As teachers, experts, specialists, and mentors, UI College of Pharmacy preceptors provide learning experiences outside the standard classroom allowing student pharmacists a glimpse into the daily life of a health care provider. They assist students in the application of their knowledge and skills in direct patient care and other practice settings. Whether in the community pharmacy, the intensive care unit of a hospital, an emergency department, or corporate pharmacy management, preceptors are active teachers of the hands-on experiences student pharmacists desire.
Each year the College recognizes exceptional preceptors with the Preceptor of the Year award in three categories: Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE), Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE), and Faculty.
We are excited to announce the 2021-2022 award recipients (below). They will be formally recognized during the annual Dean's Appreciation Dinner in November.
APPE Preceptor Excellence Award
Michael Gassman, '14 PharmD
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Internal Medicine
Students on this rotation actively participate in the development, implementation, and monitoring of pharmacotherapeutic plans for the general medicine patient. They participate in daily medical rounds providing medication counseling to patients and drug information to medical teams.
Gassman is a clinical pharmacist in the clinic. He completed a PGY1 pharmacy residency at the Iowa City VA Health Care System and a PGY2 internal medicine residency at Clement J. Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Milwaukee.
Students commented on Gassman:
"Dr. Gassman took the time every single day to make sure we learned something new. We had frequent topic discussions that helped solidify new knowledge. He made me feel independent and important on my internal medicine team but always supported when I had questions or concerns. He also valued our time and never made us feel like we had nothing to do or like we were making his job harder. He truly values the student experience and I will never forget how impactful his precepting style was..."
"Dr. Gassman is an amazing preceptor because he genuinely cares about student success. He made this rotation very interactive and his attitude every day made it so enjoyable. I was able to learn a lot from him clinically, and also able to form a great relationship as well. He did a great job of teaching critical learning points, and throughout the rotation enabled me to be successful in patient care."
IPPE Preceptor Excellence Award
Kelsey King, '16 PharmD
Hy-Vee #1281 — Iowa City
This rotation offers students experience in a community chain pharmacy with a diverse patient population. In addition to regular prescription filling, students have the opportunity to fill unit-dose medications for the Johnson County Jail, provide immunizations (influenza, zoster, and pneumococcal), perform biometric screenings, provide MTM services through Outcomes and Mirixa, and practice some light compounding.
King is a staff pharmacist at Hy-Vee #1281 in Iowa City.
Students commented on King:
"Dr. King was caring and accommodating from the start. She was always looking for new ways to teach and would go out of her way to ensure that I would have time to learn and understand every aspect of the pharmacy. I'm so happy I got to work along side her and other great staff that made the experience worth while."
"While her patience, helpfulness, and teaching were all exemplary, she also demonstrated something else important in a preceptor: providing space for individual development. She made a point, multiple times throughout my rotation, of offering me the opportunity to work on or learn where I was most interested or believed would be most useful. That willingness to allow self direction allowed me more opportunities for self evaluation and a better ability to gauge my progress and confidence in different parts of the role."
Faculty Preceptor Excellence Award
Ryan Jacobsen, PharmD, MS, Clinical Associate Professor
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics IRL Ambulatory Care Heart and Vascular Clinic
Students on this rotation provide direct patient care by collaboratively working in the clinic with physicians and other health care professionals to offer comprehensive medication therapy and disease state management to patients. Students have the opportunity to interact with patients on a daily basis obtaining medication histories, evaluating drug therapy, identifying, resolving, and preventing drug-related problems, providing recommendations to optimize therapy, following up with all drug-related issues, and providing education on the appropriate use of medications.
Jacobsen completed a primary care specialty residency at UIHC and is currently a clinical pharmacy specialist in Ambulatory Care (at UIHC) and a clinical associate professor in the UI College of Pharmacy.
Students commented on Jacobsen:
"Dr. Jacobsen is a great preceptor who always is encouraging me to learn by asking me questions and sending out recent published articles to discuss with me. He shows genuine interest in teaching and serves as a wonderful role model as an ambulatory care clinical specialist. He is knowledgeable and led me to the right path for my final project. I was able to give a great presentation at the end (of my rotation) thanks to his guidance."
"Dr. Jacobsen goes above and beyond to make sure his students are learning necessary topics, while understanding each student comes to his rotation with a different level of foundational knowledge. He tailors topic discussions to students' strengths and weaknesses. He is very easy to talk to and get along with, however he maintains his professionalism. He is a pharmacist I hope to model my professional 'style' after."