10 UH Hilo DKICP student pharmacists chosen for ASHP residencies

Ten students preparing to graduate in May 2020 from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy recently were matched to post-graduate residency programs at hospitals and health care systems around the county. Two DKICP graduates from the class of 2019 were also matched for a second year of postgraduate residency.

The annual residency match program is coordinated by the American Society of Health System Pharmacists and provides a process to help connect top graduates from pharmacy colleges with residency programs throughout the United States. Residency match is a highly competitive process for pharmacy graduates.

From the class of 2020 for PGY-1 residency:
• Robyn Hart: Providence Alaska Medical Center, Anchorage, AK
• Taylor Hori: VA Southern Nevada Health Care System, North Las Vegas, NV
• Kelly Kofalt: VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System, Reno, NV
• Kamala Lizama: VA Pacific Islands Health Care System, Honolulu, HI
• Mary Lui: VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA
• My Nguyen: Yuma Regional Medical Center, Yuma, AZ
• Stacey Nguyen: MountainView Hospital, Las Vegas, NV
• Brent Ocker: Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Shaina Saiki: Scripps Memorial Hospital-La Jolla, La Jolla, CA
• Thi Hong Vo: University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, Hilo, HI

From the class of 2019 for PGY-2 specialty residency:
• Kelsey Noetzelmann: Oncology, University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy, Aurora, CO
• Leigh Heffner: Psychiatry and Mental Health, William S. Middleton VA Medical Center, Madison, WI

“Match Day, and all the preparations for it, can be very stressfull,” said DKICP Dean Carolyn Ma. “We are proud of all our students in the Class of 2020 who dedicated themselves to fulfilling the many requirements of the program. For our matches from the Class of 2019, the progression to a specialty residency demonstrates their desire to commit to an area of specialty practice that will set them apart from their peers and offer the possibility of the prestigious future of specialty board certification.”