Pharmacy Preceptors

Caitlin Akerman, PharmD, BCPS, is the current Internal Medicine clinical specialist at WakeMed Health & Hospitals and an assistant professor of Clinical Education at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. She serves as a preceptor for both pharmacy students and residents on their Internal Medicine rotation. Akerman serves as the PGY2 teaching coordinator and for the 2024-2025 year, will serve as the PGY2 Internal Medicine Residency RPD beginning in July 2025. Akerman graduated from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in 2016 and completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and a PGY2 Cardiology Residency at WakeMed Health & Hospitals in 2018. Her current project involves determining an appropriate therapeutic enoxaparin dosing policy for obese patients. Areas of interest for Akerman include transitions of care, anticoagulation and heart failure. 

Email: cakerman@wakemed.org

Leah Baker, PharmD, is a clinical staff Med/surg and ICU float pharmacist at WakeMed Health & Hospitals. She is a graduate of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. She completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and a PGY2 Internal Medicine Pharmacy Residency at VCU Health in Richmond, VA. Baker completed a Teaching and Learning Certificate Program through the Virginia Commonwealth University College of Pharmacy. She serves as a preceptor for both pharmacy students and residents on their Internal Medicine rotation. Particular areas of interest for Baker include heart failure, diabetes, and anticoagulation.   

 Email: leabaker@wakemed.org 

Janna Beavers, PharmD, BCCP, FHFSA, CPP, is a clinical pharmacist practitioner in Heart Failure and Cardiology with WakeMed Physician Practices. Beavers is a graduate of Campbell University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences. She completed her PGY1 Pharmacy and PGY2 Cardiology residencies at WakeMed. Beavers is a member of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), American College of Cardiology (ACC), and Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA). Beavers completed a teaching certificate program through UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy during her PGY2 residency and is an adjunct clinical associate professor with Campbell University. In addition, Beavers currently serves as a co-course coordinator for the Cardiology Elective and lectures in the elective and therapeutics course at Campbell University. Her interests include chronic heart failure pharmacotherapy regimens, optimization of guideline-directed medical therapy in patients with heart failure, cardiometabolic optimization in high-risk patients, and cardiovascular risk reduction.

Email: jbeavers@wakemed.org. 
 

Lorin Bell, PharmD, BCCCP, is the Surgery/Trauma and Neurology critical care specialist at WakeMed Health & Hospitals. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy. She completed her PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, TN, and her PGY2 Critical Care Specialty Residency at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, MI. Bell completed a Teaching and Learning Certificate Program through the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy. She is a member of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) and the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM). Her current areas of interest include management of alcohol withdrawal syndrome, status epilepticus and traumatic brain injuries.

Email: lobell@wakemed.org 

Katie Bosko, PharmD, is a clinical staff cardiovascular and cardiothoracic surgery ICU pharmacist. Bosko received her doctorate of pharmacy and graduated with honors from the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy in 2021. After graduation, Bosko completed her PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and PGY2 Critical Care Residency at WakeMed. Her research in residency focused on the impact of multidisciplinary rounds on intravenous fluid administration and the incidence of deep sternal wound infection following intraoperative cefazolin at time of skin closure in cardiac surgery patients. During her PGY2 she also completed a teaching certificate with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Her current areas of interest include ACLS, pharmacotherapy optimization in ECMO and PADIS strategies. Bosko is a member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM).

Email: kbosko@wakemed.org.

Christian Caveness, PharmD, is one of the current Infectious Diseases clinical specialists at WakeMed Health & Hospitals. He serves as a preceptor for both pharmacy students and residents on their Infectious Diseases and HIV rotations as well as the Longitudinal Teaching Coordinator for PGY1s. Caveness graduated from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in 2021, completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at Maine Medical Center in Portland, ME, in 2022 as well as a PGY2 Infectious Diseases Residency at WakeMed Health & Hospitals in 2023. He also completed a teaching certificate program through the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. His current projects involve penicillin allergy assessments, necrotizing fasciitis and pediatric vancomycin dosing evaluations. Areas of interest for Caveness include non-tuberculosis mycobacteria, HIV and gram-negative resistance mechanisms.

Email: ccaveness@wakemed.org.

