The Destination for Pharmacy Education
  1. Harrison College of Pharmacy
  2. Clinical Health Services
  3. Residency Program

CHS Post-Doctoral Residency Programs

Clinical Health Services offers both a PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency with emphasis in Ambulatory Care (four positions) and a PGY-1 Community Pharmacy Residency (one position). Residents gain unique experience in diverse patient care settings and have the opportunity to gain experience in ambulatory care, community pharmacy practice, administration, outcomes assessment, research, and teaching. Additionally, a teaching certificate is offered.

Ambulatory Care
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Meet the Residents

PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency with emphasis in Ambulatory Care

Auburn University is host to a unique ASHP-Accredited PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency position with a focus on primary care, community care, and academia. The residency is located in Auburn, Alabama, and is associated with multiple practice sites including the Auburn University Harrison College of Pharmacy, the Auburn University Pharmaceutical Care Center, the State Employees’ Insurance Board Wellness Center in Montgomery, and three patient-care oriented pharmacies.

Residents will gain experience and proficiency in crucial areas of pharmacy practice such as pharmacy benefit management, formulary management, contract negotiation, collaborative practice, establishment and expansion of pharmacy services, marketing of clinical pharmacy services, financial issues including reimbursement, and in the education of other health care professionals, patients, students, and the community. The program will provide the resident with the opportunity and stimulus to develop skills, competencies, and professional expertise in pharmacy practice.

Resident responsibilities will include:

  • Providing pharmaceutical care services including, but not limited to, medication therapy management services, disease state management, diabetes education, health and wellness screenings, smoking cessation, anticoagulation monitoring, and immunizations in a primary care setting
  • Providing patient care and distributive services at the Auburn University Employee Pharmacy, Auburn University Student Pharmacy, and the State Employees’ Insurance Board Pharmacy
  • Teaching activities in the clinical skills course and lab and large group classes at the Auburn University Harrison College of Pharmacy
  • Mentoring students in the early and advanced experiential program
  • Participating in HCOP committees
  • Completing a residency project and presenting the project at the Southeastern Residency Conference
  • Completing and submitting a primary manuscript

The resident will receive an adjunct faculty appointment within the Department of Pharmacy Practice of the Harrison College of Pharmacy and have instructional duties as outlined above. In addition to the specified teaching responsibilities, the resident will have the opportunity to participate in a teaching certificate program.

In order to successfully complete the residency program the resident must complete 12 months of training in the program regardless of any unforeseen delays or leaves of absence.

