Kevin Chamberlin ’03 (Pharm.D.) FASCP is the recipient of the 2019 Louis P. Jeffrey Award from the Eastern States Conference for Pharmacy Residents and Preceptors. The award is presented annually to an Eastern States Conference Preceptor for distinguished service to the profession and commitment to residency training. This year’s award was presented on April 29 in Hershey, Pennsylvania at the organization’s annual meeting.
Chamberlin is Pharmacy Residency Program Director at John Dempsey Hospital at UConn Health, as well as Assistant Department Head and Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice in the UConn School of Pharmacy. He was named Institutional Preceptor of the Year by the School of Pharmacy in 2017 and was a recipient of the Dean Robert L. McCarthy Faculty Service Award in 2018.
In learning of his selection for the Jeffrey Award, Chamberlin thanked the Eastern States Conference Advisory Committee, members of the selection committee, and those of his colleagues and residents who nominated him for this recognition. In his acceptance he wrote, “I am truly honored and humbled to even be considered amongst the list of previous recipients that are pillars within our profession.”
In describing how he approaches precepting and mentoring, Chamberlin said, “The three tenets are: set expectations high, and expect more of yourself and your trainees. Stay passionate – if you are not, they won’t be either. And, you may have to say the words, ‘I don’t know.’ It’s OK – own the moment and learn from it together.”
In remarks prepared for the award’s ceremony, he also said, “Recently I was challenged and asked what I am grateful for in life. I am grateful for my past and my present. I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given, the choices I have made, and the ones I have not. I am grateful to live in the present; because nobody knows what the future will hold, but we should all be grateful for what has been and what might be.”
Finally, he concluded, “Don’t ever stop chasing the ‘why’ each day.”
The Louis P. Jeffrey Award was created in 2004 to honor the career achievements of Jeffrey, who founded the Eastern States Conference for Pharmacy Residents and Preceptors in 1981.
Following a lengthy career in hospital pharmacy, Jeffrey retired as president of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in 1996. Upon his retirement, he was cited for his ‘commanding leadership, innovative practice development, his generosity, and his commitment to pharmacy residents and preceptors.’ He died in 2002, leaving a legacy that remains the standard for hospital pharmacy practice to this day.
The Louis P. Jeffrey Award recipient is chosen from a group of nominees submitted to the Conference Advisory Group. The selection process includes past award winners who also participate in the selection process.
Ironically, colleagues from UConn Health were present to receive the Jeffrey Award on behalf of Chamberlin who was prevented from attending the meeting due to previously scheduled teaching and precepting duties in Connecticut.
