Preceptors

Interests: finance, antithrombotic therapy, emerging models of care, payment modeling, specialty pharmacy

Jill Strykowski obtained her Bachelor of Science in pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin and her Master of Science in hospital pharmacy (experimental pharmacotherapy) from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy. 

Her master's thesis was titled "Implementation and Outcome Analysis of an Anticoagulation Clinic." She has lectured on anti-thrombotic topics and has published a book chapter on safe use of antithrombotics in the inpatient setting.

Prior experience includes pharmaceutical research and drug development and the implementation of a large multi-disciplinary anticoagulation clinic. Most recent interests include emergency department pharmacist practice, pharmacy leadership, global health, geriatrics and changing models of care for pharmacy practice.

Strykowski is member of the Leadership Network Partners and has mentored many students through practice management and extended leadership focus. She received an American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) grant on bedside bar-coding and recently published an article in "American Journal of Health System Pharmacy."

Strykowski served on the board of the Minnesota Pharmacy Association (MPhA) and was president of MPhA in 2013-2014. She is active in legislative initiatives and is serving the fourth year as co-chair of the Pharmacy Practice Act Joint Task Force. Strykowski had the pleasure of addressing the graduating class of 2015 as the commencement speaker and is currently a member of the College of Pharmacy Dean’s Advisory Board. 

In addition, she is member of the ASHP, Minnesota Society of Health-System Pharmacists and Midwest College of Clinical Pharmacy and is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Minnesota. Strykowski is a mentor to staff, students and residents. Strykowski is very interested in pharmacy practice in the developing world and precepts students in Africa. 

Interests: informatics

Dan Niznick obtained his Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Minnesota in 2005. In his current position he is responsible for the daily operations of the pharmacy, including management of drug purchasing and distribution, management of controlled substances, regulatory compliance, and other key areas. In addition to operations duties, Niznick focuses on pharmacy informatics and the use of data to improve operations and clinical outcomes.

Interests: health-system pharmacy management, critical care and infectious disease

Ross Fishman earned his Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy. Upon graduation, he completed a critical care residency at Hennepin County Medical Center. In 2009, Fishman joined Allina Health as a clinical pharmacy coordinator at St. Francis Regional Medical Center. From 2013-2019, he was a clinical manager at Mercy Hospital, and in April 2019 he took the position of operations manager at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids. Fishman has been a preceptor for IPPE and APPE pharmacy students in areas of acute care, institutional practice and hospital management. He has a passion for educating staff. His primary duties involve managing pharmacy operations in a hospital setting. He passed his BCPS exam and maintains board certification and is an active board member for the Minnesota Pharmacist Association.

Interests: critical care, formulary management

Kelly Ruziska received her Doctor of Pharmacy from North Dakota State University in 2006 and completed her pharmacy practice residency at Mercy and Unity hospitals in 2007. She represents Allina Health as system formulary coordinator and precepts the System Formulary rotation experience for all residents within Allina.

In the past, Ruziska has served as resident preceptor at Mercy Hospital for critical care and staffing rotations, and was the student coordinator and preceptor for college of pharmacy students on rotations. Her interest in teaching provided her an opportunity to become a clinical liaison to Allina Health clinics, where she educated INR nurses on anticoagulation.

Interests: critical care, medication safety, pharmacy technician advancement

Venessa McConkey earned her Doctor of Pharmacy from Drake University in 2007 and completed a PGY-1 residency program at Mercy and Unity hospitals. Following her residency, she practiced at Unity Hospital with a focus in critical care and the OR. She has served as a preceptor for critical care and mental health residency rotations and for college of pharmacy students completing acute care and institutional rotations. McConkey has served as the Pharmacy Coordinator for Mercy and Unity campuses and is currently the clinical pharmacy manager on the Unity campus.

Interests: leadership development, cardiology, critical care and precepting

Ashley Philibert completed the Doctor of Pharmacy program at the University of Minnesota in 2010. She went on to complete a PGY1 pharmacy practice residency at Mercy and Unity hospitals prior to her position as a clinical pharmacist at Mercy for 8 years. Philibert served as the pharmacy coordinator prior to taking on her current role as the clinical pharmacy manager.

