Pitt Pharmacy professor Jim Coons, PharmD (’01), FCCP, FACC, BCCP, was recently recognized as the 2021 recipient of the ASHP Foundation Pharmacy Residency Excellence Preceptor Award. The honor recognizes the sustained contributions of a residency preceptor who, throughout their career, has used creative methods to train, mentor, and motivate pharmacy residents.
Coons is a cardiology pharmacotherapy specialist at UPMC and a professor in the Department of Pharmacy and Therapeutics at Pitt Pharmacy. Coons models servant leadership that begins with treating trainees as colleagues. Through partial support from an ASHP Foundation practice advancement grant, Coons initiated a pharmacist-delivered pharmacogenomic care (PGx) project. As their clinical PGx service expanded, residents were embedded into their practice model, enriching their learning experience and advancing patient-centered care. Coons also serves as the PGY2 cardiology pharmacy residency program director at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh. Coons is a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and the American College of Cardiology and a Board-Certified Cardiology Pharmacist. He is a past chair of the ACCP Cardiology Practice and Research Network.
