Outstanding UH Hilo Pharmacy preceptors and faculty honored in year-end event

The end-of-year award ceremony for the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy was held online recently to honor the Preceptors of the Year and teaching award winners.

The Preceptor of the Year award is given to a professional pharmacist who does an exceptional job of mentoring pharmacy students. This year’s recipient is Bonnie Bennett, Pharm.D., BCPS, CDE, at Tripler Army Medical Center on O`ahu, where she has been precepting DKICP students since 2017. She previously worked at Hilo Medical Center and Makalapa Navy Clinic before moving to Tripler in 2016.

“Along with 13 years of experience as a practicing pharmacist, Dr. Bennett is also a certified diabetes care and education specialist,” said Dean Carolyn Ma. “One of her passions is motivating patients to improve their health by learning self-care skills to effectively manage their chronic diseases.

“She is very good at what she does and very caring with her patients. She encourages students to think outside-the-box and to work hard to learn as much as possible during their rotation,” she added.

The 2020 Faculty Preceptor of the Year is Allen Shih, Pharm.D., BCPS and assistant specialist in the department of Pharmacy Practice at DKICP. After receiving his doctor of pharmacy from the University of Utah, Shih did his residency at Multicare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, WA. When he joined DKICP in 2014 he brought with him more than seven years of practice experience in emergency medicine and critical care.

“Dr. Shih is very patient and does an amazing job of guiding students through their thought processes,” Ma said. “He creates a great learning environment for students and keeps them engaged by using real-life applications and his humor. His rotations are among the students’ favorites.”

Each class also elects its favorite teachers of the year. This year’s Student Choice Awards for Teaching went to:

Class of 2023: Dr. Abhijit Date, Pharmacy Science, and Dr. Supakit Wongwiwatthananukit, Pharmacy Practice

Class of 2022: Dr. Dianqing Sun, Pharmacy Science, and Dr. Jarred Prudencio, Pharmacy Practice

Class of 2021: Dr. Daniela Guendisch, Pharmacy Science, and Dr. Chad Kawakami, Pharmacy Practice