UPMC Harrisburg PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program

Required Learning Experiences

All required learning experiences are four-week experiences.

• Orientation
• Introduction to Acute Care
• Internal Medicine I
• Internal Medicine II
• Critical Care I
• Cardiology
• Pediatrics & Pediatric/Neonatal Critical Care I
• Research & Professional Development
• Pharmacy Administration & Medication Safety

Required Longitudinal Learning Experiences

• Operational Pharmacy Practice (Staffing) (52 weeks)
  • Every third weekend (every other weekend is required July through October or until the resident is signed off as able to staff independently)
  • One four-hour weekday shift every third week (typically Friday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.)
  • Two holidays (one major and on minor)
• Emergency Bedside Response (48 weeks)
  • Obtain BLS, ACLS and PALS certifications
  • Actively participate with multidisciplinary teams at the bedside during rapid responses and cardiac arrests for adult and pediatric patients
• Research (50 weeks)
  • Includes a medication use evaluation and major research project
• Professional Development (48 weeks)
  • Includes committee involvement, presentations, and precepting
  • Residents may elect to enroll in the Mastery of Teaching certificate program through the University of Pittsburgh

Elective Learning Experiences

All elective learning experiences are four-week experiences. Residents have the ability to select up to three electives.

• Critical Care II
• Pediatrics & Pediatric/Neonatal Critical Care II
• Infectious Diseases II
• Emergency Medicine/Critical Care Hybrid*
• Solid Organ Transplant – Kidney
• Oncology*
• Sterile & Hazardous Products Compounding*

*These learning experiences include exposure to patients and pharmacy services at UPMC West Shore (12 miles, 15 minutes from UPMC Harrisburg) and/or UPMC Community Osteopathic (6 miles, 15 minutes from UPMC Harrisburg). Travel (including transportation access and cost) to these sites is the responsibility of the resident.

Requirements for Program Completion

All residents at UPMC Harrisburg must:

• Obtain Pennsylvania pharmacist licensure within 120 days of the residency’s start and practice 35 weeks (i.e., two-thirds of the year) as a licensed pharmacist.
• Attain a rating of “Achieved for Residency” for at least 80% of the objectives established by the residency program as outlined in the ASHP Accreditation Standards for a Postgraduate Residency Programs.

UPMC Harrisburg pharmacy residents work under the supervision of a diversely talented group of faculty members who are dedicated to providing a strong educational foundation in pharmacy.

Residency Program Director

• Lindsey Stramara, PharmD, BCPPS

Preceptors

• Laura Andrick, PharmD, BCCCP, FCCM
• Nirjan Bhattarai, PharmD, MSHIA
• Jordan Childress, PharmD
• Marissa Csovelak, PharmD, BCOP
• Kristin Feick, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
• Keely Gambler, PharmD
• Erik Hernandez, PharmD, MHA, BCPS
• Kimberly Leale, PharmD, BCTXP
• Daniel Lindsay, PharmD, BCPS
• Liana Mandel, PharmD, BCPS
• Rachael McElhinny, PharmD
• Ryan Porter, PharmD, MBA
• Alyssa Robertson, PharmD, MEd, BCPS, BCCCP, BCEMP
• Lindsey Stramara, PharmD, BCPPS
• Ken Trinh, PharmD, BCCCP
• Christopher Valintakonis, PharmD, BCPS
• Suki Zhan, PharmD

Current Residents

• Amaya Cary, PharmD - Virginia Commonwealth University
• Anna Ruby, PharmD - Saint Joseph’s University Philadelphia College of Pharmacy

Former Residents and First Positions

• 2026 Residents
  • Nicholas Castellucci, PharmD – Clinical Pharmacist, UPMC Altoona (Altoona, PA)
  • Noah Long, PharmD – Clinical Pharmacist, University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center (Aberdeen, MD)
• 2025 Residents
  • Leah Nealis, PharmD – Pharmacist, UPMC Harrisburg (Harrisburg, PA)
  • Safiya Nero, PharmD – PGY2 Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (Baltimore, MD)
• 2024 Residents
  • Gabriela Dominguez Arocho, PharmD – PGY2 Thrombosis & Hemostasis Management, Henry Ford Health System (Detroit, MI)
  • Emily Zukosky, PharmD – PGY2 Hematology & Oncology, Providence Alaska Medical Center (Anchorage, AK)
• 2023 Residents
  • Nathaniel Hulver, PharmD – Pharmacist, UPMC Harrisburg (Harrisburg, PA)
  • Nash Wenner, PharmD, MBA – Pharmacist, UPMC Harrisburg (Harrisburg, PA)
• 2022 Residents
  • Aaron Bezio, PharmD – Pharmacist, UPMC Central PA (Harrisburg, PA)
  • Theresa Nguyen, PharmD – PGY2 Solid Organ Transplant, Mount Sinai Hospital (New York, NY)
• 2021 Residents
  • Carissa Dolan, PharmD, BCPS – Clinical Pharmacist, Cone Health (Burlington, NC)
• 2020 Residents
  • Moosung Cho, PharmD – Pharmacist, UPMC Central PA (Harrisburg, PA)
  • Michael Arutunian, PharmD, BCPS – Pharmacist, UPMC Central PA (Harrisburg, PA)
• 2019 Residents
  • Monica Coulson, PharmD, BCPS – Pharmacist, UPMC Central PA (Harrisburg, PA)
  • Lauren Ball, PharmD, BCPS – Pharmacist, UPMC Central PA (Harrisburg, PA)
• 2018 Residents
  • Caitlyn Lancaster, PharmD, BCPS – Pharmacist, UPMC Central PA (Harrisburg, PA)
  • Dmitriy Sulik, PharmD, BCPS – Clinical Staff Pharmacist, University of Rochester Medical Center (Rochester, NY)

To apply, applicants must register with the ASHP Residency Matching Program and apply through PhORCAS. All applications will require the following information, which must be submitted and uploaded to PhORCAS on or before the deadline to be considered. Applications missing any of the required material will not be reviewed.

Required material includes:

• PharmD degree or equivalent.
• Eligibility for Pennsylvania licensure.
• Curriculum vitae.
• Letter of intent detailing motivation for pursuing residency training and career objectives.
• Official academic transcript.
• Three professional references (submitted through PhORCAS).

Application deadline is January 5.