Monica Graybeal and Chris Greer, both of Spokane, were named Preceptors of the Year by the Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences last Friday. Preceptors are an important part of the WSU Doctor of Pharmacy program. They supervise, teach and mentor student pharmacists at the practice sites where they complete the final year of pharmacy school.
The Preceptor of the Year Award is given annually to a WSU pharmacy preceptor for outstanding contributions to the educational development of future pharmacists through demonstrating high standards of professionalism, ethics and clinical practice. Preceptors are nominated by the student pharmacists who participate in rotations at their practice sites.
Monica Graybeal has demonstrated excellence as a professional role model, clinical pharmacist and teacher. She was selected for this award for her commitment to “always go above and beyond” for her patients and the student pharmacists she precepts. She also contributes to advancing the profession of pharmacy through her clinical practice, which provides treatment to hepatitis C patients in Spokane.
“Monica is exactly what they teach us in school of what we should push ourselves to be. Monica strives to help everyone she comes into contact with,” wrote one of Graybeal’s nominators.
Graybeal received her pharmacy degree from WSU in 2008. She is a pharmacist at Unify Community Health, a community health center in Spokane and part of the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic health system. She received the 2017 Excellence in Innovation Award from the Washington State Pharmacy Association for developing a pharmacist-managed telehealth model of care to treat and cure patients with hepatitis C. Graybeal manages patients across five clinics in Spokane, Yakima and Walla Walla.
Chris Greer is building a legacy as an extraordinary preceptor for the WSU pharmacy program. He demonstrates the highest level of humility, genuine care for people, integrity, passion, and servant leadership. Greer has been a preceptor for WSU since 2003. He supervises fourth-year student pharmacists in acute care and institutional pharmacy rotations, second-year student pharmacists in introductory institutional pharmacy, and job shadowing experiences for first-year student pharmacists.
“Chris is great at teaching things to us in a way that’s easy to understand; he’s patient, kind, makes every day at the rotation fun, and teaches us more than just the basics that we need to know,” wrote one of Greer’s nominators.
Chris Greer received his pharmacy degree from WSU in 1991. He completed a pharmacy residency specializing in adverse drug reactions and then spent three years as a staff pharmacist in Olympia, Washington, before returning to Spokane. He has been with St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute since 1995, working his way up to pharmacy manager in 2009. Greer was also named Preceptor of the Year in 2006, and in 2015 he was one of eight pharmacy preceptors nationally to receive the Master Preceptor Recognition from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.
The awards were announced at the college’s annual Crimson Gala event in Spokane on Friday, September 28.