Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy Student Research Program
About the Program
Student Program Statistics
16 manuscripts
72 posters
Programming
Programming for VSPRP includes an orientation and five didactic research meetings to help enrich student knowledge and experience with the research process. Didactic meeting topics include literature searching, data collection, abstract development, poster development, and manuscript writing. The VSPRP aims to have each of its students present their work at ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting.
Expectations
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Students will commit at least 5 hours/week towards research assignments (time commitment will be discussed on an individual basis and is flexible for the students' schedule).
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Students will attend and actively participate in didactic training sessions
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Students will meet with their assigned mentors by phone or in person at least once every two weeks.
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Students should respond to all email and telephone communications within at least 48 hours regarding research activities.
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Deadlines will be project-specific and agreed upon by the student and mentor. Failure to meet a pre-specified deadline will be discussed with the student researcher by the mentor. Multiple failures may result in dismissal from the program.
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Students will complete IRB and CITI training and adhere to all HIPAA-compliant practices endorsed by VUMC.
Program Feedback
- “Being able to work on project from conception through data collection has been a great and eye-opening experience. Also, learning how to create and modify a survey in REDCap and submitting for IRB approval were all new experiences for me and I learned a great deal from both experiences”
- “All the didactic sessions I was able to attend were very helpful. The content provided great instruction/steps for both poster and abstract development. These are skills that I will now think of consciously when I am writing and developing presentations and future posters.”
- “My mentors were excellent. They ensured that I was on the right track with data collection and provided excellent feedback with both the abstract and poster. They were incredibly friendly and easy to work with. They expressed expectations clearly and was always extremely helpful when I was unsure of which steps to take next and when I had questions.”
Overview of the Student Research Program
Students in Our Program
Kayla Dodson
Kayla attends UTHSC College of Pharmacy and is in the class of 2024. She is working with VSP Clinical Pharmacists Kayla Johnson and Sabrina Livezey on a study assessing if patients prescribed deutrabenazine at doses greater than 48 mg per day, is treatment safe and effective.
Mackenzie Ellis
Mackenzie attends Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy and is in the class of 2024. She is working with VSP Clinical Pharmacist Matt Bowles on a study evaluating the treatment requirements, and patient journey for patients who are referred to Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy to initiate a specialty medication for atopic dermatitis or psoriasis.
Rachael Baggett
Rachael attends UTHSC College of Pharmacy and is in the class of 2024. She is working with VSP Outcomes' Research and Engagement Pharmacist Chelsea Renfro on a study describing the coordination of care process and patient journey for patients receiving subcutaneous maintenance doses of ustekinumab.
Hannah Holloway
Hannah attends UTHSC College of Pharmacy and is in the class of 2024. She is working with VSP Program Director of Complex Projects Houston Wyatt on a study evaluating real word findings of usage and tolerance of CLL specialty medications at an academic medical institution.
Terra Redd
Terra attends Lipscomb University and is in the class of 2024. She is working with VSP Outcomes' Project Manager Katie Cruchelow on a study that quantifies the impact of the integrated specialty pharmacy model, payer restrictions, and patient and medication-related factors to better understand what factors improve the speed to growth hormone approval and initiation of therapy.
Sarah Layne
Sarah attends Belmont University and is in the class of 2025. She is working with VSP Outcomes' Project Manager Katie Cruchelow on a study that evaluates primary medication nonadherence rates and turnaround time between patients who fill their Oncology, Inflammatory, or MS specialty medications at VSP, compared to patients who fill their specialty medications at external pharmacies.
Briana Hunt
Briana attends Belmont University and is in the class of 2025. She is working with VSP Clinical Pharmacist Monica Littlejohn on a study that assesses the severe asthma population at VUMC in terms of racial and socioeconomic status and determine if there is an association between these groups, the prevalence of asthma morbidity, patient engagement in care, and biologic medication outcomes.
Ailsa Watson
Ailsa attends Lipscomb University and is in the class of 2025. She is working with VSP Outcomes' Research and Engagement Pharmacist Chelsea Renfro on a study that describes the development and implementation of a collaborative pharmacy practice agreement in an integrated health system specialty pharmacy using a RE-AIM framework.
Meredith Edelman
Meredith attends UTHSC College of Pharmacy and is in the class of 2025. She is working with VSP Outcomes' Research and Engagement Pharmacist Chelsea Renfro on a study that evaluates pharmacist involvement in specialty medication discontinuation, switch, and dose changes and the resulting financial impact.
