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Pharmacy Residency Program at Lowell

Lowell General Hospital’s PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency trains the next generation of pharmacy practice leaders.
Pharmacy Resident, Dylan Freeman, meeting with Kevin Wu, Clinical Staff Pharmacist, and Erin Greel, Clinical Staff Pharmacist, at a computer station at Lowell General Hospital on D4.

About this program

Lowell General Hospital’s PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency trains the next generation of pharmacy practice leaders. Under the direct supervision of expert preceptors, our residents care for patients in a variety of practice settings, while providing a challenging and diverse experience throughout the year. At the end of the program, our residents will be able to enjoy a fulfilling career built upon a strong foundation, whether their goal is to enter the workforce or pursue further specialized training.

Overview

The PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at Lowell General Hospital is a full-year, immersive experience that challenges our residents to be their best version. With a well-balanced selection of clinical rotations combined with a diverse patient population, we are confident our program prepares our residents for whatever career path they choose.

Residents participate in longitudinal experiences and multidisciplinary committee work throughout the year, providing project management experience at the department and institution levels. Through our partnership with Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) University, our residents gain classroom and bedside teaching experience. Our program prepares them for a career of educating not only pharmacy students, but patients and other healthcare professionals. 
 

Benefits

  • Competitive stipend
  • Health, dental and vision insurance
  • Discount medications through our employee pharmacy
  • Access to 403b retirement account
  • Travel expenses for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition and the Eastern States Residency Conference
  • Discounts to local attractions

Required rotations

Orientation

Preceptor: Aziza Gilligan, PharmD

The Orientation Rotation is a 5-6 week learning experience that will be used to develop the core skills needed to operate as a member of the inpatient pharmacy team. This rotation will occur across both campuses and primarily focus on the central pharmacy setting. The goals of this rotation are to expose the resident to the operational functions of a staff clinical pharmacist and the fundamentals of order verification. Topics covered will be sterile product preparation, antibiotic dosing, department policies and procedures and utilization of department clinical resources.

Cardiology

Preceptor: Erin Greel, PharmD, BCCP

The Cardiology rotation is four-week elective rotation that will challenge the resident to develop the skills and knowledge base needed to work in a setting with a diverse set of patients with cardiologic conditions. The primary location of the rotation will take place on a 30-bed monitored unit. Goals of the rotation are to increase the resident’s knowledge caring for patients with wide range of cardiovascular conditions and to increase the resident’s ability to concisely and appropriately deliver medication information to patients being started on new medications. Topics covered include NSTEMI/STEMI, Heart Failure, Atrial Fibrillation, and Anticoagulation.

Internal medicine

Preceptor: Christina Richards, PharmD, BCPS

The Internal Medicine rotation is a four-week learning experience and will be used to develop a foundation of internal medicine knowledge and skills. The primary location of the rotation will be on a 40 bed telemetry unit, the Progressive Care Unit. The goal of this rotation is to develop clinical decision making and gain confidence working with the health care team. Residents will participate in patient care rounds daily, provide nursing and pharmacist education, perform medication reconciliations and discharge medication teaching. Topics covered include but are not limited to, Pneumonia, Diabetes, Heart Failure, COPD, Antimicrobial Stewardship, and Medication/Substance Withdrawal.

Critical care I

Preceptor: Kristina Tepedino, PharmD, BCPS

The Critical Care I rotation is a four-week learning experience and will be used to develop the foundation of critical care knowledge and skills. The primary location of this rotation is a 10-bed Medical ICU located. The goal of this rotation is to develop fundamental decision-making skills necessary to function as an independent clinician in the ICU setting with a focus on designing, monitoring and evaluating patient-specific pharmacotherapeutic plans. Activities will include rounding daily with ICU team, providing in-services to team members, reviewing relevant journal articles and presenting patient cases. Topics covered include diabetic ketoacidosis, sepsis, sedation/pain management, and alcohol withdrawal.

Critical care II

Preceptor: Debra Black-Pisick, RPh, MS

The Critical Care II rotation is a required four-week learning experience and that expands on the critical care knowledge developed during the Critical Care I rotation. The primary location of this rotation is a 10 bed Medical ICU. The goal of this rotation is to develop independence and confidence in decision making related to the care of critically ill patients. Topics covered include ARDS, Neuromuscular Blockade, Status Epilepticus and ICU Delirium.