Philibert has a strong interest in leadership development and completed the leadership emphasis area (LEA) program at the University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy. During her residency she maintained her focus on leadership. Philibert completed the ASHP Pharmacy Leadership Academy program in 2019 and gained the designation of Diplomate, Pharmacy Leadership Academy (DPLA). As a clinical pharmacist she enjoyed taking care of critically ill patients and precepting learners at various levels of education.

Interests: internal medicine, cardiology and transitions of care

Jena Torpin earned her Doctor of Pharmacy in 2012 from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy in Minneapolis. She completed her PGY1 and PGY2 in internal medicine residencies at University of Missouri Health Care in 2014.

Interests: oncology, critical care

Jeanine Asp attained board certification in pharmacotherapy in 2012. Prior to joining the team at Unity Pharmacy, Asp was a staff pharmacist at Mercy for several years. She works in all areas of the hospital and enjoys this diversification. Asp co-precepts the internal medicine and mental health rotations. 

Interests: critical care and infectious disease

Jenny Chapeau received her Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy in 2004. She also completed a specialized residency in critical care at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis in 2005. 

After residency, she started her career at the University of Minnesota Medical Center (UMMC) - Fairview where she practiced as a clinical pharmacist in the adult medical, surgical and cardiovascular intensive care units. She was also a co-developer and co-coordinator of the pharmacist development program at UMMC - Fairview, which has now become a big part of the two-year management residency program experience. After six years at UMMC - Fairview, she furthered her career at Unity Hospital as a clinical pharmacist. Chapeau has been a board-certified pharmaceutical specialist since 2006.

Interests: mental health and geriatrics

Carisa Finke earned her Bachelor of Science in pharmaceutical sciences at South Dakota State University in Brookings in 2002. She graduated from pharmacy school with her PharmD from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis in 2005. Upon completion, she worked for Target Corporation for five years before exploring long-term care pharmacy for one year and then settling at the Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center. There she became a certified geriatric pharmacist and was board certified in psychiatric pharmacy. She has been a preceptor for APPE students since 2008. Finke currently works as a clinical pharmacist at the Unity campus primarily on the Mental Health unit. 

Interests: oncology and medication safety

Angel Helget received her Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy in 2011 and is a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist.

Interests: mental health, internal medicine and oncology

Toni McCain received her Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Minnesota, Duluth in 2017. She completed a PGY-1 residency at Mercy Hospital in 2018, and she is currently a staff pharmacist at Mercy Hospital-Unity Campus.

Interests: emergency medicine

Jenna Phelps earned her PharmD from Drake University in 2010, and completed her PGY1 residency at Mercy and Unity hospitals in 2011. She currently is a primary preceptor for both students and residents during their emergency medicine rotations. Phelps maintains Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certifications.

Interests: emergency medicine, mental health

Phat Tran received his Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy in 2014. He completed a PGY1 pharmacy practice residency at North Memorial Medical Center Level I Trauma hospital in Robbinsdale, Minn., in 2015. He currently works as a clinical pharmacist at Mercy Hospital - Unity Campus and is a staffing preceptor.

Interests: critical care and infectious diseases

Andrea Woodford earned her PharmD from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, in 2015 and completed her PGY1 residency at Mercy and Unity hospitals in 2016. She is now a pharmacist at Mercy Hospital - Unity Campus and enjoys staffing in all areas of the hospital. 

Interests: critical care, transitions of care and internal medicine

Katie Berning completed her Doctor of Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 2017. She then completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency from North Memorial Health in 2018. She currently works as a clinical pharmacist at Mercy Hospital.

Interests: critical care, internal medicine

Gina Danielson completed her Doctor of Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota in 2014. She went on to complete a PGY-1 pharmacy practice residency with Mercy and Unity hospitals. Following her residency, Danielson was hired as a clinical pharmacist at Mercy Hospital. She has clinical interests in critical care, toxicology, bariatrics, cardiology and internal medicine. She enjoys working on an interdisciplinary team with nurses, physician assistants, physicians and technicians, and with advancing pharmacy initiatives with Mercy’s pharmacy practice council and safety committees.

