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Houston Program Prowess

Residents Smith and Roduta Honored with TSHP Foundation's Residency Fellowship, Research Poster Competition Awards; Program Partner Houston Methodist Hospital

Devlin V. Smith, Pharm.D., and Thomas Roduta, Pharm.D., two residents/master's students in The Houston Program collaboration comprising UH College of Pharmacy and seven fellow Texas Medical Center institutions, received top honors at the Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists 2018 Annual Seminar April 6-8 in The Woodlands.

In addition, one of the program's founding partners – Houston Methodist Hospital – was recognized with the Residency Excellence Award for its PGY1-PGY2 in Health-System Pharmacy Administration residencies running concurrently with the college's M.S. in Pharmacy Leadership & Administration.

Smith photoSmith received the TSHP Research & Education Foundation's Leo F. and Ann Godley Residency Fellowship Award, which recognizes a resident or fellow who "demonstrates a commitment to the profession of pharmacy through service, practice, education, research and/or other activities." Smith recently defended her thesis for the M.S. in Pharmacy Leadership and Administration from the college and will wrap up her PGY2 Residency in Health-System Pharmacy Administration at The University of Texas-MD Anderson Cancer Center over the coming weeks.

"It is an absolute honor to receive this award, but the work and accomplishments that led to my receiving it are certainly not mine alone," Smith said. "I feel fortunate to have been surrounded by so many great teachers that have inspired and guided my accomplishments during residency and whose effects will continue to be seen as I start my career as a pharmacy leader!"

Roduta took home the first-place award in the Research Poster Competition-Resident Category for his project, "Impact of Real-Time Prescription Benefit Information at Point of Discharge on a Provider-Sponsored Health Plan." Coauthors of the study were UHCOP alumni Dominic Vu, Pharm.D. ('11), director of Pharmacy at Memorial Hermann Health Solutions, and Rodney Cox, R.Ph., M.S. ('11), director of Pharmacy at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands, and UHCOP faculty members David A. Wallace, Pharm.D. ('98), and Susan Abughosh, Ph.D.

After recently defending his M.S. thesis at the college, Roduta is completing his PGY2 Residency in Health-System Pharmacy Administration at Memorial Hermann Health System.

The TSHP Research & Education Foundation also honored The Houston Program's Houston Methodist Hospital PGY1/PGY2/M.S. program with the Residency Program Excellence Award. The award is presented to a "pharmacy residency program that has a track record of excellence in the training of pharmacy residents and consistently provides an exceptionally positive and rewarding experience their residents." Nominated programs are evaluated on such criteria as Innovation, Quality Improvement, Training Environment, Achievement Record, Service Excellence and Preceptor Development.

Accepting the award at the meeting were Alex C. Varkey, Pharm.D. ('05), M.S., Houston Methodist's director of Pharmacy, and Linda Haines, Pharm.D., M.S. ('11), Pharmacy Operations manager.