Residency Experiences

Core Rotations
The first block of the residency will be devoted to orientation. Residents will have one week of general program orientation followed by a week of orientation at each of the three dispensing pharmacies.
Each resident will spend two blocks at the Auburn University Pharmaceutical Care Center, or AUPCC. The AUPCC is a pharmacist-run clinic located in the Harrison College of Pharmacy that provides numerous services including medication therapy management, disease state management and education, anticoagulation monitoring, smoking cessation, weight management, immunizations, and health and wellness screenings. Point-of-care monitoring services provided at the AUPCC include cholesterol, INR, HbA1c, and osteoporosis screenings. The resident will be involved in providing patient care and monitoring through the services listed above, as well as in precepting fourth year pharmacy students who have rotations at the AUPCC.
Each resident will spend two blocks at the State Employees’ Insurance Board (SEIB) Wellness Center. The SEIB Wellness Center provides primary and acute care services, as well as pharmacist-run services. Residents collaborate with the nurse practitioner and physician to help gather pertinent patient information, perform physical assessments, serve as a drug information resource in order to optimize pharmacotherapy, and provide medication counseling for patients. Pharmacist-run services offered at the SEIB Wellness Center include smoking cessation, weight management, and diabetes education and monitoring programs. Residents will also have the opportunity to provide point-of-care monitoring services, health and wellness screenings, immunizations, and disease state management and education. The resident will have an active role in precepting fourth year pharmacy students who have rotations at the SEIB Wellness Center.
During this block, the resident will be involved in the administrative functions of a self-insured employer.
Continuity of care is the process by which the patient and his/her care team (composed of physicians, pharmacists, etc.) are cooperatively involved in ongoing health care management toward the mutual goal of quality, cost-effective medical care. This rotation provides PGY-1 residents with an understanding of disease states and pharmacotherapy as they relate to the management of high-risk patients at the AUPCC. Throughout the rotation, the resident will develop skills in the provision of pharmaceutical care including obtaining medication histories, assessing appropriateness of medication regimens, counseling patients, monitoring therapies, and providing appropriate drug information to both patients and physicians. In addition, the resident will be responsible for analyzing and assessing patient data to triage and enroll.
The AUHEC is a new health care clinic that was opened in partnership with the city of Auburn in 2022. The clinic is located in an underserved community and designs services to serve that community. Services include general health and wellness screenings, acute/urgent care services, chronic disease state management, psychosocial assessment, immunizations, and a childhood wellness program. Residents will have the opportunity to participate in all the services offered through the AUHEC including our recently established collaborative practice agreement (the first CPA approved in Alabama).
During this learning experience, the resident will work with a variety of health care professionals to care for patients in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. The service aims to facilitate recently discharged patient’s identification and resolution of barriers to care to improve patient outcomes. Residents will see patients independently and in collaboration with other health care providers. Residents will identify high-risk patients at East Alabama Medical Center (EAMC) to enroll them in the transitions of care services to reduce readmission rates at the hospital. Pharmacist interventions will include receipt of medications, adherence, and addressing barriers to care such as, but not limited to: managing provider referrals, recommending over-the-counter medications, medication reconciliation, and creating pill-box maps. The transitions of care pharmacist and the resident will then manage these enrolled patients at the AUPCC.
Residents will participate in the evaluation of institution-specific population health metrics including the identification of meaningful target metrics, generation of a target patient list, design of an intervention protocol, and development of a data collection plan. Residents will also participate in a pharmacogenomics service during this rotation. Pharmacogenomics helps to develop medication regimens that can be tailored to an individual’s genetic makeup. Residents will have the opportunity to perform pharmacogenomic testing along with patient consultations to discuss the results. They will also make recommendations regarding a patient’s regimen to optimize therapy.
Selective Rotations
This site focuses on indigent care of individuals with HIV, including all ancillary ambulatory care, such as diabetes, cholesterol, high blood pressure, and more.
This site focuses on general ambulatory care for those in the veteran care facility.
This site focuses on general ambulatory care in a family practice medical training setting.
This site focuses on general primary care in the underserved population in East Alabama (underinsured and uninsured).
Elective Rotations

Based on the resident’s interest and career goals, and planned individually with the RPD.

Longitudinal Rotations
There are three pharmacies associated with the program, the AU Employee Pharmacy, AU Student Pharmacy, and SEIB Pharmacy. Residents are responsible for staffing these pharmacies one day per week. Throughout the year, residents will rotate so that each resident will have the opportunity to staff at all three pharmacies. Residents will also be required to staff the AU Student Pharmacy every fourth Saturday and serve as the on-call pharmacist for one week per month.
Residents will serve on committees within the Harrison College of Pharmacy.
During this interprofessional education, or IPE, longitudinal experience, the resident will work with the preceptor on various projects related to IPE at HCOP and Auburn University.
Residents will work collaboratively and longitudinally with experiential programs faculty and staff on activities related to the experiential curriculum of Harrison College of Pharmacy. The HCOP Experiential Programs includes both introductory and advanced pharmacy practice experiences as well as interprofessional education and the co-curriculum.
Each resident will participate in investigative projects concerning aspects of pharmacy practice. The resident will be responsible for completing an active project, which will consist of collecting data, evaluating the results, and reporting the findings of the project. They will also choose a second project topic, design the methods of the project, and submit for IRB approval of the project.

Teaching Certificate Program

Participation with the Resident Teaching & Learning Program (RTLP) is optional, but a formal commitment to the program must be made within the first month of the training year.

Learn more about the Resident Teaching & Learning Program.

Miscellaneous Information

There are four PGY-1 pharmacy resident positions available. The term of the residency will be July 1 through June 30 (12 months). Remuneration for the one-year residency will be $45,000. Residents will be eligible for health insurance, paid leave and receive financial support to attend assigned professional meetings. Additionally, residents will have a dedicated office space, personal work laptop, and on-campus parking privileges.

Applicants must have earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from an ACPE accredited college or school of pharmacy, be registered for the resident matching program, and be eligible for Alabama licensure. Candidates selected for this position must be able to meet eligibility requirements to work in the United States at the time the appointment is scheduled to begin and continue working legally for the proposed term of employment.

