Tacoma General Hospital Pharmacy Residency

Tacoma General Hospital (437 beds) and Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital (82 beds) are located in Tacoma, Washington. Other services established at this location include the Mary Bridge Ambulatory Clinic, Tacoma Family Medicine Clinic, MultiCare Cancer Institute, and Pediatric Home Infusion.

The ambulatory-focused position has the same core rotations and staffing experiences as the other four general PGY1 positions but will have higher priority to assign ambulatory care electives towards the first half of the year in preparation for Midyear and possibly applying to PGY2 ambulatory care programs. The resident candidates will indicate interest in the ambulatory care elective position via their letters of intent. All applications will use the same National Matching Services (NMS) code 135213 when applying.

Please see our residency program manual for specific information, including required and elective learning experiences, staffing requirements and benefits.

Staffing commitment

Each resident is required to complete the following staffing commitments over the one-year period as part of the staffing rotation.

Working every other weekend, day or evening shift, alternating between operational and clinical weekend shifts
Work independently in an assigned patient care for approximately 2 weeks toward the latter part of the residency year

Meet our team

Ryan Leman, PharmD

Director

Preceptor: Adult Medical-Surgical-Oncology
Hometown: Yakima, WA
Pharmacy School: Washington State University
Pharmacy residency: PGY1: MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital
Undergraduate school: Washington State University, BS Basic Medical Sciences
Practicing at MultiCare since 2019
Hobbies or unique facts: I enjoy spending time with my partner and our two cats, Pumpkin and Latte, playing board games, making music, painting and rock climbing.

Skyler Boll, PharmD

Residency Program Coordinator

Hometown: Indianapolis, IN
Pharmacy School: Midwestern University in Downers Grove, IL
Pharmacy residency: Ascension Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc, MI
Undergraduate school: DePaul University in Chicago, IL
Hobbies or unique facts: Spending time with my friends, hiking, yoga (fun fact, I’m completing a program to become a yoga instructor and will be teaching classes starting the end of this year), doing triathlons, traveling, reading, going to concerts, and adventuring with my dog.

Darren Alfafara

Pharmacy school: University of California, San Francisco
Undergraduate: University of California, Berkeley
Hometown: Chula Vista, CA
Practice interests: Emergency Medicine, Critical Care, Cardiology
Hobbies and interesting facts: I like video games, basketball, tennis, sci-fi/fantasy novels, anime/manga. I used to live in Japan for 3 years. I also played 4 instruments growing up – piano, guitar, saxophone and viola – didn’t practice regularly when I went to college and essentially lost skill in all but, I eventually want to pick up saxophone again!

Brennan Palani Buccat

Pharmacy school: The University of Hawai’i at Hilo – The Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy
Undergraduate: University of Hawai’i at Leeward Community College; A.S Natural Science – Biological Science Concentration
Hometown: Waipahu, Hawai’i
Practice interests: Cardiology, Emergency Medicine, Critical Care
Hobbies and interesting facts: In my free time, I enjoy weightlifting, exploring (food places, hikes, beaches, etc.), cooking, and spending time with friends and family.

Hannah Carreon

Pharmacy school: Marshall University School of Pharmacy
Undergraduate: Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia | B.S. Chemistry
Hometown: Core, West Virginia
Practice interests: Critical care, cardiovascular ICU, neurology, internal medicine, ambulatory care
Hobbies and interesting facts: Current hobbies include watching Game of Thrones, taking walks, listening to audiobooks, and playing volleyball. To get to Tacoma from West Virginia, my partner and I completed a 6-day cross-country road trip where we camped in Badlands National Park and Yellowstone National Park.

Linh Dao

Pharmacy school: University of Washington School of Pharmacy
Undergraduate school: University of Washington – Tacoma, B.S. in Biomedical Sciences
Hometown: Vietnam → Tacoma, WA
Practice interests: Critical Care, Emergency Medicine
Hobbies and interesting facts: I enjoy spending time with my family and coffee shop hopping with my friends.

Victoria Tang

Pharmacy school: UAMS College of Pharmacy
Undergraduate school: Hendrix College
Hometown: Little Rock, AR
Practice interests: Pediatrics, NICU, acute care
Hobbies and interesting facts: I love to go on runs, hike, read, cook, and spend time with my fiancé and two cats (Po and Chili). I speak 5 languages (English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, and Vietnamese).

Catherine Brown, PharmD, BCPS, Masters in Management

Preceptor: Drug Information

Hometown: Watertown, SD
Pharmacy school: South Dakota State University
Pharmacy residency:
PGY1: Fairview University Medical Center in Minneapolis
PGY2 – Drug Information: Immunex/MultiCare Health System
Undergraduate school: BS in Biology at University of Minnesota
Practicing at MultiCare since 1998
Hobbies or unique facts: Member of the Washington State P&T Committee, teaching Certificate in Pharmacy Education from University of Washington School of Pharmacy, enjoy creative writing (award-winning short story writer)

Richard Chua, PharmD, BCPS

Preceptor: Emergency Medicine

Hometown: Honolulu, HI
Pharmacy school: Washington State University
Pharmacy residency:
PGY1: MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital
Undergraduate school: WSU, BS General Science
Practicing at MultiCare since 2005
Hobbies or unique facts: hanging out with family, playing the piano for fun, standup paddleboarding, high intensity interval training workouts, and Jiu-jitsu.