Rachel Coughenor, PharmD, MBA, BCCCP, is a critical care clinical pharmacist at WakeMed. Coughenor is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy and completed her MBA through the University of Memphis. She continued her training at WakeMed for her PGY1 Acute Care followed by her PGY2 in Critical Care. Coughenor completed her teaching certificate through Campbell College of Pharmacy and now precepts students and residents throughout various critical care rotations. Her current areas of interest are toxicology, antibiotic stewardship and PADIS. She is also a member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM).

Email: rcoughenor@wakemed.org

Matt Davis, PharmD, is the Emergency Medicine clinical specialist at WakeMed Health & Hospitals. He currently serves on the stroke and code blue committees at WakeMed. Davis graduated from Duquesne University School of Pharmacy in 2021. He completed his PGY1 Pharmacy Acute Care and PGY2 Critical Care residencies at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. His areas of interest include clinical toxicology, addiction medicine and pre-hospital emergency medical services.

Email: madavis@wakemed.org.

Kelsey Dobbins, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, is the Cardiology critical care clinical specialist and the coordinator for the PGY2 Critical Care Pharmacy Residency program at WakeMed Health & Hospitals. She serves as a preceptor for both pharmacy students and residents on their General Critical Care, Cardiology Critical Care and/or Cardiothoracic Surgery ICU rotations. Dobbins is a graduate of the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy. She completed her PGY1 Pharmacy Practice and PGY2 Critical Care Pharmacy residencies at WakeMed. During her PGY2 residency, Dobbins completed a teaching certificate program through UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Her research in residency focused on multimodal analgesia in non-surgical critically ill patients and anticoagulation strategies in patients with COVID-19. Current areas of interest include Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols, preoperative anemia management in cardiac surgery patients, anticoagulation practices for percutaneous ventricular assist devices and antithrombotic strategies post-bioprosthetic valve replacement. She is also a member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP). 

Email: kdobbins@wakemed.org.

Amanda Gorman, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, is the current Emergency Department and Medical/Surgical clinical coordinator at WakeMed Health & Hospitals and serves as the PGY1 Residency Program Director. Gorman graduated from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in 2017. After graduation, Gorman completed PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and PGY2 Critical Care Residency at WakeMed Health & Hospitals. Her residency research focused on the impact of pharmacy operational initiatives and documented penicillin allergy on time to antibiotics in sepsis. During her PGY2 training, Gorman also completed a teaching certificate with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Gorman currently serves as a preceptor for student pharmacists from Campbell and UNC. Her current areas of interest include pharmacy administration, antimicrobial stewardship, and medical/surgical critical care. She collaborates with clinical staff pharmacists and specialists to implement effective clinical workflow to optimize patient care. Goman is a member of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) and the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM).  

Email: agorman@wakemed.org.

Cristina Kaifer Gurganious, PharmD, BCCCP, is the Medical Critical Care clinical specialist and PGY2 Critical Care Residency program director at WakeMed Health & Hospitals. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy. She completed her PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and PGY2 Critical Care Specialty Residency at WakeMed Health & Hospitals. Throughout her residencies, she completed the Teaching Certificate Program and served as an adjunctive clinical instructor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, teaching in the Pharmaceutical Care Lab course. Her residency research focused on agents utilized for procedural sedation in the emergency department and the impact and implementation of a pharmacist-driven stress ulcer prophylaxis discontinuation protocol in the ICU. Current areas of interest include hyponatremia management, toxicology, steroid utilization in the ICU, and fluid stewardship. She currently serves as a preceptor for PGY1 Pharmacy and PGY2 Critical Care/Infectious Diseases/Internal Medicine WakeMed residents, as well as a preceptor for students from UNC and Campbell schools of pharmacy. Gurganious is a member of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), and the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM).

Email: cgurganious@wakemed.org.

René Henderson, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, is the Hematology/Oncology clinical pharmacy coordinator at WakeMed. She holds a doctor of pharmacy degree from Howard University College of Pharmacy in Washington, DC. Henderson completed her PGY1 Pharmacy Practice residency at the Duke Regional Hospital in Durham, NC, where she also earned a teaching certificate from Campbell University College of Pharmacy. Following her residency, Henderson joined the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital as an Ambulatory and Inpatient Oncology Clinical Pharmacist and later transitioned to an ambulatory-based role at the Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, MD. Her areas of clinical interest encompass solid tumor cancers, hematologic malignancies and cancer genomics/precision oncology. Henderson currently serves as a member of the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA) and the North Carolina Oncology Pharmacist Association (NCOP).

