Residency Overview

The University of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy in collaboration with Kroger Pharmacy – Cincinnati KMA, is conducting a Community Pharmacy Residency Program. Three residents will be selected for one year of training that will begin on July 1, 2009.

Kroger Pharmacy and the University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy offer a unique and challenging post-graduate training opportunity in community care. The program is designed to develop future leaders in community pharmacy practice that are well qualified to provide sophisticated patient care services, develop new cognitive services, and teach pharmacy students in the patient care and classroom environments.

The residency program consists of longitudinal learning experiences in direct patient care, teaching and practice management in a retail pharmacy; direct patient care in ambulatory clinic settings; participation in the college’s Certificate Teaching Program; teaching in the Pharmacy Practice Skills Laboratory; and completion of a major project which involves the development, implementation and evaluation of a new cognitive pharmacy service.

Each resident has a primary training site at a Kroger Patient Care Center. The majority of each resident’s training (approximately 70%) is conducted at their primary training site. Residents also spend time in the Pharmacy Practice Skills Laboratory at the James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, the Cincinnati Health Department Clinics, and St. Luke Hospitals’ Pharmacy Anticoagulation Clinic.

Residency Benefits

The resident will be provided with a one-year appointment as an Adjunct Instructor at the College. Benefits include an annual stipend of $48,000, single coverage health insurance, one-week vacation, professional and education leave, and financial assistance to attend professional meetings.

Training Venues

Kroger Pharmacy – Cincinnati KMA

Kroger Pharmacy is a large supermarket chain that operates more than 100 pharmacy departments within the greater Cincinnati area. The Cincinnati KMA is committed to the provision of pharmaceutical care services and the advancement of the profession of pharmacy. Through innovative pharmacy designs and a highly unique model for providing patient care, the Cincinnati KMA has positioned itself as one of the most progressive retail chains in the Midwest.

Twenty-six patient care centers have been established in the Cincinnati KMA. The Hyde Park and Anderson Town Center locations serve as residency training sites. These patient care centers offer a wide range of services, including: adult immunizations for influenza, pneumonia, and hepatitis A & B; diabetes screenings; blood pressure screenings and monitoring; complete lipid panels; body fat analyses; HbA1c measurements; cardiometabolic risk screenings; smoking cessation; medication therapy management; fitness, nutrition, and weight management; diabetes self management education; and diabetes and hypertension coaching programs. Collaborative relationships have been built with various providers to provide the highest level of care. Kroger pharmacy has contracted with several self- insured employer groups in the Cincinnati area to provide these services for their members, adding to the success of these programs.

Cincinnati Health Department Clinics

The Cincinnati Health Department clinics are composed of six clinics that are located throughout the greater Cincinnati area and serve an indigent and uninsured population. Each clinic provides care in adult medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN, and dentistry. Dr. Robert Draeger, a full-time faculty member of the James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, provides pharmacotherapeutic management of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, medication compliance, and anticoagulation.

St. Luke Hospitals Pharmacy Anticoagulation Service

The St. Luke Hospitals Pharmacy Anticoagulation Clinics were established in May 2002 in the West campus and in November 2004 in the East campus. This clinic provides comprehensive anticoagulation management in the community hospital environment. The goal is to ensure the safe provision of anticoagulation management in a cost-effective manner. Clinical pharmacists trained in anticoagulation monitor and adjust anticoagulation therapy. To date, the Pharmacy Anticoagulation Clinics of the The St. Luke Hospitals (East and West) are responsible for the anticoagulation management of approximately 1,000 patients.

The James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, Skills Laboratory

The Skills Laboratory is an integral component of the Doctor of Pharmacy Degree Program at the University of Cincinnati. It is conducted as a series of courses over four academic quarters. Students rotate through six stations that are utilized to provide practical experience and problem solving in compounding, sterile preparations, dispensing, patient counseling, physical assessment, and drug information. Dr. Shauna Buring, Director of the Skills Laboratory, is the major preceptor for this component of the residency.