Management

Preceptor: Eric Musial, PharmD, MBA

The Pharmacy Management rotation is a four-week learning experience and will be used to develop foundational skills in pharmacy leadership and department operations. The objective is to understand and apply key aspects of pharmacy management including but not limited to handling human resource issues, interpretation of financial data, basic accounting principles, budgeting, supply chain management and informatics. Topics covered include Cost Accounting, Inventory Management, Meaningful Use and Performance Improvement Methodologies (TQM, Six Sigma).

Hematology/oncology

Preceptor: Kayla White, PharmD

The Hematology/Oncology rotation is a four-week rotation primarily located in a very active 19-chair outpatient clinic. The goals of this rotation are to develop the resident’s knowledge base and skill set in providing care for oncology patients and provide opportunities for the resident to educate providers and nurses on novel therapies and changes to policies and procedures. Topics covered include Solid Tumors (Pancreatic Cancer, Lung Cancer, Breast Cancer, etc.), Chemotherapy-induced Nausea/Vomiting, Febrile Neutropenia, and various solid organ tumor treatments.

Ambulatory care

Preceptor: Lindsay Johnson, PharmD and Ronak Parekh, PharmD

The Ambulatory Care rotation is a 4 week learning experience that will focus on providing medication management in the outpatient setting. This rotation will take place in the Lowell General ConnectCare Hub, managing chronic disease states such as Diabetes, Hepatitis and COPD through a collaborative practice agreement. Goals of the rotation are to increase resident comfort in counseling patients and to provide the resident with experience in overcoming challenges in patient access and compliance. Topics include proper medication administration, chronic disease state management, and managing patient access.

Elective rotations

Infectious diseases

Preceptor: Francis P. Magro, MD

The Infectious Diseases rotation is a four-week elective rotation that will take place throughout the Medical Center. The goals of this rotation is to expose the resident to a diverse patient population who experience both acute and chronic infectious diseases and to develop skills and knowledge to manage these patients. Topics covered include Nosocomial Infectious, Meningitis, HIV/AIDS, and Fungal Infections.

Advanced hematology/oncology

Preceptor: Kayla White, PharmD

The Advanced Hematology/Oncology elective rotation is a four-week elective rotation that will build upon the previous Hematology/Oncology rotation to develop further the resident’s skills and knowledge of caring for patients with various hematological and oncological conditions. The rotation will occur in the outpatient infusion center, the Hematology/Oncology outpatient clinic and rounding on the inpatient Hematology/Oncology service. The goal of the rotation is to focus on patient education and the nuances of medication selection for both outpatient and inpatient treatments. Topics covered idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, sickle cell crisis, and Tumor Lysis Syndrome.

Informatics

Preceptor: Heather Barry, PharmD

The Informatics rotation is a four-week elective rotation that will take place throughout the Medical Center. The goal of this rotation is to expose the resident to use and maintenance of the various electronic medical systems and to utilize reporting information to make changes to the medication use process including medication safety initiatives. Topics covered include Smart Pump infusion library maintenance and compliance, order set development, and Leap Frog compliance.

Emergency medicine

Preceptor: Emily Russell, PharmD

The Emergency Medicine rotation is a four-week elective rotation that takes place in a busy Level III Trauma Center and Emergency Department on the main campus of Lowell General Hospital. The goals of the rotation are to provide the resident with exposure responding to medical emergencies (trauma, stroke, cardiac arrest, etc.) and increase the residents understanding of the transitions of care process of patients either admitted or discharged from the ED. Topics to be covered are fibrinolytic use in stroke, pharmacists role in medical emergencies, STEMI/NSTEMI, and Sepsis.

Pediatrics

Preceptor: Joanne Kalogerakos

The Pediatrics rotation is a four-week elective rotation that will provide the resident with exposure to pediatric care in a community hospital setting. The rotation will take place on a general medicine pediatric floor, a special care nursery, and a pediatric emergency department. The goal of this rotation is to provide the resident with a basic understanding of common conditions and pharmacologic considerations that make caring for this patient population unique. Topics covered include pharmacokinetic differences between neonates, infants, children and adults, asthma exacerbations and influenza.