Interests: critical care, cardiology and emergency medicine

Samuel Fish earned his Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy. Upon graduation, he completed his PGY1 pharmacy practice residency at Mercy Hospital. He currently serves as a preceptor-in-training for the staffing, cardiology and emergency medicine rotations and is excited to continue to precept residents and students.

Interests: Critical care and cardiology

Jeralyn Furst obtained her PharmD from the University of Minnesota. After graduation, she completed an American Society of Health-System Pharmacists accredited Pharmacy Practice Residency at the University of Minnesota Medical Center – Fairview in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In her current position she works in all areas of the hospital, with a primary focus on the cardiology and intensive care units. She is a preceptor for students and residents for in a cardiology rotation. In 2010, Furst passed the Board Certified of Pharmacy Specialties exam and to become board certified as a pharmacotherapy specialist.

Interests: internal medicine and surgical services

Dan Husak received his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Minnesota in 1980. He currently works as a clinical pharmacist at Mercy Hospital - Unity campus and is a staffing preceptor.

Interests: oncology and medication safety

Emily Kirkwold earned her Doctor of Pharmacy from Drake University in 2013. Upon graduation, she completed a PGY1 pharmacy practice residency at United Hospital, where she continued to work until coming to Mercy Hospital in 2018. Kirkwold became board certified as a pharmacotherapy specialist in 2016. In addition, she is actively involved with MSHP, where she currently serves on the executive board.

Katie Kissel completed her Doctor of Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota in 2018. She then completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at Mercy Hospital in 2019. She currently works as a clinical pharmacist at Mercy Hospital.

Interests: emergency medicine, infectious disease and adult/pediatric life support

Kim Levang obtained a BS in psychology from North Dakota State University in 1997 and her PharmD from the University of Minnesota in 2002. Levang has been employed at Allina Health - Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, MN since 2006. She maintains ACLS, PALS and NRP certifications. In 2007, Levang helped establish the dedicated emergency medicine (EM) pharmacist service at Mercy. In 2009 she helped create a Collaborative Practice Agreement (CPA) with Mercy Hospital's emergency medicine physician group, EPPA, to manage discharged patients' abnormal lab and cultures. In 2010 she elected to start a 5-week EM rotation with the University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy and in 2011 Levang was awarded Preceptor of the Year

In 2014 Levang was awarded the Collaborative Colleague Award. Mercy has had an ASHP accredited residency program since 2004 and in 2011 the EM rotation became required. She has presented posters at MSHP and ASHP Midyear for many years. She presented at ASHP EM Pearls Session in 2013 and 2015. Her work on high-dose insulin was published in the Pharmacy Practice News Journal March issue in 2013.

Interests: cardiology, emergency medicine, pediatrics and learner development

Megan Nelson earned her Doctor of Pharmacy and master’s in business administration degrees from Drake University in 2017.  After graduation Nelson went on to completed a PGY-1 in Pharmacy Practice and a PGY-2 in Health System Administration at Mercy Hospital. Following the completion of her residencies, she began practicing as a clinical pharmacist and co-residency coordinator at Mercy Hospital-Mercy Campus.

Interests: emergency medicine, critical care

Dan Paley earned his PharmD in 2015 from University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He completed his PGY1 residency at Mercy Hospital in 2016. He is interested in emergency medicine, infectious disease and pharmacy information technology.

Interests: emergency medicine, infectious disease

Jenna Tjernlund earned her Doctor of Pharmacy in 2011 from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. She completed her PGY1 residency at Mercy and Unity hospitals.

Upon completion of her residency in 2012, she remained at Mercy Hospital, where she works as an emergency medicine pharmacist. She is involved in the follow up of cultures and abnormal lab results through an emergency department collaborative practice agreement with the emergency medicine physicians. Tjernlund maintains advanced cardiac life support and pediatric advanced life support certifications.

Interests: Emergency medicine, infectious disease, toxicology

Jessica Tonder received her PharmD at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis in 2012 and then completed her PGY1 residency at Mercy and Unity hospitals.

She is one of the primary emergency medicine pharmacists and is a preceptor for the student and resident rotations in the Emergency Department at Mercy Hospital. She also has an interest in international medicine and disaster relief.