Current Residents
McKenna Gruba, PharmD
McKenna grew up in Summerset, SD. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Doctor of Pharmacy from Pacific University. Her professional interests include emergency medicine, critical care, and oncology; however, she is excited to explore other areas during her time at Sky Lakes Medical Center. Outside of work McKenna enjoys hiking, reading, and trying new foods. McKenna is delighted to be a part of the close-knit team at Sky Lakes Medical Center as a PGY-1 pharmacy resident.
Nimita Patel, PharmD
Nimita is from Elkhart, IN, and completed her PharmD at Purdue University. Her professional interests are critical care and internal medicine, but her overall goal is to become a well-rounded pharmacist. Her hobbies are cooking Indian food, playing card games, exploring the outdoors, and trying new food. A fun fact about Nimita is that she is 200+ days into learning Japanese on Duolingo! Nimita is happy to be a part of Sky Lakes and is eager to learn how to serve the community through our program as a PGY1 Pharmacy Resident.
Past Residents
Katy Scott, PharmD, class of 2023
- Project: A Retrospective and Prospective Analysis of Prescribing Fluoroquinolones in Urinary Tract Infections
- PGY-2 in Ambulatory Care completed in 2024
- Current position: Ambulatory Care Pharmacist at Sky Lakes Medical Center
Fernando Amaya, PharmD, class of 2023
- Project: A Retrospective Review of Anti-seizure Medication Use in Emergency Department
- PGY-2 in Oncology completed in 204
- Current position: Oncology Pharmacist at Carson Tahoe Health
Nick Jorgensen, PharmD, class of 2022
- Project: Impact of PGY-1 Resident Driven Antimicrobial Stewardship Intervention on Outcomes in the Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy (OPAT) Setting
- Current position: Clinical Pharmacist at Santiam Hospital and Clinics
Brandon Montgomery, PharmD, class of 2022
- Project: Analysis and Development of a Pharmacy Protocol for the Treatment of Non-Oncologic Extravasation Events
- Current position: Clinical Pharmacist at St. Charles Medical Center and Sky Lakes Medical Center
Elisabeth Manning, PharmD, class of 2021
- Project: Efficacy of Ceftriaxone in Obese versus Non-obese Patients- a retrospective study
- Current position: Clinical Pharmacist at Sky Lakes Medical Center
Melanie Jakobs, PharmD, class of 2021
- Project: Implementation and Evaluation of a Pharmacist-Managed Potassium Replacement Protocol in a Community Hospital
- Current position: Clinical Pharmacist at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital
Katie Bullock, PharmD, class of 2020
- Project: Implementation and evaluation of a pharmacist-managed insulin protocol in a community hospital
- Current position: Clinical Pharmacist at Sky Lakes Medical Center
Stephani Jirikovic, PharmD, class of 2020
- Project: Assessing the impact of a follow-up phone call between appointments on blood pressure control in a pharmacist-led hypertension clinic
- Current position: Clinical Pharmacist at Providence Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente
Josie Rupp, PharmD, class of 2019
- Project: Effect of pharmacist driven pain management education on morphine milligram equivalents (MME) dispensed 60 days status post total hip or knee replacement
- Current position: Oncology Pharmacist at Asante Medical Center
Joan Erwert, PharmD, class of 2019
- Project: Evaluation of patient functional status improvement following participation in a pharmacist-guided, non-prescribing, multidisciplinary pain clinic
- Current position: Clinical Pharmacist at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center
Austin Pliska, PharmD, class of 2018
- Project: Pharmacist-led medication reconciliation and patient follow-up to prevent readmission and improve transitions of care
- PGY-2 in Ambulatory Care completed in 2019
- Current position: Ambulatory Care Pharmacist at Sky Lakes Medical Center
Brian Michaels, PharmD, class of 2018
- Project: Evaluation of IV antibiotic use and length of therapies and the incidence of Clostridium difficile infections in the inpatient setting
- Current position: Emergency Medicine Pharmacist at Sky Lakes Medical Center