Other

Other elective learning experiences may be developed based on resident interest and preceptor availability. 

Longitudinal experiences

Longitudinal residency project

Preceptor: Christina Richards, PharmD, BCPS (other preceptors as needed)

The longitudinal residency project is a yearlong experience that will challenge the resident to plan, implement and track a quality improvement/assurance process within the department. The residency project experience could take place on both campus as well as involve multiple preceptors both in and out of the pharmacy department depending on scope of the project. There are a few goals of the residency project. The first would be to develop the resident’s project and time management skills. The second goal is to develop writing and presentation skills. The resident will accomplish this by creating and presenting posters and PowerPoint presentations which will be presented in various settings (clinical meetings, department/hospital presentations, etc.). The resident will also write a manuscript detailing the methods and results of their project. The manuscript will be written in the style of a medical or pharmaceutical journal submission.

Medication and safety committee

Preceptor: Heather Barry, PharmD, MS

The Medication Safety Committee rotation is a 6-month long rotation that will take place at the Main Campus. This rotation is based on a committee that includes nursing leadership, pharmacy leadership, nursing informatics specialists and physicians. The resident will work closely with the pharmacy and nursing teams as well as other members of the Medication Safety Committee throughout the rotation to discuss potential medication safety initiatives and how they will affect various departments. The resident will attend the monthly committee meetings and participate in monthly data collection and reporting.

Pharmacy and therapeutics committee

Preceptor: Debra Black-Pisick, RPh, MS

The Pharmacy and Therapeutics Rotation is a 6 month longitudinal rotation that will take place on the Main Campus. The Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee plays an essential role in both the clinical and financial success of Lowell General Hospital. The hallmark of his committee is a multidisciplinary meeting that takes place monthly on the Main Campus. The goal of this rotation is to provide the resident with an understanding of policies and procedures as it relates to formulary management and the role of Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee. The resident achieve this goal by presenting to the committee regularly as well preparing medication monographs and medication utilization evaluations.

Clinical staffing

Preceptor: Paige Dessureau, PharmD

The Clinical Staffing rotation is a 12 month rotation that will take place across both campuses. During the Clinical Staffing rotation residents will be challenged to work as a staff clinical pharmacist in central pharmacy during weekend and evening hours. There are two primary goals of the staffing rotation. The first is to improve the resident’s time management skills and the second is to develop operational and clinical problem solving skills. Throughout the year residents will work as clinical staff pharmacists for 5 consecutive days every 5th week, will work both Saturday and Sunday every 5th weekend, as well as work 3 holidays.

Academia

Preceptor: Trisha LaPointe, PharmD, BCPS, FASHP

The Academia rotation is a 12 month longitudinal rotation that will take place both at Lowell General Hospital (both campuses) as well as MCPHS University. Throughout the year the residents will gain the knowledge and skills to succeed in educational activities throughout their career. Successful completion of this rotation will earn the resident a Residency Teaching Certificate Program from MCPHS University. There are goal of this rotation is to give the resident the skills and confidence to teach across the many spectrums of educational activities the resident may face throughout their career. The resident will achieve this through both in class instruction on education theory as well as facilitated experience teaching other healthcare professionals and students in variety of settings (small group, formal lectures, bed side teaching, etc.).

Residents

Class of 2023/2024

Caitlin Geaney
PharmD

Dr. Geaney graduated with her Doctor of Pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences - Boston Campus. As a student, Caitlin served as treasurer of Phi Lambda Sigma - Sigma Chapter, and president of Pharmacy Council. She attended ASHP Midyear in 2022, and presented a poster titled “Enoxaparin Anti-Xa Monitoring in Obese Patients with Acute Venous Thromboembolism." In addition, Dr. Geaney was a pharmacy intern at Boston Children's Hospital, working in sterile compounding. Her current professional interests include emergency medicine and pediatrics.

Sarah Meade
PharmD

Dr. Meade graduated with her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Connecticut as an Urban Health Scholar in 2023. As a student, Sarah was an active E-board member of Alpha Zeta Omega, in which she held positions as vice president, philanthropy chair, and professional chair. She was involved in UConn's Urban Service Track, gaining valuable interprofessional exposure and learning to care for urban, underserved populations in primary care settings. Sarah also worked as a pharmacy intern at UConn's Student Health and Wellness Pharmacy and Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford, CT. Her current areas of interest are pediatrics, ambulatory care, and academia.
 