Licensure

If you are not graduating from a pharmacy school in the State of Alabama, it is imperative to recognize that the licensure requirements might be different than the state you are graduating from. For licensure, the Alabama Board of Pharmacy requires 1500 internship hours. A total of 400 traditional (Community and Health System Practice) hours need to be completed after your second year of pharmacy school. All of the internship hours worked in a different state need to be certified by that state board of pharmacy and submitted to the Alabama Board of Pharmacy. For further information, please go to www.albop.com. If you do not have 400 traditional hours completed after your second year of pharmacy school, please alert Dr. Brackett via email brackpd@auburn.edu or telephone 334-844-4099 as soon as possible for special arrangements.

Certifications

Residents will be required to successfully complete and maintain American Heart Association Basic Life Support certification. Residents will also be required to successfully complete immunization certification.

PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency in Community Setting

Auburn University provides a unique ASHP-accredited PGY-1 Community-Based Pharmacy Residency position through Star Discount Pharmacy in Huntsville, Alabama. Star Discount Pharmacy operates six pharmacies where they provide many advanced and innovative community pharmacy services such as specialty (both URAC and ACHC accredited), compounding, medication therapy management (MTM), point-of-care testing, immunizations, group education, research, and much more. The partnership with Auburn offers the resident faculty mentorship in areas such as research, teaching, service development, and ambulatory care and will position the resident for careers in a variety of practice settings.

Residents trained in this program will gain over 2,000 hours of advanced education and training focused on developing patient care, practice management, and leadership skills. Additionally, residents will have the opportunity to conduct research and present at regional and national pharmacy conferences. The PGY-1 Community-Based Pharmacy Residency conducted by Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama.

Resident responsibilities will include:

  • Providing pharmaceutical care services including, but not limited to, MTM, disease state management, diabetes education, health and wellness screenings, point-of-care testing, compounding, specialty medication consults, and immunizations in a community setting.
  • Providing patient care and dispensing services at the various Star Pharmacy locations in Northern Alabama.
  • Precepting and mentoring students in the early and advanced experiential program.
  • Initiating new advanced services in the community setting
  • Completing a residency project and presenting the project at the Southeastern Residency Conference.

The resident will receive an adjunct faculty appointment within the Department of Pharmacy Practice of the Harrison College of Pharmacy and have instructional duties as outlined above. In addition to the specified teaching responsibilities, the resident will have the opportunity to participate in a teaching certificate program.

In order to successfully complete the residency program, the resident must complete 12 months of training in the program.

Residency Experiences

The experiences listed are examples for informational purposes only. All listed activities will occur, but might not be in the format currently listed. For more information please contact the community-based residency program director Dr. Greg Peden at pedengc@auburn.edu.