Elizabeth Hetrick, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP

Preceptor: Critical Care (Adult Medical-Surgical/trauma/neuro Intensive Care)

Hometown: Kirkland, WA
Pharmacy school: University of Washington
Pharmacy residency:
PGY1: MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital
Undergraduate school: University of Washington, BS Biochemistry
Practicing at MultiCare since 2010
Hobbies or unique facts: I spend most of my time chasing after my 3 young children and our dog. I serve as PIC for Tacoma’s Neighborhood Clinic, a free urgent care clinic in downtown Tacoma. In my free time, I enjoy weaving on an 8-shaft floor loom, knitting, baking, and gardening.

Phee Huynh, PharmD

Preceptor: Pediatrics

Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii
Pharmacy school: Washington State University
Pharmacy residency:
PGY1: MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital
Undergraduate school: University of Hawaii, Bachelors in Biology
Practicing at MultiCare since 2005
Hobbies or unique facts: Enjoy making family photo books, arts/crafts, and traveling.

Steve Pickette, PharmD, BCPS

Preceptor: Administration – Clinical

Hometown: Spokane, WA
Pharmacy School: University of Washington
Undergraduate school: University of Washington, Bachelors of Science (Pharmacy)
Practicing at MultiCare since February 2020
Hobbies or unique facts: I enjoy backpacking and have gone on a trip with the same group of friends for the past 40 years covering most wilderness areas in the Western U.S. I also enjoy boating and have a 32 foot Carver boat we take on trips around the Puget Sound.

Sundari Poegoeh, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP

Preceptor: Oncology Clinic

Pharmacy school: Pacific University, Oregon
Pharmacy residency:
PGY1: Franciscan Health System (CHI), Tacoma, WA
Undergraduate school: Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei, Taiwan. BS in Food Science and Nutrition
Practicing at MultiCare since 2013
Hobbies or unique facts: travel and playing with her 2 shiba inus

BJ Razmjouy, PharmD

Preceptor: Neonatal Intensive Care

Hometown: Gig Harbor, WA
Pharmacy school: Washington State University (BS in Pharmacy) and University of Washington (PharmD)
Practicing at MultiCare since 1989
Hobbies or unique facts: Gardening, Cycling, Cooking, Physical activities, spending time with family and friends

Leanna Davis, PharmD, CDE

Preceptor: Family Practice

Pharmacy School: Washington State University
Pharmacy residency:
PGY1: St. Joseph Medical Center, Tacoma, WA
Undergraduate school: Washington State University, Biology
Practicing at MultiCare since 2012
Hometown: Washington State
Hobbies or unique facts: reading and hiking and travelling when I can!

Cris Thach, PharmD, BCPS

Preceptor: Transitions of Care

Hometown: Santa Clara, CA
Pharmacy school: Pacific University
Pharmacy residency:
PGY1: MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital
Undergraduate school: Santa Clara University, Public Health
Practicing at MultiCare since 2016
Hobbies or unique facts: listening to music, collecting records, and playing video games

Julianna Van Enk, PharmD, BCPS

Preceptor: Infectious Disease/Antimicrobial Stewardship

Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI
Pharmacy school: Ferris State University
Pharmacy residency:
PGY1: PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center, Bellingham, WA.
PGY2-ID: Renown Regional Medical Center, Reno, NV
Undergraduate school: BS-Biology, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI
Practicing at MultiCare since 2016
Hobbies or unique facts: Avid gardener, enjoys hiking, has a black belt in martial arts

Christy Weiland-Hamilton, PharmD, BCPS

Preceptor: Family Medicine II

Hometown: Crescent City, CA
Pharmacy School: University of Washington
Pharmacy residency:
PGY1: St. Louis College of Pharmacy/ Mercy Family Medicine
Undergraduate school: Sonoma State University: BA: chemistry & Viticulture
Practicing at MultiCare since: April 2020
Hobbies or unique facts: The water is definitely my happy place. During the summer, my family spends most days on a lake either boating after work or playing in it all weekend. As an adult, I learned to row and really enjoy single sculling. My next want is to buy a scull so I can row each morning before work.

Living in the South Puget Sound

There is much to enjoy while living in Tacoma. Located on the banks of Puget Sound and just south of Seattle, Tacoma is in an ideal location for many passions and hobbies. In Tacoma you will find great places to bike, hike, and explore your budding passion for photography, an expanding food scene that’s caught national attention, and world-renowned museums. Interested in learning more? Visit the City of Tacoma website to learn more.

How to apply

Application deadline: January 2, 2024

Eligible candidates will be a graduate (prior or anticipated) of an ACPE-accredited college of pharmacy or Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Committee (FPGEC) certificate and is licensed or eligible for licensure in Washington State. They must satisfy eligibility requirements for employment including acceptable results on a pre-employment drug screen and background check. Please note that MultiCare does not sponsor work visas.

Applicants must register to participate in the ASHP Residency Matching Program. Application materials will be submitted in PhORCAS and include:

Letter of intent
Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Three letters of reference
Official transcripts of all professional pharmacy education from an ACPE-accredited pharmacy degree program or FPGEC program

Questions?

For more information on the Tacoma General Hospital Residency, contact Ryan Leman, PharmD at [email protected]

Want to learn more? Download our Pharmacy Residency Manual.