Class of 2022/2023
Fabiana Orosz

Fabiana Orosz 
PharmD

Dr. Orosz received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science (MCPHS) University-Worcester in their accelerated program. Fabiana graduated Magna Cum Laude and was a member of Rho Chi National Pharmacy Honor Society and Phi Lambda Sigma Leadership Society. During her time there, she served as Chapter President of the American Pharmacist Association and as an enrichment tutor for Pharmaceutical Biochemistry. Before attending MCPHS, she completed a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. Her current clinical area of interest is in infectious disease, and she hopes to pursue a PGY-2 pharmacy residency in Infectious Diseases to further specialize her training.

Dylan Freeman

Dylan Freeman 
PharmD

Dr. Freeman received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from MCPHS University-Boston in 2022, where he graduated Cum Laude. While at MCPHS, he had the opportunity to conduct undergraduate research which was published in Toxicology in Vitro for his co-authored paper "Diethylene glycol and its metabolites induce cell death in SH-SY5Y neuronal cells in vitro." In addition to his research, he also worked as a pharmacy intern at Tufts Medical Center. He served as the historian of the Rho Chi Honors Society and was the vice president of the Medical Science Liaison Society. His current interests are in critical care and cardiology.

Class of 2021/2022
Molly Cuvellier

Molly Cuvellier 
PharmD

Dr. Cuvellier received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Husson University in 2021, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. While at Husson, she served as president of her local chapter of the Student Society of Health System Pharmacists. She also served as vice president for the school’s chapter of the Phi Lambda Sigma leadership society. She worked as a tutor and peer mentor throughout her 4 years of pharmacy school, in addition to working as an intern at Hannaford Pharmacy. She completed her longitudinal residency project titled Implementation of a Standardized, Pharmacist-Driven, Transitions of Care Training Program to Improve Pharmacist Confidence in Counseling Patients at High Risk for Readmission. Post graduation, Dr. Cuvellier accepted a position at Boston Medical Center as a Clinical Pharmacist in Internal Medicine.

 

Kayla White

Kayla White 
PharmD

Dr. White (formerly Moisan) is originally from Southern New Hampshire and graduated with her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Rhode Island in May 2021. During her time at URI, she was a member of Lambda Kappa Sigma, served as the vice president of the Rho Chi honor society, and worked as a chemistry and pharmacology tutor. Her current clinical areas of interest include oncology and critical care. She completed her longitudinal residency project titled Implementation of a Standardized Post-Cesarean Delivery Order Set Utilizing Multimodal Analgesia to Reduce Inpatient

 

Class of 2020/2021
Jennifer Martins

Jennifer Martins 
PharmD

Dr. Martins attended the University of Rhode Island with 3.82 GPA and graduated with a PharmD graduate and Bachelors of Biological Sciences. While at URI, she participated in many professional organizations, such as the American Pharmacists Association, Phi Lambda Sigma Leadership Society, and was also a volunteer tutor and treasurer of the Rho Chi honors society. She also worked as an intern at Miriam Hospital for four years and at CVS/Pharmacy for six years.

Dr. Martins then became licensed in Massachusetts and Florida, which has allowed her to start practicing as a licensed pharmacist during a one-year fellowship at the Providence VA, where she was responsible for precepting pharmacy students, staffing, hosting conferences for medical students and residents, teaching ACLS, and preparing CE-accredited formal presentations and in-service presentations. Dr. Martins enjoys traveling and studied Global Health while traveling in Guatemala.  

Jennifer completed her longitudinal residency project titled: Initiation and Evaluation of an Outpatient Pharmacist-Driven Oral Chemotherapy Counseling Program in a Community Hospital. After residency, she accepted positions at both Mount Auburn Hospital and McLean Hospital. 
 

Jessica Boylan

Jessica Boylan 
PharmD

Dr. Boylan (formerly Katiaj) received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS), Manchester Campus. During her time at MCPHS, she served as the vice president of the Student Government Association and secretary to the ACCP and ASHP student societies on campus. She was a member of the Rho Chi Honor Society and Phi Lambda Sigma. She has also worked as a pharmacy intern at the Elliot Hospital and Hannaford Pharmacy.

