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Contact: Sarah Bello

Nate Nerenberg, inpatient pharmacist at CMH, is Pacific University College of Pharmacy’s Hospital Preceptor of the Year for 2024.

“This is a big honor,” says Chris Laman, CMH’s Vice President of Strategy. “Nate has done so much to develop the pharmacy education program here at CMH. It is really a passion of his, and he is a great teacher.”

In addition to his normal job duties, Nate has acted as a preceptor for pharmacy students at CMH for 11 years. Preceptors act as instructors for students in clinical settings. Nate works with Pacific University to create Pacific University-approved curriculum for the students as part of the school’s pharmacy program.

“We have a good program here," Nate says. "This honor is like a confirmation that what we’re doing here is working for the students. In order to get this, you have to be nominated by students and then the faculty looks at all the nominations.”

Nate credits everyone at CMH who supports the pharmacy students with the award.

“This award is for our program, not just me,” Nate says. “Our staff, nurses, hospitalists and more work with the students. Our other preceptors also bring unique things to the table that I don’t. This is a win for our facility and everyone involved.”

Nate has helped guide and grow CMH’s pharmacy preceptor program. The program originally only accepted introductory level students but has since grown to include advanced level students, too. This has increased the number of students from an average of one to two students, to five or six students per year.

“We’ve had students from multiple places around the country come to work at CMH,” Nate says.

The students do six-week rotations throughout CMH, with time spent at the hospital’s Astoria, Seaside and Warrenton facilities. They get clinical experience, as well as time in the inpatient and outpatient pharmacies.

“Overall, it’s a benefit," Nate says. "It benefits our facility to have good students to work with and it helps them grow.”

Nate enjoys using his past experience as a pharmacy student and as a professional pharmacist to shape how he works with the students. He especially enjoys collaborating with them to better understand their needs and mentor them.

“To have a certain degree of experience to turn around and give back to help develop future pharmacists is a rewarding experience,” Nate says. “I can see the things that worked really well for me or the things I didn’t like as much. I can get direct feedback from the students and ensure I do things in a better way and give them a better framework.”

Looking forward, Nate hopes to continue developing CMH’s pharmacy preceptor program and to eventually start a residency program where students would stay at CMH for a longer period of time. “In our new facility, there’s going to be a lot of opportunity and potential for growth,” he says.