Block Rotations (4-11 weeks in length)
The first six week block of the residency will be devoted to orientation. Residents will have one week of general program orientation followed by orientation at the Star Pharmacy locations during the remainder of this rotation. Residents will gain familiarity with Star Pharmacy computer systems, workflow, routine services, and general processes that will be used throughout the residency year.
The Clinical Services learning experience is a seven week core rotation block for PGY-1 Star Pharmacy/HCOP Community-Based Residents. This rotation provides residents with a focused opportunity to perform advanced clinical services and bolster skills that will be used for the duration of the residency. During this rotation, the resident will perform point-of-care testing (e.g. blood sugar and lipids), vaccinations, health and wellness screenings, and other advanced clinical services. The resident will interpret patient lab results, provide education and counseling, and make recommendations to both patients and other healthcare providers.
The nature and location of the four-week elective experience will be determined after discussion between the resident and RPD at the beginning of the residency program. Elective experiences are performed outside of Star Pharmacy and subject to availability of preceptors in the resident’s desired area of training. The RPD will work with the resident to schedule an experience that meets the needs of both the resident and program.
This five-week core experience combines population health and medication therapy management for a blended learning experience. The resident will utilize a variety of tools to identify patients eligible for MTM, vaccinations, and other population health interventions. The resident will coordinate with patients, providers and other pharmacists to provide care that improves patient outcomes. The most common disease states addressed include diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, osteoporosis, and asthma.
This 10 week experience is the final rotation of the residency. It is designed to allow the resident to utilize the skills learned in all previous rotations to provide safe, timely, and effective patient care in the community pharmacy setting. Operating as an independent member of the pharmacy team, the resident will provide a variety of clinical services to a diverse patient population.
On this 11 week rotation the resident will gain experience with service development. The resident will develop a plan for service delivery, outcome tracking, financial sustainability, and quality improvement. The resident will then take a lead role implementing the new service, address any challenges or barriers that arise during implementation, and evaluate the impact of the service.
This six week core learning experience gives residents time working with high-cost medications that require specific clinical monitoring, administration, and/or unique storage parameters. Residents work in collaboration with patients, physicians, pharmacists and other healthcare providers to ensure clinical outcomes are met for patient therapies and to decrease the occurrence of treatment failure and adverse effects. The most common disease states encountered in this experience include hepatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, hyperlipidemia, multiple sclerosis, HIV, cystic fibrosis, and ulcerative colitis.
Longitudinal Rotations
Throughout the residency year, the resident will staff at one of the Star Market Pharmacies in Northern Alabama. The resident may work at different locations over the course of the year. This experience occurs throughout the entire year following orientation.
The resident will participate in mentored investigative projects concerning aspects of pharmacy practice. This experience occurs the entire year following orientation. The resident will be responsible for completing an active project, which will consist of collecting data, evaluating the results, and reporting the findings of the project. Research activities will also include design of project methods and submission for IRB approval. The research project will be presented at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and Southeastern Residency Conference (SERC).
This experience runs for the entire year following orientation and is designed to provide the resident with dedicated clinical time each week to complete a variety of clinical services. These services are vital to the health of patients and pharmacists’ expanded role in the healthcare team. Example clinical activities include: comprehensive medication management, targeted medication interventions, disease state management, population health management, and transitions of care.
This experience occurs throughout the entire year following orientation and is designed for the resident to gain experience in areas of community-based practice which may fall outside of the normal daily duties of the community pharmacist. Activities covered in this experience include advocacy, compounding, durable medical equipment (DME) and practice administration. The resident will participate in a variety of focused activities in each of these topic areas.
The teaching experience occurs throughout the year following orientation and in a variety of settings. The resident will have the opportunity to teach patients, students, and other healthcare providers through a variety of assigned activities. The resident will help to precept IPPE and APPE students on rotation, deliver an elective offered by the Harrison College of Pharmacy, present to Star Pharmacy staff, and participate in the development and delivery of a continuing education program.

Teaching Certificate Program

The resident will have the opportunity to participate in a Teaching Certificate Program provided by faculty of the Harrison College of Pharmacy. Participation with the Resident Teaching & Learning Program (RTLP) is optional. Activities for the RTLP occur throughout the residency year. A formal commitment to the program must be made within the first month of the training year.

Learn more about the Resident Teaching & Learning Program.

Miscellaneous Information

There is one PGY-1 pharmacy resident position available. The term of the residency will be July 1 through June 30 (12 months). Remuneration for the one-year residency will be $45,000. Residents will be eligible for health insurance and paid leave. The resident will receive financial support to attend assigned professional meetings. Additionally, residents will have dedicated office space and a personal work laptop.

Applicants must have earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from an ACPE-accredited college or college of pharmacy and be eligible for licensure in Alabama. Candidates selected for this position must be able to meet eligibility requirements to work in the United States at the time the appointment is scheduled to begin and continue working legally for the proposed term of employment.

Licensure

If you are not graduating from a pharmacy school in the State of Alabama, it is imperative to recognize that the licensure requirements vary from state to state. For licensure, the Alabama Board of Pharmacy requires 1500 internship hours. A total of 400 traditional (Community and Health System Practice) hours need to be completed after the second year of your pharmacy program. All of the internship hours worked in a different state need to be certified by that state board of pharmacy and submitted to the Alabama Board of Pharmacy. For further information, please go to www.albop.com. If you do not have 400 traditional hours completed after your second year of pharmacy school, please alert Dr. Peden via email pedengc@auburn.edu or telephone 334-844-4099 as soon as possible for special arrangements.

Certifications

Residents will be required to successfully complete and maintain American Heart Association Basic Life Support certification. Residents will also be required to successfully complete immunization certification.

