school,” pharmacy student Jenine Esquivel wrote in her nomination letter. “He is very supportive and encouraging in all aspects of my learning. He lets me be more and more independent in my duties and helped me greatly to attain my learning objectives.”

After graduating from the UM College of Pharmacy in 2013, Kyrzyk spent five years working and living in various rural communities throughout the province. He now manages LifeSmart Pharmacy’s Seven Oaks location and the satellite pharmacy in Pinaymootang First Nation.

“It was an incredible honour finding out that I was selected as this year’s community pharmacist preceptor of the year,” Kyrzyk said. “I truly believe this recognition is a function of our pharmacy and medical teams at LifeSmart more than it is an individual award. Working with an innovative and progressive organization allows our team to provide students with a unique, fun and rewarding experience.”

Matthew Kruchak