Jessica completed her longitudinal residency project titled: The Initiation of a Pharmacist-Driven Stress Ulcer Prophylaxis Discontinuation Protocol in a Community Hospital. Post graduation, Dr. Boylan accepted a position at Lowell General Hospital as a Clinical Staff Pharmacist working in General Medicine.

Class of 2019/2020
Emily Vallario

Emily Vallario 
PharmD, BCACP

Dr. Vallario (formerly Stekl) graduated with her Bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College, she earned her Master of Arts in Teaching English from Columbia University, and she graduated with her PharmD and Masters Certificate in Medication Safety from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science (MCPHS) University Manchester/Manchester with First Honors and a 4.0 grade point average. While at MCPHS, she served as the president of the Student Society of Health-System Pharmacists and Rho Chi academic honors society, the secretary of Phi Kappa Phi academic honors society, the student liaison to the New Hampshire Society for Health-System Pharmacy, member of Phi Lambda Sigma, and enrichment tutor.

She also worked as a pharmacy intern at Steward Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, MA. Dr. Vallario was the 2019 recipient of the MCPHS University Worcester/Manchester Pharmacy Communication Award, the Student Leadership Award, and the Alumni Association’s Award for Academic Achievement, and she won the New Hampshire Society of Health-System Pharmacists Richard Madden Scholarship and Student Excellence Award.

Emily completed her residency project titled: Integration of Pharmacist-driven Antibiotic Time-outs into a Pharmacist-dosed Vancomycin Protocol in a Community Hospital. Dr. Vallario is currently working as a Clinical Pharmacist at Lowell Community Health Center.

Kristina Tepedino

Kristina Tepedino 
PharmD, BCPS

Dr. Tepedino received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS) in Albany, New York. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a cumulative GPA of 3.8, Experiential Honors, and was a member of the Rho Chi Academic Honor Society.

 

During her time at ACPHS, Dr. Tepedino worked as a pharmacy intern for CVS Pharmacy and was a coach for the Shenendehowa High School Color Guard team. Additionally, she presented a poster at the 2018 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear conference titled: Assessing the Implementation of a Data-mining Clinical Alert and Documentation System as a Tool for Antimicrobial Stewardship Outcomes in a Community Hospital.

Kristina completed her residency project titled: Implementation of a Protocol to Assess and Address COPD Medication Compliance Utilizing Medication Reconciliation in the Emergency Department of a Community Hospital. Dr. Tepedino is currently working at Lowell General Hospital as a Clinical Staff Pharmacist in Critical Care.

Class of 2018/2019
Emily Foster

Emily Foster 
PharmD, BCPS

Dr. Foster is a 2018 graduate from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences- Boston Campus where she obtained a cumulative GPA of 3.85 and was a member of the Rho Chi and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies. Prior to graduating, Dr. Foster worked as a pharmacy intern at Steward Holy Family Hospital in Methuen. During her time at MCPHS she presented posters at the ASHP national conference entitled Pharmacogenomics the Intersection between Innovation and Education and The Use of Ivabradine for Sinus Rate Control.

 

Emily completed her residency project titled: Initiation of an Admission Medication Reconciliation Service Focused on High Risk Congestive Heart Failure and Atrial Fibrillation Patients in a Community Hospital.  Emily accepted a position as a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist – Hematology/Oncology at Lowell General Hospital. 
 

Christina Richards

Christina Richards 
PharmD, BCPS

Dr. Richards (formerly Johnson) obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of South Florida- Tampa, where she worked as a certified pharmacy technician for Publix Supermarkets. She completed her Doctorate studies in Pharmacy Practice from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences- Worcester Campus, where she obtained a cumulative GPA of 3.6 and was a member of the Rho Chi honor society and Phi Lambda Sigma leadership society. Dr. Richards was the 2018 recipient of the Massachusetts Society of Health-System Pharmacists Student Excellence Award and the Massachusetts Pharmacist Association Student Excellence Award.

 

Christina completed her residency project titled: Phenobarbital Compared to Benzodiazepines in the Treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome in a Community Hospital. Christina accepted a position as a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist – Internal Medicine at Lowell General Hospital.

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