The James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, Skills Laboratory

The Skills Laboratory is an integral component of the Doctor of Pharmacy Degree Program at the University of Cincinnati. It is conducted as a series of courses over four academic quarters. Students rotate through six stations that are utilized to provide practical experience and problem solving in compounding, sterile preparations, dispensing, patient counseling, physical assessment, and drug information. Residents teach pharmacy students in groups of 7 about ambulatory care issues including blood pressure measurement, immunizations, diabetes patient care, and patient counseling. Dr. Shauna Buring, Director of the Skills Laboratory, is the major preceptor for this component of the residency.

Program Preceptors

The residency program is administered and conducted by highly trained and experienced faculty with a strong vision for the future of pharmacy practice in community care. They are dedicated to providing each resident with an optimal learning opportunity so that the resident is able to progress to his/her full capabilities.

Wayne F. Conrad, B.S., Pharm.D. FASHP

Wayne Conrad is Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Chair of the Division of Pharmacy Practice and Administrative Sciences at the University of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy. He also serves as a consultant for the ASHP, Division of Accreditation Services. He is Program Director for the Community Pharmacy Residency Program and is preceptor for the residency project component of the program.

Dr. Conrad received a B.S. in Pharmacy from the State University of New York at Buffalo and Doctor of Pharmacy Degree from the University of Kentucky. He completed an ASHP accredited residency at Springfield Community Hospital. Dr. Conrad’s practice experience includes Director of Pharmacy Services at University of Cincinnati Hospital, Director of Pharmaceutical Services at the Erie County Medical Center, and Assistant Director of Pharmacy at the University Of Kentucky Medical Center. Before coming to the University of Cincinnati he held tenure track faculty appointments at the State University of New York at Buffalo and the University of Kentucky. Dr. Conrad has developed residency programs at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, Erie County Medical Center and University of Cincinnati Hospital. During the course of his career more than 90 pharmacy residents have graduated under his direction.

Dr. Conrad has been responsible for developing innovative pharmacy services at three university teaching hospitals. He has published numerous articles related to the development and evaluation of pharmacy services. He was project director for the demonstration project that developed the Residency Learning System. He has served in many elected and appointed positions in national, state and local pharmacy organizations.

Dr. Conrad joined the University of Cincinnati faculty in 1985. Besides Chairing the Division of Pharmacy Practice and Administrative Sciences, he teaches courses on the U.S. Health Care System and Health-System Pharmacy Practice.

Shauna M. Buring, B.S., Pharm.D

Shauna Buring is Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Director of Pharmacy Practice Skills Laboratory, University of Cincinnati James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy. She is the residency preceptor for the Skills Laboratory longitudinal learning experience.

Dr. Buring received a B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of Cincinnati in 1991 and Doctor of Pharmacy Degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1996. She completed an ASHP accredited Drug Information Residency at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in 1997. Before coming to the University of Cincinnati, Dr. Buring spent four years in academia at Auburn University, teaching drug information and developing the Auburn University, Drug Information & Learning Resource Center.

Dr. Buring joined the University of Cincinnati faculty in 2001 as Director of Pharmacy Practice Skills Lab. Her activities include the development and assessment of instructional activities that focus on performance-based assessment of students. She has administrative responsibility for community partnerships and personnel recruitment for the Pharmacy Practice Skills Lab. Dr. Buring is Director of Curriculum Assessment and her research interests include instructional design and assessment, self-care, and drug literature evaluation and biostatistics.

Pamela C. Heaton, B.S., M.S., PhD.

Pam Heaton is Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice. She is a preceptor for the research project component of the residency program. Her current research focus is on the use of databases to evaluate clinical and economic outcomes of drug therapy for patients in a variety of disease areas such as asthma, adolescent depression or transplant.

Dr. Heaton received her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Cincinnati in 1985. After several years of practicing pharmacy and working at the corporate level of a large pharmacy chain, she returned to graduate school and completed her Master’s in Social and Administrative Pharmacy in 1998 and Doctorate in Social and Administrative Pharmacy in 2003 at the University of Cincinnati.

