{"id":237748,"date":"2025-11-10T15:06:56","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T20:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=237748"},"modified":"2025-11-10T15:08:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T20:08:02","slug":"uconn-pharmacy-honors-five-pharmacists-at-the-23rd-annual-preceptor-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2025\/11\/uconn-pharmacy-honors-five-pharmacists-at-the-23rd-annual-preceptor-event\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn Pharmacy Honors Five Pharmacists at the 23rd Annual Preceptor Event"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2025 Preceptors of the Year were Samantha Russo, Christopher Batista, Barbara Fiano, Youssef Bessada, and Roy Walton. These individuals were recognized during a ceremony in October, named after associate professor of the School of Pharmacy Dennis J. Chapron. Chosen through student feedback focusing on their commitment, knowledge, and willingness to foster a positive learning experience, these recipients go above and beyond in their mentorship roles and in facilitating the growth of the profession and UConn\u2019s program. Held in October in honor of American Pharmacist Month, the Preceptor Appreciation event was made even more special with the School\u2019s centennial. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The
The recipients holding their awards<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Among the recipients, they received two awards for introductory Pharmacy Practice, two awards for Advanced Pharmacy Practice, and there was one new awardee. For the Introductory Pharmacy Practice Preceptors of the Year, Samantha Russo won the Community Practice Award, and Christopher Batista won the Health System Practice Award. For the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Preceptors of the Year, Barbara Fiano won the APPE Non-Faculty Award, and Youssef Bessada won the UConn Full-Time Faculty Award. Lastly, the new awardee was Roy Walton, who received the Office of Experiential Education Excellence Award.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs the profession has evolved,\u00a0our preceptors have also had to evolve to keep us moving forward.\u201d – Jennifer Luciano\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Samantha Russo\u00a0(Pharm.D.): Community\u00a0Preceptor\u00a0Award<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Graduating with a Pharm.D. in 2016\u00a0from the University of Saint Joseph School of Pharmacy, Samantha\u00a0spent part of her undergraduate experience as a research assistant in the Department of Allied Health Sciences at UConn.\u00a0In this role, Samantha compiled literary searches and computed effect sizes and other helpful statistical techniques.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, during her time at the University of Saint Joseph, Samantha started working as a pharmacy technician and intern at CVS Pharmacy in West Hartford. After getting her Pharm.D., Samantha became a staff pharmacist at CVS Pharmacy in Wethersfield, where she managed an ancillary staff in filling 3,000 plus prescriptions weekly and consulted with physicians and patients with regard to medication, dosage, and drug interactions. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Samantha
Samantha Russo holding her award<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In her current role, Samantha is a pharmacy manager at\u00a0Big<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Y\u00a0Pharmacy, where she carries out key tasks including verification, patient\u00a0consultation, inventory management, and vaccination administration.\u00a0Additionally, Samantha shows her dedication to community impact through leading outreach programs at local senior centers,\u00a0offering\u00a0free consultation and medication reconciliation,\u00a0and\u00a0facilitated\u00a0multiple on and off-site vaccination clinics to administer influenza and COVID vaccines to the community. In this role, Samantha was awarded\u00a0the company\u2019s\u00a0pharmacist of the year in 2023,\u00a0a testament to her strong work ethic and outstanding interpersonal skills.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At Big Y, Samantha has gone\u00a0above and beyond\u00a0in providing a welcome experience to students, creating a collaborative environment where\u00a0young pharmacists can ask questions and gain experience through hands-on learning.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSam\u2019s guidance, patience, and encouragement made a lasting impact and helped set the tone for a strong start to my journey as a student pharmacist.\u201d –\u00a0Sam\u2019s student<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Christopher Batista (Pharm.D.):\u00a0IPPE Health System Preceptor Award<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Receiving his Pharm.D.\u00a0from Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in New York and completing his Post-Graduate Year 1 (PGY1) Community-Based Pharmacy Residency at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Christopher now works as a Pharmacy Clinical Coordinator & PGY1 Residency Coordinator in the Saint\u00a0Francis Hospital Inpatient Pharmacy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Christopher
Christopher Batista holding his award<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a member of various committees, including the American Pharmacists Association (APA) and the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), Christopher embodies the characteristics of a leader. Through his leadership, he has also gained volunteering experience through a City-Wide Food Drive in Waterbury and at Hannaford Pharmacy in Vermont, providing the community with a flu clinic and health screenings. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Focusing on population health, medication use, ambulatory care, and medication quality and compliance during his PGY1 Residency, Christopher has given presentations on\u00a0interests including dental conditions, cardiovascular medications, gender dysphoria, diabetes care, and more.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Joining Saint\u00a0Francis Hospital and Medical Center in January of 2024, Christopher has quickly stepped in to improve in areas of need.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0been working closely with his\u00a0team\u00a0over the past two cycles to develop an IPPE\/APPE program to improve\u00a0availability,\u00a0particularly for health system rotations.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe encouraged me to be a better pharmacist and organized\u00a0his rotation very well.\u201d – Christopher\u2019s student<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Barbara\u00a0Fiano\u00a0(B.S. in Pharmacy):\u00a0APPE Non-Faculty Award<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Barbara Fiano graduated from UConn Pharmacy in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy. Graduating Magna Cum Laude and as a Board-Certified Geriatric Pharmacist, Barbara found her motivation to become a dedicated lifetime learner through her time as a Husky.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Barbara
