Building Foundations

By Lydia Levis Bloch, as published in Capsule magazine, Summer 2025

For Sharon Wilson, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, precepting goes beyond educating, affecting, and inspiring all those in her circle. A clinical pharmacist specialist II in surgery critical care at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), Wilson became a preceptor for the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy’s (UMSOP) Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program in 1997, a year after joining UMMC.

Today, Wilson is director of the University of Maryland’s critical care pharmacy practice residency, a clinical pharmacy specialist at UMMC, as well as a UMSOP critical care rotation preceptor.

“Precepting gives the pharmacist a chance to be a role model and mentor to students in ways that will impact the course of the profession for years to come,” says Wilson, whose first name is pronounced Shah-ron. “More importantly, precepting is an opportunity to build on the foundation of future professionals who will be responsible for caring for patients and improving their lives.”

Wilson enjoys seeing students learn new skills and has a passion for care of critically ill patients. Precepting allows her to share that passion with her students.

According to Mojdeh Heavner, PharmD ’08, BCCCP, FCCM, FCCP, professor in the Department of Practice, Sciences, and Health Outcomes Research at UMSOP and assistant dean for experiential learning, “Preceptors have a tremendous influence on our PharmD students and their career trajectories.” Providing more than 30 percent of the curriculum, preceptors — pharmacists and other professionals who oversee the PharmD students on their rotations in a variety of settings — are vital to their training.

“A caring preceptor can positively impact students and open doors that they might not have known existed,” says Heavner, herself a former student of Wilson’s.

Jenny Ababio, PharmD ’24, a recent student of Wilson’s, agrees.

“I had two objectives, and the rotation allowed me to achieve them,” Ababio says. “First, I wanted to improve my communication skills, and second, better my teamwork skills, especially in the ICU setting.”

Ababio had envisioned a remote pharmacy career, but during her rotation with Wilson, she embraced the fast-paced environment of critical care and developed confidence in rapid decision making. Her interest in patient care and in high-pressure situations increased. She now works as a pharmacist at a CVS in Queens, N.Y.

“Dr. Wilson created a supportive environment that helped me not only professionally but also personally,” says Ababio.

In addition to precepting, Wilson provides services to a 24-bed surgical ICU at UMMC and is director of the University of Maryland Residency and Fellowship Program’s postgraduate year 2 critical care pharmacy practice residency.

Wilson’s research interests include optimization of medication use in the ICU and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic challenges in ICU patients. Wilson, who earned her PharmD degree from the University of Georgia School of Pharmacy in 1993, is a member of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the Society of Critical Care Medicine, where she is the first non-physician vice chair of the Surgery Section’s Patient Safety Committee.

Wilson’s dedication to learning emanates beyond precepting, through her church’s student empowerment ministry, where she works with other members to provide resources that support the educational goals of the church’s students.

Heavner reminisces about her own rotation with Wilson at UMMC. “Dr. Wilson has a wealth of knowledge, is a calming presence in the hectic ICU environment, and is highly respected by professional colleagues. She genuinely cares about her mentees.”

View the full issue of the Summer 2025 edition of Capsule magazine.