In September 2003, Dr. Heaton joined the faculty of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Cincinnati. She is responsible for the Pharmacy Ethics course and co-teaches in Drug Literature Evaluation. She also teaches an experiential rotation designed to introduce the 4th year Pharm.D. candidate to research project design and analysis. In 2008, she received a grant from the Ohio Medicaid Department. This grant provides the resources to conduct a drug utilization program for the State of Ohio, and additionally supports six research projects in various areas of pharmacoeconomics and health policy. She is also funded through the Center for Education and Research in Therapeutics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. The major goal of this project is to develop infrastructure and conduct research to improve the therapeutic use of medications in children.

Stacey Frede, Pharm.D.

Stacey Frede is the Residency Coordinator for Kroger Pharmacy Cincinnati/Dayton KMA and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy. She also serves as the site coordinator for the Hyde Park Kroger residency site.

Dr. Frede earned a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Dayton in 2000 and Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Cincinnati in 2004. She completed the APhA-ASHP accredited University of Cincinnati/Kroger Pharmacy PGY1 Residency Program with Emphasis in Community Care in 2004-2005, becoming the first program graduate. Her residency project, "A Community Pharmacy Based Fitness, Nutrition, and Weight Management Program", was awarded the inaugural Daniel A. Herbert Incentive Grant by the APhA Foundation.

Upon completion of her residency, Dr. Frede accepted a position with Kroger as a Patient Care Pharmacist and served as a residency preceptor and site coordinator at the Hyde Park site. In 2006, Dr. Frede was promoted to Residency Coordinator. Her major practice responsibilities include: residency development, resident and pharmacy extern preceptorship, direct patient care, teaching, and development and implementation of clinical services for Kroger. Her research interests include diabetes, health coaching, and disease prevention.

Sara Wortman, Pharm.D.

Sara Wortman is a residency preceptor for Kroger Pharmacy Cincinnati/Dayton KMA, and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy. She serves as the site coordinator for the Hyde Park Kroger residency site.

Dr. Wortman earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Butler University in 2003. After graduation, she received residency training from the Heath Alliance of Greater Cincinnati. She then decided to focus her career on direct patient care in the community setting. In five years with Kroger, she has trained and worked at three different patient care center locations as a Patient Care Pharmacist. Dr. Wortman was promoted to Residency Preceptor in 2006 and helped to successfully expand the program to the Anderson Towne Center site. Her major practice responsibilities include resident and pharmacy extern preceptorship, direct patient care, teaching, and development and implementation of clinical programs for Kroger. Her research interests include diabetes, heart disease, and health coaching.

Karissa Y. Kim, Pharm.D., CACP

Dr. Karissa Kim is Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy. She is the residency preceptor for the longitudinal patient care experience at the St. Luke Hospitals Pharmacy Anticoagulation Clinics.

Dr. Kim received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of California, San Francisco in 1992 and then completed an ASHP accredited Pharmacy Practice Residency at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fontana, California. She became a board certified anticoagulation care provider in 2001 and board certified pharmacotherapy specialist in 2007. Since completing her residency, she has worked as a clinical pharmacist specialist in ambulatory care at the Jerry L. Pettis Veterans’ Administration (VA) Medical Center, the Philadelphia VA Medical Center and Temple University Hospital. She joined the Temple University School of Pharmacy faculty in 1997 and held the position of Clinical Assistant Professor until 2002. At Temple University, her responsibilities included teaching and patient care (managing patients with hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and other common adult disease states). In addition, she was Director/Clinical Pharmacist Specialist of the Anticoagulation Service for Temple Physician’s Inc., and managed patients on chronic anticoagulation therapy. She joined the University of Cincinnati faculty in 2005. She provides patient care at the St. Luke Hospitals Pharmacy Anticoagulation Clinics. She has publications in the areas of hypertension, diabetes, rheumatology, cardiovascular disease and anticoagulation.

Robert W. Draeger, B.S., Pharm.D.

