Inspiring Students to Reach Potential

Written by: Meredith Lidard Kleeman, published in the Capsule, Winter 2025

Tuan Huynh was an advanced practice pharmacy preceptor with a passion for people. Say that five times fast!

Appointed assistant director of the Experiential Learning Program (ELP) at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP) in May, Huynh, PharmD ’11, AAHIVP, HIVPCP, served as a preceptor for more than a decade. He took on his first set of students in 2013 when he was the pharmacy manager at Target.

Huynh’s interest in precepting developed during his own fourth-year advanced practice rotations as a UMSOP student. He credits those rotations and his preceptors with influencing his decision to pursue community pharmacy practice. “In my heart I’m a community pharmacist — community pharmacists have always had a huge impact on me and my family,” he says.

As a preceptor, Huynh was and remains deeply committed in his new ELP role to providing students with professional development opportunities as they explore career options that align with their passions. He dedicated time throughout the rotation experience to assist students with publishing articles, revising résumés and CVs, and participating in mock interviews.

Huynh worked with students to identify their personal and professional core values, as they can help influence major career decisions. “I tell students to look at the mission and vision of every organization or program they are interested in to see if they align with their core values and skill sets,” he says. “If they truly align, students will flourish and grow beyond the scope of the job.”

As for Huynh, his core values frequently evolve, but his desire to work directly with patients and students stays constant. “I’m a people person — I like to engage and inspire people to their top potential,” he says.

Those efforts extend to bestowing a Student Spotlight Award that recognizes exemplary students who made outstanding contributions to their organization, an award he initially created as a clinical pharmacy manager and preceptor coordinator for Weis Pharmacy. When he joined UMSOP’s Center for Innovative Pharmacy Solutions as an advanced practice pharmacist in 2022, Huynh initiated a similar Student Spotlight Award, this time recognizing students who provide top performance in population health programs.

In turn, UMSOP student pharmacists recognize Huynh’s deep commitment to education. The Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) Class of 2024 honored him with the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience Preceptor of the Year Award.

Mojdeh Heavner, PharmD ’08, BCCCP, FCCM, FCCP, an associate professor in the Department of Practice, Sciences, and Health Outcomes Research who was appointed assistant dean for ELP in April, has partnered with Huynh to lead ELP into the next era. “He brings an unparalleled caliber of energy and enthusiasm in his precepting and leadership styles,” Heavner says. “His commitment to fostering an environment of active learning sets up our students for success in the experiential environment and propels them on a path to future success in their pharmacy careers.”

Huynh’s core values led him to provide unique learning opportunities for his students in his different roles, which eventually led to the ELP assistant director position. “Very honestly, in my pharmacy journey, I never thought I’d be back at the School,” he says. “But this [leadership opportunity] really resonated with the work that I was doing and what’s very important to me.”

As assistant director of ELP, Huynh is a resource for the hundreds of preceptors who teach 30 percent of the PharmD curriculum at the School by hosting students on required introductory and advanced pharmacy practice rotations. He conducts rotation site visits and creates educational modules and learning activities for preceptors to use with students. He also helps preceptors develop and adapt their teaching styles as they navigate different generations of students.

“We have to understand what matters to [students], and that changes every year,” Huynh says. “It’s always valuable to understand generational trends. Learning about [students] allows you to build resiliency and change your teaching styles to meet them where they are.”