Meet the Residents

Sam Dowdle

Dr. Sam Dowdle

Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Resident
svd0007@auburn.edu

Education:

  • B.S., Pharmaceutical Studies - Samford University, 2021
  • Pharm.D. - Samford University McWhorter School of Pharmacy, 2023

Bio:

Dr. Sam Dowdle is a native of Millport, Alabama. He received his bachelor of science degree in pharmaceutical sciences from Samford University in 2021 and continued on to complete his Pharm.D. in 2023. While in pharmacy school, he interned with Homewood Pharmacy. He was also active in the American Pharmacists Association, Alabama Pharmacy Association, National Community Pharmacists Association and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Dowdle would like to one day own an independent pharmacy and incorporate ambulatory care services within it, providing elevated health care in rural areas. In his spare time, he enjoys watching and playing sports and is a fan of Alabama athletics and the New York Yankees.

Dr. Dillon Hagan

Dr. Dillon Hagan

Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Resident
dmh0066@auburn.edu

Education:

  • B.S., Biology – Northwestern State University, 2019
  • Pharm.D. – Thomas Jefferson University, 2023

Bio:

Dr. Dillon Hagan is a native of Natchitoches, Louisiana. He received his bachelor of science degree in biology from Northwestern State University in 2019 and his Pharm.D. from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia in 2023. As an undergrad, he was a pharmacy technician at Brookshires Pharmacy, a regional chain in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. While in pharmacy school, he interned with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Hagan has also taken on unique experiential opportunities, studying abroad in Malaysia while an undergrad and completing a rotation with the Indian Health Service in Oregon during his P4 year. He was also active in the American Pharmacists Association throughout pharmacy school, serving as international vice president during his P3 year. His research interests include transitions of care, cardiology and pharmacogenomics. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, photography and playing video games.

Dr. Trey Johnson

Dr. Trey Johnson

Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Resident
wtj0016@auburn.edu

Education:

  • B.S., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology - University of Tennessee at Knoxville, 2016
  • B.S., Pharmaceutical Sciences - University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 2021
  • Master of Health Informatics and Information Management - University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 2022
  • Pharm.D. - University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 2023

Bio:

Dr. Trey Johnson is a native of Tazewell, Tennessee. He received bachelor’s degrees in ecology and evolutionary biology (2016) and pharmaceutical sciences (2021) from the University of Tennessee. He also completed a master’s degree in health informatics and information management (2022) and his doctor of pharmacy (2023) from Tennessee. While in pharmacy school, he was active within Phi Delta Chi, including serving as the Knoxville region service chair. Johnson also worked as a pharmacy intern with Walgreens, Mac’s Hometown Pharmacies and Summit Medical Group. Active in research, Johnson has articles published in Pharmacy, JAPhA, Animal Behavior and Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. His research interests include HIV management, mental health and pharmacogenomics.

Dr. Mattie Schanandore

Dr. Mattie Schanandore

Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Resident
mes0303@auburn.edu

Education:

  • B.S., Chemistry – University of Central Arkansas, 2019
  • Pharm.D. – University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy, 2023

Bio:

Dr. Mattie Schanandore is a native of Conway, Arkansas. She received her bachelor of science degree in chemistry from University of Central Arkansas in 2019 and her Pharm.D. from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy in 2023. While in pharmacy school, she interned with Cornerstone Pharmacy in Little Rock, Arkansas. She was also active in the American Pharmacists Association (serving as vice president of social activities), the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and Kappa Epsilon fraternity (serving as social chair and secretary) while also serving as a class officer and student ambassador. She is interested in ambulatory care pharmacy and community pharmacy. In her free time, she enjoys reading, exercising, traveling, listening to podcasts, eating at new restaurants and spending time with friends and family.

Dr. Caleigh Smith

Dr. Caleigh Smith

Darden Community Pharmacy Resident
ces0259@auburn.edu

Education:

  • B.S., Pharmacy Studies - Samford University, 2021
  • Pharm.D. - Samford University, 2023

Bio:

Dr. Caleigh Smith is a native of Butler, Alabama. She received her bachelor of science degree in pharmacy studies from Samford University in 2021 and continued on to her Pharm.D. in 2023. While in pharmacy school, she interned with several independent community pharmacies, in Alabama, including Montevallo Drug, Express Pharmacy in Talladega and Mr. Discount Drugs in Butler. She was also active in the Student National Pharmacists Association, American Pharmacists Association, National Community Pharmacy Association, and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, where she served as a member of the International Public Health Committee. She is interested in the implementation and delivery of clinical services in independent community pharmacies. In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking, trying out coffee shops in the Huntsville area, and relaxing with her cat, Betty.

Last Updated: September 12, 2023