Residency preceptors
Elisabeth Simmons, PharmD, MHA, BCPS
Title: PGY-2 Pediatric Residency Program Director, Director of Pediatric Pharmacy
Education: PharmD, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2005
Training: PGY-1, Medical University of South Carolina, 2006, PGY-2 in Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina, 2007
Practice Area: Pediatric Administration
Email: elisabeth.simmons@aah.org
Pediatric Intensive Care Learning Experience: The pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) learning experience focuses on the provision of pharmaceutical care services to the pediatric population. The PICU is a 16- bed unit that encompasses patients ranging in age from newborns to adolescents. The patient population includes traumas, post-operative cases, and general medical issues. Residents participate in daily rounds with an interdisciplinary team, of which responsibilities include: review of patient profiles, provision of drug information, development of evidence based therapeutic plans, and development of short and long-term monitoring plans. Residents also assist with pharmacokinetic monitoring, providing parenteral nutrition support, and participating in pediatric emergencies. Residents participate in one to two topic discussions each week. Topics include but are not limited to septic shock, traumatic brain injury, seizures, diabetic ketoacidosis, pressors/neuromuscular blockers, pulmonary hypertension, continuous renal replacement therapy, and extracorporeal membranous oxygenation. Residents provide education through inservices and formal presentations to the pharmacy staff, physicians, and nurses.
Jessica Miller, PharmD, BDICP
Title: Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Infectious Diseases; Advocate Lutheran General Hospital and Advocate Children's Hospital
Education: PharmD, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, 2016
Training: PGY1, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, IL, 2016-2017; PGY2 Infectious Diseases, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, IL, 2017-2018
Practice Area: Infectious Diseases, Antimicrobial Stewardship
Research Interests: antimicrobial stewardship, rapid diagnostics, antimicrobial resistance, multi-drug resistant gram-negative organisms
Email: Jessica.miller@aah.org
Infectious Disease Learning Experience Description: The Pediatric Handshake Stewardship rotation is a 6-week learning experience designed to introduce residents to antimicrobial stewardship principles based on the IDSA guidelines as well as incorporate the CDC core elements in clinical practice. This learning experience entails evaluating all pediatric patients on any antimicrobial agents, prioritizing those on broad spectrum or restricted agents and those with positive cultures in order to target the population that has the most benefit from optimizing antimicrobial therapy. Residents will also be involved in antimicrobial stewardship-related projects based on institutional needs. The rotation cultivates leadership, time-management and communication skills as the resident is heavily involved in longitudinal stewardship projects and presentations.
Nicole Gockenbach, PharmD, BCPPS
Title: PGY-1 Residency Coordinator, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Pediatric Hematology-Oncology
Education: Pharm.D., University of Iowa, 2012
Training: PGY1, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, 2013; PGY2 Pediatrics, OSF St. Francis Medical Center – Children’s Hospital of Illinois, 2014
Practice Area: Pediatric Hematology Oncology
Research Interests: Prevention and management of chemotherapy-induced toxicities, medication education, drug level monitoring
Email: nicole.gockenbach@aah.org
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Learning Experience: The learning experience allows the resident to build upon information acquired in the resident's didactic education and practice skills needed for patient care, with emphasis on demonstrating an understanding of common hematologic and oncologic diagnoses and treatment. Common diagnoses consist of, but are not limited to: leukemia, lymphoma, retinoblastoma, neuroblastoma, sarcoma, brain tumors, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia. The resident participates in daily bedside rounds and develop patient-specific, evidence-based therapeutic plans. In addition, the resident presents 1-3 topic discussions weekly and provides education to patients/families, and through in-services or formal presentations to pharmacists, physicians, and nurses.
Karen Caylor, PharmD, BCPS
Title: Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Pediatric Critical Care
Education: Pharm.D., University of Illinois at Chicago, 2007
Training: PGY-1, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, 2008; PGY-2 Pediatrics, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2009
Practice Area: Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Research Interests: Vancomycin dosing and kinetics in pediatrics, dexmedetomidine use in PICU patients, and opioid and benzodiazepine withdrawal in children
Email: karen.chincaylor@aah.org
Pediatric Intensive Care Learning Experience: The pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) learning experience focuses on the provision of pharmaceutical care services to the pediatric population. The PICU is a 16- bed unit that encompasses patients ranging in age from newborns to adolescents. The patient population includes traumas, post-operative cases, and general medical issues. Residents participate in daily rounds with an interdisciplinary team, of which responsibilities include: review of patient profiles, provision of drug information, development of evidence based therapeutic plans, and development of short and long-term monitoring plans. Residents also assist with pharmacokinetic monitoring, providing parenteral nutrition support, and participating in pediatric emergencies. Residents participate in one to two topic discussions each week. Topics include but are not limited to septic shock, traumatic brain injury, seizures, diabetic ketoacidosis, pressors/neuromuscular blockers, pulmonary hypertension, continuous renal replacement therapy, and extracorporeal membranous oxygenation. Residents provide education through inservices and formal presentations to the pharmacy staff, physicians, and nurses.
Tyler Golembiewski, PharmD
Title: Clinical Pharmacist, Pediatrics
Education: Pharm.D., Midwestern University, 2013
Training: PGY-1, Children's Minnesota, 2016
Practice Area: General Pediatrics
Research Interests: General pediatrics and cystic fibrosis
Email: Tyler.Golembiewski@aah.org
General Pediatrics Learning Experience: The activities of the experience allow the resident to build upon information acquired in their didactic education and practice skills needed for patient care, with emphasis on demonstrating an understanding of common acute and chronic medical illnesses in pediatrics and treatment of these conditions, assessing appropriateness of medications used, and demonstrating knowledge of mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, contraindications, interactions, and adverse reactions of medications commonly used in pediatrics. The general pediatric units consist of 44 beds. Resident responsibilities include participating in daily rounds, assisting physicians in drug selection, dosing, and monitoring, documenting medication errors, updating medication guidelines as needed, providing medication counseling and education to patients and family members and teaching resident physicians, nurses, and pharmacists.
Kelly Kopec, PharmD
Title: Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Pediatrics
Education: Pharm.D., University of Illinois at Chicago, 1994
Training: PGY-1, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1995
Practice Area: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Research Interests: Neonatal nutrition; optimization and adverse effects, neonatal infectious disease, neonatal pharmacokinetics
Email: kelly.kopec@aah.org
Neonatal Intensive Care Learning Experience: The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is a level III nursery with ECMO capability and an average daily census of 35 – 40 infants. The resident participates on rounds with a multidisciplinary team consisting of physicians, medical residents and fellows, nurses and pharmacists. During rounds the pharmacist is responsible for checking all medication orders for accuracy based on the patient’s weight, gestational age, disease state, and lab results. The resident develops evidence based therapeutic plans and ensures that appropriate short and long-term monitoring parameters are followed. Other responsibilities include responding to drug information requests, evaluating medication usage, participating in performance improvement initiatives, responding to Code Blue situations, and development of treatment pathways, educating physicians, nurses and patients as needed. Several topics are covered during the learning experience including: developmental pharmacokinetics, osteopenia of prematurity, infectious diseases in the NICU, pain management, respiratory distress syndrome and BPD, seizures, treatment of PDA, surfactants, neonatal nutrition support, prevention of RSV, apnea of prematurity, retinopathy of prematurity, causes and prevention of IVH, ECMO, necrotizing enterocolitis, prenatal HIV exposure.