Email: rehenderson@wakemed.org.

Brittany Holshouser, PharmD, is a Clinical Pharmacy specialist in Medication Management and Optimization at WakeMed. She graduated from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy in 2023 and completed her PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and PGY2 Medication-Use Safety and Policy Residency at University of North Carolina Medical Center. Following residency and prior to her current position, she was a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Medication Management and Optimization at University of North Carolina Health. Holshouser serves as the drug information preceptor for first year pharmacy residents and pharmacy students at WakeMed. Her areas of interest include drug information, drug policy, formulary management and pharmacy analytics. 

 Email: bholshouser@wakemed.org

Shannon Holt, PharmD, BCIDP, is the Clinical Pharmacy manager for the WakeMed Health & Hospitals health system. She also serves as an assistant professor of Clinical Education for the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Holt is a graduate of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. After graduation, she completed a PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency at Duke University Hospital and a PGY2 Specialty Residency in Infectious Disease/Internal Medicine/Academia with Campbell University at Duke University Hospital. Her current research interests include antimicrobial stewardship, prevention of HACDI and clinical informatics. Holt is also actively involved in several hospital committees, including the P&T Committee, the Clinical Decision Support Committee and the Heparin Taskforce. She also is an active committee member within the Society of Infectious Disease Pharmacists (SIDP).

Email: sholt@wakemed.org.

Julia R. James, PharmD, is the current Cardiology clinical specialist at WakeMed. She is a graduate of Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in Philadelphia, PA. She completed her PGY1 Pharmacy Residency at the Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain, CT. She then completed her Cardiology PGY2 at the University of North Carolina Medical Center in Chapel Hill, NC. James completed her teaching certificate through the University of Connecticut. Her research interests are focused on heart failure transitions of care, therapeutic anticoagulation strategies in special populations including outpatient anticoagulation bridging strategies in patients with left ventricular assist devices. Her other areas of interest include heart failure, pulmonary arterial hypertension and acute coronary syndrome. James is a current member of the American College of Cardiology and Pulmonary Hypertension Association. James also delivers guest cardiology lectures at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. She is also a member of multiple hospital multidisciplinary teams including the Heart Failure Task Force and STEMI/Chest Pain committee and is the chair of the anticoagulation P&T subcommittee. James precepts PGY1 and PGY2 residents and offers rotations in general cardiology and heart failure transitions of care with a precepting emphasis.

Email: jujames@wakemed.org.

Holly Lo, PharmD, is the current Pediatric Clinical Pharmacy specialist at WakeMed. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy at UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, graduating with highest honors and distinction in 2016. Lo completed a PGY1 Pediatric Pharmacy Residency Program at CHRISTUS Children’s Hospital (formerly known as The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio) and received her teaching certificate from The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy. Following residency, Lo was a neonatal ICU/Women’s and Children’s clinical pharmacist at UNC Health Rex for seven years and involved in various UNC Health systemwide initiatives to optimize patient care for neonatal and pediatric populations. At WakeMed, she currently serves as the pediatric ICU preceptor for PGY1 and PGY2 residents, as well as pharmacy students. She is a member of the Pediatric Pharmacy Association (PPA). Lo's areas of interests include pediatric critical care, antimicrobial stewardship, EPIC optimization and implementation and interdisciplinary clinical pathways.

Email: hlo@wakemed.org.

Alison Orvin, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP, is an Infectious Diseases/Antimicrobial Stewardship Clinical Pharmacy specialist at WakeMed Health & Hospitals and the current PGY2 Infectious Diseases Residency program director. She graduated from South Carolina College of Pharmacy-MUSC Campus in 2018 and completed both her PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and PGY2 Infectious Diseases Residency at WakeMed Health & Hospitals. She serves as the leader of the ASP Dalbavancin Program and is the co-chair of the ASP P&T Sub-committee at WakeMed. She also serves as an assistant professor of clinical education at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Orvin currently precepts PGY1 and PGY2 residents in addition to pharmacy students. Her current areas of interest include antimicrobial stewardship, HIV, and antimicrobial resistance. Orvin is a member of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), ACCP Infectious Diseases PRN and the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP). Orvin lives in Wendell Falls with her husband. Her favorite hobbies include traveling, trying new restaurants and picking up a good book.   