Dr. Draeger is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy Practice at the University of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy. In addition he serves as a board member of Schulman IRB. He received both his B.S. and Pharm.D. from the University of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy and completed a Residency in Hospital Pharmacy at Bethesda Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. His past practice experience includes two years as Director of the Drug and Poison Information Center at Bethesda Hospital, Zanesville, Ohio. His hospital Pharmacy experience includes twenty-eight years at The University Hospital where he served in the positions of Staff Pharmacist, Clinical Pharmacy Practitioner and Clinical Pharmacy Specialists. He has practiced in the areas of Internal Medicine, Critical Care, Oncology and most recently Infectious Disease with a focus on HIV/AIDS research and treatment. He also served on the faculty of Ohio Northern College of Pharmacy and was the Regional Director for Experiential Education for Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky. Dr. Draeger currently serves as the primary preceptor for the Cincinnati Health Department rotation sites, with teaching responsibilities in Skills Lab and the Renal, Endocrine, Oncology and Infectious Disease therapeutics courses at the James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy.

Stepheb Obszarski, Pharm.D.

Stephen Obszarski is a residency preceptor for Kroger Pharmacy Cincinnati/Dayton Marketing Area. He serves as the site coordinator for the Western Hills Kroger residency site.

Dr. Obszarski earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Butler University in 2003. After graduation, he took a position as a staff pharmacist with Kroger Pharmacy in Cincinnati, he was eventually promoted to a pharmacy management position. He has structured his practice of pharmacy around patient care, with an emphasis on patient consultation and disease management. In 2007, his position with Kroger transitioned to a full time clinical position. His clinical work was part of a traveling team of patient care pharmacist providing disease state coaching programs for contracted self-insured employer groups. His current responsibilities include diabetic and heart disease coaching as well as residency preceptor at the Western Hills Kroger Pharmacy.

Pharmacy Residents 2008/09

Jennifer Digges Endres

Dr. Endres graduated from The Ohio State University with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree in June, 2008. She was active in APhA-ASP and CPFI during her time at Ohio State. With ASP, she chaired a committee which provided diabetes education to sixth graders. She also had the opportunity during her fourth year rotations to travel to Honduras with a medical team from Ohio State to provide patient care to the indigent population there. Her residency project is titled "Comparison of a pharmacist-administered and a pharmacist-facilitated community herpes zoster immunization program." Her pharmacy interests include providing immunizations and other patient care services, including diabetes and hypertension coaching. Her hobbies include walking and playing with her dog, Macy, traveling, visiting state parks, playing sand volleyball, and reading novels.

Jennifer Hendricks

Dr. Hendricks earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Marshall University in 2002 and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy in 2008. Her residency project is titled "Development of an innovative employer-preceptor training program in a patient-centered grocery chain pharmacy." Her practice interests include patient care services involving diabetes, fitness, nutrition, and weight loss. Outside of pharmacy, Jennifer’s hobbies include playing softball, cooking and reading.

Cameron Romans

Dr. Romans is a 2008 graduate of the University of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy. Prior to pharmacy school, Cameron earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Kentucky. While attending pharmacy school, Cameron was employed by Kroger Pharmacy as a Student Intern for 4 years. Her residency project is titled "A Pharmacist-Initiated Peripheral Arterial Disease Screening Based in a Community Pharmacy Setting." After the residency, Cameron is planning on continuing her patient care services through Kroger Pharmacies.

Application and Interview

Prospective candidates must be graduates of an accredited college of pharmacy, complete a residency application, and provide supporting documentation. These include a curriculum vitae, copies of college transcripts, and three letters of recommendation. These should be mailed electronically to Wayne Conrad, Program Director whenever possible.

Preference will be given to candidates whose completed application materials are received by January 9, 2009. Select applicants will be invited for on-site interview in January or February, 2009.

Selection

The University of Cincinnati participates in the ASHP Residency Matching Program.

Download the Residency Application Form (pdf)

Applications should be submitted electronically (click the email button on the application form) to the Program Director, Dr. Wayne F. Conrad. Letters of reference should also be sent to the Program Director, Dr. Wayne F. Conrad (wayne.conrad@uc.edu). Applicants will be selected based on academic record, practice experience, career goals, professional activities, and potential to have impact on pharmacy as a profession.