Clinical Preceptor Workshop – Supporting Pharmacists in Clinical Teaching and Practice

Preceptors are clinical teachers who use their practice sites to achieve specific goals and objectives in students’ experiential learning. Preceptor training and development are essential to ensure that preceptors are successful in their roles and students enjoy enriching experiential learning experiences.

The NUS Department of Pharmacy successfully organized the Clinical Preceptor Workshop on 20-21 November, 2018. The workshop was delivered by members of our Pharmacy Practice domain including Dr. Han Zhe, A/Prof Alexandre Chan, A/Prof Joyce Lee, A/Prof Priscilla How, Dr. Wong Li Lian and Prof Paul Gallagher, and a guest speaker, Dr. Dujeepa Samarasekera, Director of the Center of Medical Education at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

This was the first time that the workshop was organized by the Department and it attracted local and overseas participants from various practice settings including hospitals, specialty centers, academia and the pharmaceutical industry. The participants are pharmacists who precept undergraduate and post-graduate pharmacy students and pharmacy residents.

In the two-day program, participants enjoyed networking opportunities and learned through a variety of interactive sessions that cover timely topics relevant to precepting, such as models for effective clinical teaching, delivering feedback and time management strategies. They received advice on advancing their own careers through continuous professional development. Two panel discussions were also conducted which allowed participants to learn from the experiences of other preceptors and hear the perspectives of preceptees. More information about the workshop may be found at: https://pharmacy.nus.edu.sg/clinical-preceptor-workshop/.

Article written by Dr Han Zhe (NUS Pharmacy academic faculty)