 Email: aorvin@wakemed.org 

Nick Orvin, PharmD, BCPS, BCCP, is the Cardiology Pharmacy Clinical coordinator at WakeMed Health & Hospitals. Before his current position, he primarily staffed in the Cardiology Critical Care and Cardiology stepdown units for two years. He graduated from the South Carolina College of Pharmacy – MUSC Campus and completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and a PGY2 Cardiology Residency at WakeMed Health & Hospitals. Throughout his residencies, he also completed a Teaching and Learning Certificate Program with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. His previous research focused on the incidence of post-operative atrial fibrillation following cardiac surgery in patients receiving dopamine and the acute diuretic-sparing effects of sacubitril-valsartan in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Areas of interest for Orvin include cardiovascular risk reduction, anticoagulation, heart failure and cardiac surgery.  

Email: norvin@wakemed.org 

Maggie Schmidt, PharmD, is a Critical Care Clinical pharmacist at WakeMed, staffing in each of the ICUs. She is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. She completed both her PGY1 Acute Care Pharmacy and PGY2 Critical Care Pharmacy residencies at the University of North Carolina Medical Center in Chapel Hill, NC. During her PGY2 residency, Schmidt created a pain management guideline for rib fracture patients, delivered a podcast on neuromuscular blocking agent use in acute respiratory distress syndrome on the Pharmacy to Dose podcast and delivered a toxicology lecture for the critical care elective course at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Her research in residency focused on bromocriptine use for central fever in neurocritically ill patients. Current areas of interest include surgery/trauma, toxicology, pain/analgesia/sedation and ECMO. Outside of pharmacy, Schmidt loves to stay active by working out at F45, running, and completing Hyrox races. 

Email: maschmidt@wakemed.org

Abby Sowder, PharmD, BCCCP, is a critical care clinical pharmacist at WakeMed, staffing in each of the adult ICUs and serving as a preceptor for both pharmacy students and PGY1 and PGY2 residents. She is a Cincinnati, OH, native and a two-time graduate of The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy. She completed both her PGY1 Pharmacy Practice and PGY2 Critical Care Pharmacy residencies at WakeMed. Sowder completed a teaching certificate program through UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Her previous research focused on rapid diagnostic testing for gram-negative rod bacteremia and the effects of liberalized targeted temperatures post-cardiac arrest. Current areas of interest include antimicrobial stewardship, pain/analgesia/sedation and toxicology. She is a member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM). 

Email: absowder@wakemed.org

Carson Stahlsmith, PharmD, BCPPS, is the Neonatal and Women’s Clinical Pharmacy specialist at WakeMed. Following graduation from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Stahlsmith completed her PGY1 and PGY2 Pediatric Pharmacy Residencies at Duke University Hospital, along with a teaching certificate through Duke. She serves as a preceptor for pharmacy students and residents on their Neonatal ICU rotation. Her areas of interest include neonatal pain and sedation management, early and late onset sepsis and prevention of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. In her free time, Stahlsmith enjoys traveling and finding fun new places to explore around Raleigh!  

Email: cstahlsmith@wakemed.org  

Nathan Weller, PharmD, BCPP, is the current Psychiatric Clinical Pharmacy specialist at WakeMed. He attended Butler University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Indianapolis, IN, where he graduated with his PharmD and a minor in ethics in 2022. Following graduation, Weller completed PGY1 Acute Care Pharmacy Practice residency training with Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, WI, followed by PGY2 training in Psychiatric Pharmacy at Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Health in Charleston, SC. His interest areas include severe mental illness and substance use disorders, and he is an active member of the American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AAPP). Along with precepting the inpatient psychiatry elective for the PGY1 acute care and PGY2 internal medicine residencies, Weller also serves as the co-coordinator for the programs’ Pharmacy in Leadership Series (PILS).  

Email: nweller@wakemed.org