Student pharmacists and alumni claim 32 positions across the U.S.
“Match Day,” the highly anticipated moment when Belmont’s College of Pharmacy soon-to-be-graduates and alumni learn where they’ll spend the next year honing their skills and talents, was a successful day at Belmont as 32 student pharmacists and alumni heard of their acceptance to competitive residency positions across the country. About 3,000 residencies were offered for this year’s American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists match, far fewer than the number of student pharmacists desiring a position.
College of Pharmacy Dean Dr. Phil Johnston said, “Belmont College of Pharmacy has always had an impressive match rate, which can be attributed to enhanced student awareness of career goals and faculty mentoring. It was a happy week to celebrate the success of our students and their futures. Congratulations to the classes of 2015 and 2016.”
Graduates selected for first-year residencies include Sarah Ayers (Jackson-Madison County Hospital in Jackson, Tennessee), Candace Beam (VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare in Nashville, Tennessee), Bailey Bolten (Erlanger Health Systems in Chattanooga, Tennessee), Tyler Casey (Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee), Ricky Church (Memorial Healthcare System in Chattanooga, Tennessee), Jennifer Collins (University of Chicago Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois), Scott Denno (Tennessee Department of Mental Health in Nashville, Tennessee), Fernando Diggs (Huntsville Hospital in Huntsville, Alabama), Meredith Ervin (Birmingham VA Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama), Chelsea Goodman (Ephriam McDowell Regional Medical Center in Danville, Kentucky), Sarah Hardeman (The Medical Center, Columbus Regional in Columbus, Georgia), Shelby Hood (Maury Regional Medical Center in Columbia, Tennessee), Joe Huenecke (University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio), Michelle Kirchbaum (Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama), Jocelyn Mason (University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota), Quyen Nguyen (Cookeville Regional Hospital in Cookeville, Tennessee), Frederick O’Neal (Dignity Health St. Rose Dominican in Henderson, Nevada), Emily Russell (James H. Quillen VA Medical Center in Mountain Home, Tennessee), Kristen Sherlin (University of Louisville Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky), Jennifer Sposito (Parkview Health in Fort Wayne, Indiana), Sara Thompson (VA Caribbean Health Care System in San Juan, Puerto Rico), Erin Todd (Tristar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee), Alexander Tu (National Association of Community Drug Stores), Duy Vu (Dekalb Medical Center in Decatur, Georgia), Danielle Walker (Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee), Katie Wickler (Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro, Tennessee) and Haley Willett (Norton Healthcare in Louisville, Kentucky).
Additionally, of the 22 student pharmacists who matched last spring, five are going on to a second-year residency. Drs. Emily Doss, Meghan Duquette, Elizabeth Jasper, Jocelyn Mason and Nilam Patel will be pursuing second-year residencies in internal medicine, psychiatry (2), infectious disease and cardiology, respectively.
First-year pharmacy residencies provide post-PharmD training in health systems, managed care and community settings, while second-year residencies provide advanced training in a focused area of patient care.