Capt. Joshua Devine, Pharm.D., has gained a reputation as a bit of a task-master among UNMC College of Pharmacy students.
It’s a role that doesn’t bother Dr. Devine, a preceptor for fourth-year students. In fact, he knows that by challenging students, he’s pushing them toward fulfilling their potential as pharmacists.
“During the rotation, if they think they’re working hard and they don’t particularly like it, hopefully the pay-off is that they are learning a lot,” said Dr. Devine, a pharmacist at Ehrling Bergquist Hospital at Offutt Air Force Base. “If a by-product of that is that they don’t like this rotation too much while they’re here, that’s fine. I think that down the line, they’ll see that their best rotations were the ones in which they were challenged the most and worked the hardest.”
This year’s College of Pharmacy graduates realized the value of the rotation with Dr. Devine, as they voted him the 2002 Preceptor of the Year. He was presented with the award at the pharmacy convocation on May 10.
“I had no idea that I would receive the award,” Dr. Devine said. “I got a call out of the blue one day, and I was just thrilled to death. It was very nice of the students who nominated me.”
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Geoff Wright, Pharm.D., who finished at the top of the Class of 2002 and was one of the nominating students, said Dr. Devine always was willing to devote plenty of time to his students.
“He was very good at incorporating teaching with real-life, very practical issues,” Dr. Wright said. “While he was a very demanding preceptor and required you to do a lot of work, he was never short on the praise that he gave you for completing that work.”
Sarah Gamby, Pharm.D., another graduate, agreed.
“He went above and beyond what most preceptors do, and he expected you to do the same,” Dr. Gamby said. “If you didn’t know the answer to a question, he would expect you to look it up and come back the next day with an answer. If he didn’t know the answer, he would look it up, as well.”
When they were on their month-long rotation with Dr. Devine, the students would do rounds on in-patients at Ehrling Bergquist Hospital. The students would then discuss optimal therapeutic care for the patients with staff physicians, Dr. Devine and other health-care professionals. At other times, students also would be asked to explain treatment options based on theoretical discussion-based questions.
“I’m a believer in verbal, one-on-one, face-to-face dialogue,” Dr. Devine said. “It’s one thing to write down an answer to a therapeutics problem on paper; it’s another to be able to discuss your thoughts with other health-care providers.”
In addition to the in-patient rounds and the discussion-based questions, the pharmacy students performed several other duties at Ehrling Bergquist. They followed Dr. Devine to several committee meetings; helped out in an education program for people recently diagnosed with diabetes; and worked in the outpatient pharmacy, which processes 1,500 to 1,800 prescriptions a day for active and retired military personnel and their dependents.
Dr. Devine said he tries to make the complete, long-term care of the patient the focus for the pharmacy students. He said that he was pleased that the students made the most of their experience at the base hospital.
“The students were very professional, they got along with the other health professions and staff very well,” Dr. Devine said. “The students are fun to work with. From what I’ve seen of the university and its students, I’ve been very impressed.”
A native of Cumming, Iowa, 15 miles south of Des Moines, Dr. Devine earned his Pharm.D., from Drake University in 2000, then joined the military. A rotation at the Minot (N.D.) Air Force Base “cinched the deal” in his decision to join the Armed Forces, he said.
He and his wife, Cortney Devine, Pharm.D., are expecting their first child. Dr. Cortney Devine works at a Walgreen’s in Council Bluffs. Dr. Josh Devine said that some day, he may look to teach full time at a university.
“Eventually, down the road, I may work in an academic setting,” Dr. Devine said. “I do enjoy it; the students keep you on your toes.”
Photo: Several College of Pharmacy graduates and Dean Clarence Ueda, Ph.D., Pharm.D., pose with Capt. Josh Devine, Pharm.D., after he was named Preceptor of the Year at the college. From left are Autumn Wurgler, Dr. Ueda, Sarah Gamby, Craig Jansen, Paul McGinnis, Geoff Wright and Dr. Devine. As president of the Class of 2002, McGinnis presented the award to Dr. Devine. All of the other graduates served a rotation under Dr. Devine at Offutt Air Force Base’s Ehrling Bergquist Hospital.