UPMC Presbyterian PGY2 Critical Care Pharmacy Residency Program

Required learning experiences

• Medical ICU.
• Surgical Trauma ICU.
• Cardiac ICU.
• Liver-Transplant ICU.
• Cardiothoracic ICU.
• Neurovascular ICU.
• Emergency Department.
• Precepting.

Longitudinal Learning Experiences

• Research project.
• Code Response/ ACLS.
• Operations (every fourth weekend)
  • The PGY2 resident is to provide two, eight-hour shifts every forth weekend, and also provide staffing for one major and three minor holidays. Resident-on-call coverage will be divided evenly between inpatient pharmacy residents and be in-house coverage of one, four and a half -hour shift on non-holiday evenings.

Other required experiences

• Pharmacotherapy Updates and Lecture Series for Continuing Education (PULSE) Presentation.
• Research project.
• Case conference.
• Medication use evaluation or guideline development.

Electives

• Community Hospital Intensive Care Unit.
• Pain and Palliative Care.
• Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
• Toxicology.
• Transplant Infectious Diseases.
• Trauma-Burn Intensive Care Unit.
• Others by consultation with program director.

Requirements for program completion

• Pass licensure exams as a pharmacist in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by September 30.
• Attain the goals and terminal objectives established for the specific residency program with “Achieved” for =80% of the residency goals associated with the required educational outcomes. Any goals that do not receive a rating of “Achieved” must receive a rating of “Satisfactory Progress”. At the completion of the residency program, all goals must be rated as Achieved or Satisfactory; no remaining goals may have a rating of “Needs Improvement”.
• For research, a completed manuscript must be prepared for submission before the end of the residency year.

Residency Program Director

• Lara Groetzinger, PharmD, BCCCP

Preceptors

• Neal J. Benedict, PharmD
• Abigail Cochran, PharmD
• Alison Dittmer, PharmD, BCCCP
• Joseph Durkin, PharmD, BCCCP
• Lara Groetzinger, PharmD, BCCCP
• Ellen Hanlon, PharmD, BCEMP
• Catherine Kim, PharmD, BCCCP
• Maria Lowry, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP
• Erin McCreary, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP
• Cory McGinnis, PharmD, BCCCP
• Brianna Ordons, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
• Kevin Ordons, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
• Ryan Rivosecchi, PharmD, BCCCP
• Katherine Roberts, PharmD, BCCCP
• Pamela Smithburger, PharmD, MS, BCPS, BCCCP, FCCP, FCCM
• Danine Sullinger, PharmD, BCCCP

Residency Program Coordinator

• Chloe Spencer

Current Resident

• Hannah Metheney, PharmD

Former Residents

• 2025 Residents
  • Abigail Cochran, PharmD
  • Kayleigh Yaeger, PharmD
• 2024 Resident
  • Joshua Dorazio, PharmD
• 2023 Resident
  • Madeline Mitchell, PharmD
• 2022 Resident
  • Marissa Campagna, PharmD
• 2021 Resident
  • Victoria Williams, PharmD
• 2020 Resident
  • Abby Chiappelli, PharmD
• 2019 Resident
  • Caitlin McHugh, PharmD

• All residents must be eligible for pharmacist licensure in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Applications for Pharmacist License and Intern Registration are available.
• Eligible candidates will have completed an ASHP accredited PGY1 pharmacy residency program and must submit the standard application requirements via PhORCAS by December 31. An on-site interview may be required.
• This residency site agrees that no person at this site will solicit, accept, or use any ranking related information from any residency candidate.

• Stipend
• Benefits (PDF)
• Staffing Requirements: Every fourth weekend
• Travel:
  • Attendance and presentation at the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) Congress highly encouraged.
  • Meeting travel not required as travel funding is determined yearly and not guaranteed.
• Days off: 20 days

• Yaeger KN, Rivosecchi RM, Clarkson JN, Lamberty PE, Groetzinger LM. Comparison of Train-of-Four Versus No Train-of-Four Monitoring of Neuromuscular Blockade on Drug Consumption for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Ann Pharmacother. 2026 Feb 2 doi: 10.1177/10600280251414669.
• Cochran A, Beyer D, Rivosecchi RM, Groetzinger LM. 933: Effect of Discordance between Cystatin C and Serum Creatinine-Based GFRs on Medications in the ICU. Critical Care Medicine 53(1):, January 2025
• Yaeger K, Rivosecchi RM, Groetzinger LM. 950: Digoxin Loading Dose Strategies and Supratherapeutic Levels in a Cohort of Critically Ill Patients. Critical Care Medicine 53(1):, January 2025.
• Mitchell M, Sullinger D, Dyer D, Hickey G, Kaczorowski D, Minor J, Murray H, Ramanan R, Rhinehart Z, Schmidhofer M, Rivosecchi RM. Evaluation of Newly Integrated Bivalirudin Titration Protocol in Patients With Mechanical Circulatory Support. Ann Pharmacother. 2024 Aug;58(8):803-810.
• Dorazio J, Chiappelli AL, Shields RK, Tsai YV, Skinker P, Nabozny MJ, Bauza G, Forsythe R, Rosengart MR, Gunn SR, Marini R, Clarke L, Falcione B, Ludwig J, McCreary EK. Clindamycin Plus Vancomycin Versus Linezolid for Treatment of Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infection. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2023 May 11;10(6):ofad258.
• Williams VL, Smithburger PL, Imhoff AN, Groetzinger LM, Culley CM, Burke CX, Murugan R, Lamberty PE, Mahmud M, Benedict NJ, Kellum JA, Kane-Gill SL. Interventions, Barriers, and Proposed Solutions Associated With the Implementation of a Protocol That Uses Clinical Decision Support and a Stress Biomarker Test to Identify ICU Patients at High-Risk for Drug Associated Acute Kidney Injury. Ann Pharmacother. 2023 Apr;57(4):408-415.
• Williams VL, Groetzinger LM, Smithburger PL, Imhoff A, Culley CM, Murugan R, Kellum JA, Kane-Gill SL. Case presentations of medication management for patients at risk for drug-associated acute kidney injury identified with a CDS system and a novel biomarker. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2023 Mar 21;80(7):423-429.
• Perry MW, Kobulinsky LR, Seybert AL, Kreider MS, Williams V, Smithburger PL. Interinstitutional simulation of patients with COVID-19 during a remote acute-care advanced pharmacy practice experience. J Am Coll Clin Pharm. 2022 Apr;5(4):442-449.