TMC Pharmacy Residency Program

The TMC Pharmacy Residency Program (PGY1) started in 1993. Four residency positions are available for a 12-month residency starting in the middle of June. The program is accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and is part of the ASHP Midyear Residency Showcase and the ASHP Resident Matching Program.

Teaching opportunities for residents include either a teaching certificate at TMC with a community focus or teaching certificate with the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy with an academic focus. There is also mentoring and precepting, facilitating case studies, topic discussions, patient presentations, and providing educational in-services to inpatient pharmacy, nursing and ancillary staff, as well as the community. A formal one-hour continuing education lecture is presented to pharmacy and medical staff.

Staffing is required every other weekend and includes both central verification and clinical duties.

A residency project is required with the summary and results presented at the Western States Residency Conference.

The residency program falls under the jurisdiction of TMC Health Medical Education Program (THMEP), which was founded in 1963 as the Tucson Hospitals Medical Education Program to conduct graduate and continuing medical education programs at Tucson Medical Center and throughout the area. THMEP is a major provider of graduate and continuing medical education in the Southern Arizona region. It has oversight of internal medicine, pediatric, podiatry, transitional residencies, and structural heart and clinical research fellowships in addition to the Pharmacy Residency Program.

Claudia L. Koreny, PharmD, graduated from the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy in 2001. She has been with TMC since 1993, starting as a pharmacy volunteer before being hired as a pharmacy technician. After graduation from pharmacy school, she worked as a clinical pharmacist in several areas, with her primary focus in nutrition support. In 2008, she became manager of Pharmacy Operations and was named director of Pharmacy Services in 2018. She is actively involved with numerous TMC committees. 

Samantha Low, PharmD, BCPS, is a clinical coordinator and residency program director at Tucson Medical Center. She graduated from Midwestern University – College of Pharmacy, Glendale, in 2006. She completed her PGY1 at Tucson Medical Center. Sam has varied clinical pharmacy experience, including adult surgery, critical care, nutrition support and most recently, informatics.

Rick Robertson, PharmD, BCCCP, graduated from the UA College of Pharmacy in 2016. After graduation, he completed a PGY1 residency at TMC and joined the staff as a clinical pharmacist, working primarily in the Emergency Department and pediatric areas. Robertson is a clinical coordinator for the Inpatient Pharmacy and is a secondary preceptor for the Administration rotation.

Samantha Penn, PharmD, BCPS, is the clinical pharmacy specialist in internal medicine at TMC. She graduated from the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy in 2014 and completed her PGY1 residency a year later at TMC. She precepts residents in Adult Medicine, Adult Surgery and Nutrition Support.

David Lazo, PharmD, BCPS, graduated from the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy in 2013. He completed his PGY1 at Tucson Medical Center from 2013-14 and has stayed on as a clinical pharmacist. He is the main preceptor for the Adult Cardiology rotation. He has received many service awards within TMC.

Lisa Fernandez, PharmD, is the primary preceptor for the Adult Neurology rotation. Fernandez graduated from the UA College of Pharmacy in 2010 and completed a PGY1 at TMC from 2010-2011. She also precepts in Adult Cardiac and in the Emergency Department.

Katrina Kittell, PharmD, graduated from the UA College of Pharmacy in 2014. She completed her PGY-1 at HonorHealth-Scottsdale and remained on staff for an additional two years specializing in critical care and adult medicine before moving on to other opportunities. Kittell has been a part of the TMC team since 2021 and precepts residents in Adult Surgery.

C. Andrew Holdbrooks, PharmD, graduated in 2011 from the McWhorter School of Pharmacy in Birmingham, Alabama, and has since been primarily focused in Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine for the majority of his career. He developed and implemented a program for pharmacy clinical services in the ED at his last facility before transitioning to his current role in the ED at TMC in early 2022 where he precepts residents in Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics.

Maggi Beach, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, graduated from Midwestern University College of Pharmacy - Glendale in 2008. She completed a PGY1 residency at TMC and stayed. She works primarily in the ICU and is the primary preceptor for the Critical Care rotation. Outside the ICU, she instituted clinical pharmacy services for TMC Hospice in 2009.

Clark Force, RPh, BCPS, graduated from Oregon State University College of Pharmacy in 1993. He was the first to complete the pharmacy practice residency at Providence Health System in Portland, Oregon, in 1994. Force has more than 15 years experience in adult critical care and has been the pharmacy lead for the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program since 2011. He is the preceptor for the ASP/Infectious Disease rotation.

Rosalee Blair, PharmD, graduated from the UA College of Pharmacy in 2005. She has worked at TMC since graduation and has worked in Adult Medicine, Adult Surgery and on the Nutrition Support Team. She now works primarily in the IV admixture room and the operating room satellite pharmacy. She is one of the lead IV room pharmacists, working on many projects pertaining to sterile products, and is the primary preceptor for the IV Admixture rotation.

Brian Strang, PharmD, BCNSP, FASPEN, is a clinical pharmacy specialist in Nutrition Support and has been at TMC since graduating from the UA College of Pharmacy in 2004. He is the primary resident preceptor for the Nutrition Support elective rotation and helps to coordinate the Pharmacy Resident Clinical and Community Teaching and Learning Certificate Program. He has worked in all clinical areas since starting at TMC, and currently focuses on nutrition support, hospice and pain management. Since 2006, Brian has been actively involved with the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, National Board of Nutrition Support Certification, American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, American College of Clinical Pharmacy and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and has held numerous national positions within several of these organizations.

Colleen O'Connell, PharmD, BCPS, BCPPS, graduated from South Dakota State University in 2015. She completed her PGY1 residency training at TMC and is now the maternal child clinical pharmacy specialist. She is the primary preceptor for the pediatrics/PICU/NICU/Women's Health rotation, and also helps precept students and residents on the Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infectious Disease, the Adult Medicine and Adult Surgery rotations.

Andrew Romero, PharmD, graduated from the UA College of Pharmacy in 2003. He has more than 10 years of experience in implementing and managing health information systems in both inpatient and outpatient settings. He also works to develop drug libraries and reduce alert fatigue on smart pump systems such as Alaris and Sapphire. Romero is a preceptor for a Pharmacy Informatics rotation where residents learn about managing Epic Willow (inpatient pharmacy system), Alaris smart pumps and Pyxis, and learn Excel data analysis skills.

Rebecca Gephart, BSPh, is a preceptor for longitudinal and concentrated staffing. Gephart graduated from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy in 1992. She has worked in a variety of pharmacy settings over her 30+ year career including but not limited to: Pharmacy Informatics, retail management, Nutrition Support Team, Adult Surgery, Adult Cardiology, Hospice, Skilled Nursing and Adult Medical Services. Gephart has been part of the TMC Pharmacy team for 10+ years, first as an overnight pharmacist for several years and currently staffs in the central pharmacy.

Bailey Stankus, PharmD, is a preceptor for the Staffing rotation. She is currently a student preceptor for the University of Arizona R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy where she graduated in 2020 during the pandemic. She worked as the Southern Arizona COVID vaccine lead pharmacist with CVS until she joined TMC in early 2021. At TMC, she works in the IV room, midnights, and with our surgical staff in the Surgery Services satellite pharmacy.

Alex Cannon, PharmD, graduated from Loma Linda University in 2021. She completed her PGY-1 at Tucson Medical Center in 2022 and remained on staff afterwards. She specializes in adult medicine. She precepts residents in Multidisciplinary Acute Care.