CHRISTUS Specialty Pharmacy PGY1
Why CHRISTUS Specialty Pharmacy?
CHRISTUS Specialty Pharmacy, located in CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital – Tyler, offers life-changing specialty pharmacy services designed to simplify every aspect of patient care. Services include patient education and counseling, obtaining financial assistance, navigating insurance benefits, coordinating with providers, managing refills, and prescription delivery. CHRISTUS Specialty Pharmacy is dual accredited by URAC and ACHC, and strives to deliver the highest quality care for all patients and is comprised of a care team with pharmacy technicians, liaisons, and specialty clinical pharmacists.
Specialty clinical pharmacists at CHRISTUS Specialty Pharmacy serve as integrated healthcare team members to provide collaborative and individualized patient care. Pharmacists support various health system specialty clinics, including rheumatology, gastroenterology, dermatology, neurology, endocrinology, cardiology, pulmonology, oncology, and hematology. Services include ongoing safety and appropriateness monitoring for specialty therapies, therapeutic recommendations and development of care plans, patient education and counseling, and clinical interventions. Pharmacists also work closely with prescribers through the utilization of clinical protocols to ensure medication appropriateness, safety, accessibility, and continuity.
Residency Program Overview
The CHRISTUS Specialty Pharmacy PGY1 Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program is designed to develop residents' knowledge of specialty pharmacy operations, enhance their ability to provide clinical services across specialty disease states, strengthen leadership and administrative skills, and foster engagement in scholarly activities. Residents train within a health-system specialty pharmacy and affiliated clinic settings, where specialty pharmacists serve as integrated members of interdisciplinary patient care teams.
The program is comprised of a primary and a participating site. The resident will spend approximately 80% of their time in Irving, TX at the CHRISTUS Health System Office and 20% of their time in Tyler, TX at the CHRISTUS Specialty Pharmacy. Prior to the start of the residency year, the resident will choose to reside within a commuting distance of either Tyler or Irving practice locations. When the resident is expected to be at the non-home location, travel expenses will be reimbursed by CHRISTUS Health, including mileage, hotel, and meals.
Residency Activities
How to Apply
We use the Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PHORCAS) to accept applications, transcripts and other supporting application materials.
ASHP code: 74804
Program match (NPS) code: 312915
Visit PHORCAS to apply
Application deadline: January 4, 2027
Application Requirements
For an application to be considered by the CHRISTUS Specialty Pharmacy PGY1 Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program, the following criteria, at minimum, must be met:
- Graduate or candidate for graduation from an ACPE-accredited degree program or one in the process of pursuing accreditation
- Minimum of a 3.0 GPA (or equivalent for programs without GPAs)
- Licensed or eligible for licensure in the state of Texas
Other broad criteria for selection to the residency program include leadership abilities, professional development, communication skills, scholastic achievements, and professional competence in clinical situations. Applications should be submitted through PhORCAS. The applicant must submit a curriculum vitae, letter of intent, pharmacy school transcripts, and three letters of recommendation.
Applicants must submit:
- official college of pharmacy transcripts
- letter of intent
- three letters of recommendation
- curriculum vitae
Pharmacy Residency Program Contacts
Alexandra Ritenour, PharmD, CSP
Program Manager of Specialty Pharmacy Education and Research
Residency Program Director
alex.ritenour@christushealth.org
Current Preceptors
Alexandra Ritenour, PharmD, CSP
Program Manager of Specialty Pharmacy Education and Research
- Pharmacy Education: Texas A&M University
- PGY1: Baylor Scott & White Health Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program
- PGY2: Baylor Scott & White Health Specialty Pharmacy Administration and Leadership Residency Program
- Specialty Practice Area: Hepatology, Quality Improvement, Research, Administration
- Special Interests: MASH, Pharmacist Interventions, Health Outcomes
Kristen Lawrence, PharmD, CSP
Director of Outpatient Pharmacy Operations
- Pharmacy Education: University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) College of Pharmacy
- Specialty Practice Area: Administration
Kiersi Harmon, PharmD, CSP
Manager of Specialty Pharmacy Clinical Operations
- Pharmacy Education: UT Tyler Fisch College of Pharmacy
- PGY1: Baylor Scott & White Health Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program
- PGY2: Baylor Scott & White Health Specialty Pharmacy Administration and Leadership Residency Program
- Specialty Practice Area: Administration, Specialty Pharmacy Accreditation
- Special Interests: Accreditation, Outcomes, Quality Improvement, Inflammatory conditions
Megan Rhyne, PharmD
Manager Pharmacy Services
- Pharmacy Education: Texas A&M University
- Specialty Practice Area: Operations, Administration
Talie Newman, PharmD, BCACP
Specialty Clinical Pharmacist
- Pharmacy Education: Creighton University School of Pharmacy and Health Professions
- PGY1: Pharmacotherapy – North Texas Veterans Affairs
- PGY2: Ambulatory Care – North Texas Veterans Affairs
- Specialty Practice Area: Cardiology, Endocrinology
- Special Interests: Primary and Secondary ASCVD Prevention, Osteoporosis
Adrienne DeBerry, PharmD, CPh, BCACP, CSP
Specialty Clinical Pharmacist, Lead Pharmacist of Market Access and New Therapies
- Pharmacy Education: University of Florida College of Pharmacy
- PGY1: Pharmacy Practice – UF Health Jacksonville
- PGY2: Ambulatory Care – UF Health Jacksonville
- Specialty Practice Area: Pulmonology, Neurology
- Special Interests: Market Access for Specialty Medications, Neurology, Pulmonology
Donyelle Madison, PharmD
Specialty Clinical Pharmacist
- Pharmacy Education: University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) College of Pharmacy
- PGY1: PGY1 Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program: Novant Health in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Specialty Practice Area: Rheumatology, Dermatology
- Special Interests: Dermatology, Rheumatology, Health Equity, Mentorship and Quality Improvement
Trisha Patel, PharmD, MBA
Specialty Clinical Pharmacist
- Pharmacy Education: UT Tyler Fisch College of Pharmacy
- Specialty Practice Area: Rheumatology, Dermatology
- Special Interests: Inflammatory conditions, HIV
Vanessa Lopez, PharmD
Specialty Clinical Pharmacist
- Pharmacy Education: Incarnate Word Feik School of Pharmacy
- PGY1: CHRISTUS Specialty Pharmacy PGY1 Community-Based Residency Program
- Specialty Practice Area: Gastroenterology
- Special Interests: Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Cardiology, Rheumatology
Sierra Simmons, PharmD
Specialty Clinical Pharmacist
- Pharmacy Education: Medical University of South Carolina
- Specialty Practice Area: Oncology and Hematology
- Special Interests: Pediatric Oncology, Ovarian and Endometrial Oncology
Stephany Garrett, PharmD
Clinical Pharmacist
- Pharmacy Education: University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy
- Specialty Practice Area: Operations
Current Resident
Jessica Lopez, PharmD
- Pharmacy Education: UT Tyler Fisch College of Pharmacy
Former Residents
Jeryl Raju, PharmD, MBA
Clinical Specialty Pharmacist, Methodist Health System – Dallas
- Pharmacy Education: Texas A&M University
- Residency Research Project: Impact of a pharmacist-led adalimumab biosimilar interchange protocol on order processing times
Vanessa Lopez, PharmD
Specialty Clinical Pharmacist, CHRISTUS Specialty Pharmacy
- Pharmacy Education: Incarnate Word Feik School of Pharmacy
- Residency Research Project: Impact of a pharmacist-led adalimumab biosimilar interchange protocol on order processing times