We are grateful for the tremendous amount of support we continue to receive from preceptors and pharmacies throughout Oregon and beyond. Through their generous contribution, by way of precepting and mentoring IPPE and APPE students, we are able to deliver high quality rotations that are engaging, rigorous, and transformative.  

A preceptor is an experienced, competent, pharmacist, scientist, or health care provider who is selected and prepared to serve as a role model, teacher, supervisor and evaluator. Preceptors have the responsibility of ensuring that students have a valuable educational experience while guiding the student toward competence in providing compassionate, safe and effective pharmaceutical to patients in a health care setting. Preceptors are chosen on the basis of their commitment to innovative patient-oriented pharmacy practice, quality pharmacy education and the desire to be a mentor and teacher. Preceptors are encouraged to allow students independence and offer guidance and direction when needed. Teaching students should be a rewarding experience for the preceptor as well as the student.

Pharmacy Practice Preceptor

The College of Pharmacy may name a licensed pharmacist as a "Pharmacy Practice Preceptor" because they contribute to and participate in achieving the mission of the College and the University in collaboration with the Office of Experiential Education. The duration of this status is specified in a notice letter and will automatically terminate after three years unless renewed by the Director of Experiential Education and the Dean.

Examples include:

  • co-advising a graduate student with a regular faculty member
  • participating in joint programs with OSU faculty
  • providing guest lectures in classes or assisting in outreach activities
  • advising a student organization with a regular faculty member

Qualifications

  • Must have a valid Board of Pharmacy preceptor license (if a Pharmacist, MD, Nurse, PA)
  • Must possess a terminal professional degree (if not a pharmacist)
  • Must complete preceptor (live or web based) orientation training that introduces the experiential program in terms of academic requirements, policies and procedures.
  • Be able to take responsibility for the professional and legal supervision of the student during the experience.
  • Understands that the relationship with the student is one of teacher-student rather than employer-employee.
  • Understands the goals and objectives of the pharmacy experiential program and its individual experiential courses.
  • Demonstrate the principles of professional ethics

Communication Skills

  • Possesses and demonstrates broad knowledge
  • Explains the basis for actions and decisions
  • Answers learner questions clearly and precisely
  • Open to conflicting ideas and opinions
  • Connects information to broader concepts
  • Communicates clear goals and expectation
  • Captures learner’s attention
  • Makes learning fun

Teaching Skills

  • Provides effective role modeling
  • Demonstrates appropriate professional interactions with patients
  • Generates interest in the subject matter
  • Presents information with organization and clarity
  • Organizes and controls the learning experience
  • Balances clinical and teaching responsibilities
  • Gives appropriate responsibility to the learner

Motivational Skills

  • Emphasizes problem solving
  • Translates specific cases into general principles
  • Promotes active involvement of the learner
  • Demonstrates enjoyment and enthusiasm for patient care and teaching
  • Develops a supportive relationship with the learner

Assessment Skills

  • Accurate assessment of learner's knowledge attitudes and skills
  • Uses direct observation of the learner
  • Provides effective formative and summative feedback
  • Performs fair and thoughtful evaluations

Preceptor Training

We are dedicated to providing our valued preceptors with the tools they need in order to create the best learning environment for our student and to ensure their success as clinical teachers.  

We provide preceptor development…

  • During State Association meetings  
  • By traveling to the site to deliver CE programs
  • By traveling to the site to facilitate small group discussions/meetings
  • By traveling to the site to conduct 1:1 meetings

From the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners (JCPP)

Quality Assurance

The College is committed to helping sites maintain and develop their respective learning environments in terms of the appropriateness of their pedagogy as it pertains to the learning objectives of the course syllabus.There are 2 mechanisms that enable the Experiential Education Office to collect data that directly influences the development of strategies and goals in order to improve the quality and efficacy of the IPPE and APPE student learning experience.

       #1. Site Visits

The Director of Experiential Education and the Director of IPPE are responsible for assessing the needs of each site and determining the plan for addressing any opportunities to improve the quality of the learning experience.Visiting with preceptors at their practice site and/or by virtue of technology e.g. telephone and video conference are essential activities that enables the Experiential Office to obtain valuable quantitative and qualitative data about the efficacy of their site’s lesson plan and the preceptor’s ability to teach.As such, a yearly travel budget is developed by the Dean in order to support these activities.

Recruitment of a new site or preceptor is accompanied by on site evaluation and training of all personnel, following approval the Affiliation Agreement, to assure all parties understand and are prepared to meet the curricular expectations of the College.

After the recruiting process, as outlined in the Preceptor & Site Recruitment section, all active IPPE and APPE sites will be visited by the appropriate experiential faculty annually in order to conduct the following:

  • Address student related issues
  • Assess compliance of site and preceptor with requirements
  • Forge a collegial relationship
  • Conduct needs assessment of site and preceptor
  • Support preceptor development

Preceptors, the Director of Experiential Education, or Director of IPPE may request additional interim site visit(s) to address unanticipated changes in preceptor or site; or student specific concerns that require immediate attention.

Site visits are recorded and tracked in order to ensure that each active IPPE and APPE sties has been visited at least once within the academic year. These data are shared with the Assessment committee and Dean as part of the annual experiential report.  

     #2. End of Rotation Site/Preceptor Evaluation

At the conclusion of each IPPE and APPE experience, each student completes a site/preceptor evaluation form that measures the ability of the site and preceptor to meet the requirements listed in the previous section. The data provide the Experiential Education Office a continual process to examine each site. In addition the data in aggregate form are analyzed and distributed to the preceptors at the end of the year.