Gatton College of Pharmacy graduating first class of residents

By Staff Reports

JOHNSON CITY — East Tennessee State University’s Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy graduated the first two members of its residency programs Thursday, June 28, and both have already accepted positions where they will influence the profession on opposite ends of the country.

The Gatton College of Pharmacy held its inaugural residency graduation ceremony for the two members of the Class of 2012, Drs. Jessica Freshour and Michelle Vaughn. The ceremony began at 3:30 p.m. at the Carnegie Hotel.

Freshour completed a residency in internal medicine, while Vaughn completed training in ambulatory care. Among residency programs that are accredited or seeking accreditation in Tennessee, ETSU offers one of only two in ambulatory care, and one of only three in internal medicine. Pharmacy residents at ETSU, which are post-graduate year two (PGY2) programs, spend a year at the college focusing on their practice area and academia. Each resident completes a teaching and learning certificate program.

Freshour is a member of the Class of 2010 — the first class of ETSU pharmacy graduates — and completed a PGY1 residency at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville before returning to ETSU. She will remain at the Gatton College of Pharmacy after residency, as she has accepted an appointment as an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice.

Vaughn will join the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium and serve as a clinical specialist in Juneau, Alaska. She, too, had ties to the university prior to her residency, as she earned her bachelor’s degree at ETSU. She received her doctor of pharmacy degree at the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy in Chapel Hill, and completed her PGY1 residency at McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Va.

Dr. Michael Crouch, associate dean for Academic Affairs and Professional Education at the college, lauded Vaughn and Freshour for their accomplishments and stressed the importance of training residents at ETSU.

“I commend Michelle and Jessica for being the first residents to complete a pharmacy residency at the Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy,” Crouch said. “A second-year pharmacy residency is the definitive training ground for clinical pharmacists and those who want to enter academia, so this is an important part of our educational mission to elevate pharmacy practice in the region.

“Our college is training the next leaders in pharmacy education.”

ETSU has already accepted two residents for the 2012-2013 academic year: Dr. McKenzie Calhoun in ambulatory care, and Dr. Phillip Lee in internal medicine. Calhoun is a 2011 graduate of the Gatton College of Pharmacy and completed a PGY1 residency at the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System in Nashville. Lee earned his doctor of pharmacy degree from the University of Tennessee and completed a PGY1 residency at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.