PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency

Welcome

The PGY1 pharmacy practice residency at Ascension St. Vincent is designed for residents to explore their interests and gain clinical knowledge through various experiences. The program prides itself in fostering a welcoming, engaging, and educational environment that allows the resident to achieve their professional goals. We are excited to share our program with you as you are determining the next steps in your career. We hope that our program will match your desires and support you in reaching your professional goals.  Please use this website to learn more about our program and what we have to offer.  Please don't hesitate to contact the program director or current resident with questions.

Residency Program Director: Kena Lanham, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP, BCCP (kena.lanham@ascension.org)

Purpose Statement

PGY1 residency programs build upon Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) education and outcomes to develop pharmacist practitioners with knowledge, skills, and abilities as defined in the educational competency areas, goals, and objectives. Residents who successfully complete PGY1 residency programs will be skilled in diverse patient care, practice management, leadership, and education, and be prepared to provide patient care, seek board certification in pharmacotherapy (i.e., BCPS), and pursue advanced education and training opportunities including postgraduate year two (PGY2) residencies.

Program Description

Ascension St. Vincent Hospital is a community teaching hospital with over 700 beds and is the largest healthcare facility within Ascension Health, the largest Catholic health system in the world. The hospital system is comprised of St. Vincent Indianapolis, Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St. Vincent, and St. Vincent Women’s. St. Vincent Indianapolis serves as a tertiary referral center for a large network of Indiana St. Vincent Health hospitals. The hospital has an active Medical Education Department supporting medical residents and fellows in Cardiology, Family Practice, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Pediatrics, Podiatry and Transitional/ Preliminary Medicine. The pharmacy department provides postgraduate training programs for pharmacists and maintains affiliations with Butler, Manchester and Purdue universities. 

Ascension St. Vincent offers a unique resident experience at a large community teaching hospital. The site allows the resident to learn how to practice in a community hospital, but also how to effectively interact and practice in a teaching hospital with a variety of learners. The residency program focuses on patient-centered care while incorporating the hospital’s desire to treat the whole patient, body, mind and spirit. Residents will have the opportunity to participate on multidisciplinary teams and committees not only at a local level but also at a statewide and national level with Ascension St. Vincent  and Ascension Health, respectively. Besides compassionate care for patient and families, the residency focuses on teaching and quality improvement through participation in the teaching certificate program, layered learning, medical education activities, and quality improvement-based residency projects. Residents at Ascension St. Vincent will also participate in a weekly resident lecture series focusing on development in precepting, career development, leadership, wellness, and unique clinical topics. 

Application Instructions 

  • Applications will be received via PhORCAS application by January 2, 2024 
  • In lieu of a letter of intent, applicants should complete the following two questions as a supplemental application for the Ascension St. Vincent PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program and upload it to the PhORCAS system. Responses should be types in 12 point font, on one, single-spaced, typed page. 
    • Describe your transition from didactic lectures to APPE rotations. What have you learned from this experience and how will that influence your transition from pharmacy student to resident? 
    • What are your long term career goals and how will the PGY1 residency at Ascension St. Vincent help you to achieve these goals?
  • Please see the Application and Employment Information tab for specific directions for reference writers. 

Learning Experiences

The PGY-1 Resident will be given the opportunity to gain experience in the following areas:
  • Required
    • Ambulatory Care (longitudinal)
    • Critical Care
    • Infectious Diseases/ Antimicrobial Stewardship
    • Internal Medicine
    • Medication Safety 
    • Pediatrics/Neonatology
    • Orientation
    • Leadership

     

  • Elective
    • Administration
    • Cardiology
    • Critical Care
    • Emergency Medicine
    • Geriatrics
    • Pediatrics
    • Psychiatry
    • Solid Organ Transplant
    • Surgery
    • Women's Health
  • Longitudinal Experiences
    • Ambulatory Care
    • Residency Project
    • Recruitment
    • Service Commitment
    • Student Precepting
    • Teaching Certificate
Descriptions
  • Clinical Learning Experiences
    • Clinical rotations are scheduled throughout the year, highlighting areas that will help the residents meet the residency outcomes and allow the resident to experience and learn various patient populations, from pediatrics to geriatrics and ambulatory to critical care.
    • The resident will have the opportunity to select elective rotations tailored to their individual career goals with preference given to learning experiences desired in the first half of the residency year if interested in an area for a PGY2 residency.
  • Practice Management/Medication Safety
    • The resident will actively participate on the local and statewide Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committees throughout the year.
    • Residents will also have the opportunity to participate in continuous quality improvement projects throughout the year.
    • Other projects the resident will be required to complete include, but are not limited to, drug class review, and guideline or protocol development, journal club, case presentations, and Grand Rounds inservices.
    • The resident will participate in medication safety activities throughout the year in addition to their medication safety experience.
     