Barbara Fiano holding her award<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Affiliated with the American Society of Consultant Practice (ASCP), Barbara\u00a0has\u00a0the\u00a0opportunity\u00a0to\u00a0serve diverse patient populations while providing care. With\u00a0her experience in chronic disease and long-term care, novel cannabis therapies, and work in high and low-volume pharmacy settings, Barbara\u00a0has made UConn Nation proud.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After different career paths in pharmacy and teaching,\u00a0Barbara is currently working as a Pharmacy Manager at CT Veterans Home in the Department of Veterans Affair Pharmacy. In this role, she supervises all responsibilities for the operation and management of\u00a0the\u00a0pharmacy and\u00a0facilitates\u00a0daily workflow. Additionally, Barbara works at Eastern Connecticut Health Network (ECHN) Manchester Memorial Hospital\u00a0as a per diem pharmacist, where she performs functions related to the control, monitoring, and dispensing of medication.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Barbara\u00a0has transitioned\u00a0from\u00a0Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPE)\u00a0preceptor to\u00a0advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPE)\u00a0preceptor over the past two years, winning the\u00a0IPPE\u00a0health system preceptor award in 2019.\u00a0Structuring her rotation to grow in challenging\u00a0ways, Barbara motivates her students to embrace the growth that happens between the end of the P2 year and the beginning of APPEs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBarbara was easily the best preceptor and teacher that I have had during my time at UConn. She takes the time to make sure I understand the material and helps foster my creativity by pushing me to\u00a0think outside the box.\u201d – Barbara\u2019s\u00a0student<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Youssef\u00a0Bessada (Pharm.D.): UConn Full-Time Faculty Award<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Graduating in 2020 with a Pharm.D.\u00a0from the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences,\u00a0Youssef Bessada is now a Board-Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS) after completing his PGY-2 as a Cardiology Pharmacy Resident at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice at UConn Pharmacy,\u00a0Youssef is a dedicated faculty member with duties in clinical service, didactic and experiential teaching, and scholarship.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Youssef
Youssef Bessada holding his award<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0not teaching,\u00a0Youssef\u00a0dedicates his time to research and service. As an active contributor\u00a0to\u00a0the Anticoagulation Forum Monthly Antithrombotic with Literature Rapid Recap and a peer reviewer of the BMJ Open Quality Journal,\u00a0Youssef\u00a0is an annual contributor to monthly recaps of high-impact antithrombotic-related literature updates and a peer reviewer for antithrombotic-focused implementation science manuscripts.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Youssef\u00a0also excels in leadership roles, including a UConn Coptic Orthodox\u00a0Youth Association (UCOYA) Faculty Advisor and a Scholarship & Awards Committee Member at UConn, and a Residency Advisory Committee (RAC) Member and Hospital Anticoagulation Stewardship Committee Member at Saint\u00a0Francis Hospital. In these leadership roles,\u00a0Youssef\u00a0advances the success of UConn.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mentoring almost twenty-four students each year, but treating every rotation with care, Youssef approaches each student with respect. Through his teaching style of gentle questioning and discussion, Youssef grows confidence within his students, who gave him a perfect evaluation score for this year.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe was genuinely excited to teach us every day,\u00a0which in turn made me excited to learn something new every day.\u201d –\u00a0Youssef\u2019s student.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Roy Walton (Pharm.D.): Office of Experiential Education Excellence Award<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Graduating from UConn with a Pharm.D. in 2022, Roy Walton excelled during his time as a Husky and won awards, including Member of the Month from the American Pharmacists Association-<\/span>\u00a0Academy of Students of Pharmacy<\/span>\u00a0(<\/span>APhA-ASP), and third place in the Industry Pharmacists Organization (IPhO) VIP Case Competition. Additionally, Roy was professionally involved at the School, in associations with APhA, the UConn School of Pharmacy Advisory Board, IPhO, Phi Lambda Sigma, and UConn Pre-OT Society.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In his current role as\u00a0Associate Director of U.S.\u00a0Regulatory Affairs\u00a0at Boehringer\u00a0Ingelheim\u00a0(BI),\u00a0Roy aids in\u00a0the\u00a0successful development, registration, and commercialization of products,\u00a0coordinates\u00a0submissions to\u00a0the\u00a0FDA,\u00a0and\u00a0supports\u00a0the development of product labeling.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Roy
Roy Walton holding his award<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Making it his mission to give back and expand student experiences, Roy has been mentoring 1-2 APPE students in industry rotations for several years. With outstanding evaluations, Roy is highly motivated to expand offerings to students.\u00a0From 2024-2025 to 2025-2026 APPE cycles, Roy collaborated with his team members at BI to triple BI\u2019s rotation offerings, allowing more students to gain hands-on experiential learning opportunities.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis increase in industry offerings is huge,\u00a0as we see\u00a0more and more\u00a0students wanting to explore the\u00a0industry\u00a0side of our profession. With his support, we will continue to build and foster excitement.\u00a0– Jennifer Luciano, Director Experiential Education<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This annual event honors not only the five awardees but all of UConn Pharmacy\u2019s preceptors, coordinators, and faculty for their continued dedication and service. Inspiring the next generation of pharmacy professionals,\u00a0these preceptors and faculty members continue to\u00a0utilize\u00a0their\u00a0expertise\u00a0to help Huskies find success.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past October, the UConn School of Pharmacy recognized five outstanding pharmacists at its 23rd annual Preceptor Event. Dedicated to student mentorship in pharmacy practice, Samantha Russo, Christopher Batista, Barbara Fiano, Youssef Bessada, and Roy Walton have excelled in guiding future pharmacists. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":221,"featured_media":237767,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1864],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2644],"class_list":["post-237748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pharm"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-08 11:07:39","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/221"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237748"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":237777,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237748\/revisions\/237777"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/237767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237748"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=237748"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=237748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}