  • Service Commitment
    • The resident will staff every third weekend and two evening shifts per month, consisting of a mix of clinical and operational activities.
    • Residents will staff two holidays (1 major and 1 minor) each year.
    • At least two volunteer activities benefiting the local community will be required during the year. 
  • Residency Project
    • The resident will have the opportunity to complete and present a flipped residency project to a local, regional or national meeting. The project will be tailored around the interests of the resident as well as the organization.
  • Professional Education
    • Residents will be required to participate in the teaching certificate program offered through the Indiana schools of pharmacy (IPTEC)
    • The resident is required to present two hour long lectures to medical professionals.
    • Pharmacy residents will also be able to participate in case conference and other teaching opportunities through Butler and Manchester Universities, as well as Franklin College.
    • The resident will have multiple opportunities for precepting PharmD students from Butler, Manchester and Purdue Universities.
    • Residents will be required to provide inter-disciplinary professional education throughout the year. Opportunities include newsletters, medical resident education and nursing in-services.
  • Recruitment
    • Residents will have the opportunity to be involved with the recruitment of the next year’s pharmacy residency class through representing the residency program at various residency showcases and involvement with various parts of the interview process.
  • Code Training
    • Residents will be required to participate in a rotating weekly code coverage from 0700-1500 and display competency in a variety of aspects of code participation.
    • The residents also attend mock code simulations throughout the year.

Previous Residency Classes

  • Class of 2020

    Kaylee Evans, PharmD, BCPPS | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | Pediatric Primary Care Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at Indiana University Health 

    Rachel Rogers, PharmD, BCACP | Purdue University |Ambulatory Care Pharmacist with Community Health Network

    Kasia Spryka, PharmD, BCPPS | Drake University | Pediatric Clinical Pharmacist at Ann & Robert Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago

    Aakash Patel, PharmD, BCIDP | Manchester University | Infectious diseases clinical specialist at Anderson Hospital

  • Class of 2021

    Nichole Haeg, PharmD | Concordia University (Wisconsin) | OB/MFM Clinical Pharmacist at Riley Children’s Hospital/ Indiana University Health

    Kirsten McGrew, PharmD | Butler University | Internal Medicine Clinical Specialist at University of Cincinnati Medical Center

    Lauren Shinn, PharmD, BCOP | Purdue University | Clinical Hematology/Oncology Pharmacist at University of Kansas Health System

  • Class of 2022

    Taylor Bock, PharmD | Creighton University | Clinical Internal Medicine Pharmacist at Bryan Health

    Emily Garries, PharmD | Purdue University | Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinical Specialist at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital

    Haley Hixon, PharmD | University of Kentucky | Solid Organ Transplant Clinical Specialist at Michigan Medicine

    Rachel Dubuisson, PharmD | University of Michigan | Clinical Pharmacist at Trinity Health Ann Arbor

  • Class of 2023

    Kendyl Miller, PharmD | Purdue University | Clinical Staff Pharmacist at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital

    Tyler Kennedy, PharmD | Butler University | PGY2 Internal Medicine at Ascension St. Vincent/Butler University

    Lacey Oscarson, PharmD | University of Arizona | PGY2 Transplant at Baylor St. Luke's

    Matthew Shotts, PharmD | Purdue University | Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at Ascension St. Vincent Anderson

  • Class of 2024

    Emily Costello, PharmD | Butler University | Clinical Staff Pharmacist at Ascension St. Vincent Anderson

    Julia Junker, PharmD | Butler University | PGY2 Internal Medicine at Ascension St. Vincent/Butler University

    Chantel Nelson, PharmD | University of Kentucky | PGY2 Pediatrics at Ascension St. Vincent/Peyton Manning Children's Hospital

    Delaney Straw, PharmD | Butler University | Clinical Staff Pharmacist at Johnson Memorial

     

Current Residents 

  • Sarah Bredeweg

     

    Sarah Bredeweg is a current PGY-1 pharmacy resident from Mitchell, Indiana. She graduated from Butler University in May 2024, and her current career interests are critical care and internal medicine. Sarah's research project this year is on time to first administration of anticoagulation post-fibrinolytic therapy for acute pulmonary embolism. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with the people she loves, reading new books, and perfecting her bread recipe. You can contact her at sarah.bredeweg@ascension.org.

      

  • Karrie Hightower

     

    Karrie Hightower is a current PGY-1 pharmacy resident from Indianapolis, Indiana. She graduated from Purdue College of Pharmacy in May 2024, and her current career interests are internal medicine and academia. Karrie’s research project this year is on the evaluation of therapeutic enoxaparin dosing based on anti-Xa drug monitoring. In her free time, she enjoys reading, doing her own nails, and trying new local eateries. You can contact her at karrie.hightower@ascension.org.


  • Mykenzie Kostka

    Mykenzie Kostka is a current PGY-1 pharmacy resident from Fort Wayne, Indiana. She graduated from The Ohio State University in May 2024, and she will be staying on with Ascension St. Vincent next year to complete her PGY-2 in pediatrics! Mykenzie’s research project this year is on evaluating the time of first antibiotic dosing in pediatric critical care patients. In her free time, she enjoys baking, exercise classes, and exploring new activities in Indianapolis. You can contact her at mykenzie.kostka@ascension.org.

  • Rebecca Mann

     

    Becky Mann is a current PGY-1 pharmacy resident from O'Fallon, Illinois. She graduated from Purdue University in May 2024, and she will be staying on with Ascension St. Vincent next year to complete her PGY-2 in critical care! Becky’s research project this year is on dobutamine versus milrinone for cardiogenic shock. In her free time, she enjoys pilates, baking, and napping with her roommate’s cat, Dunkin. You can contact her at rebecca.mann@ascension.org.