Dr. Katrina Almodovar, PharmD
Hometown: Oceanside, NY

Pharmacy School: St. John’s University, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Professional Interests: My professional interests include ambulatory care, internal medicine and medication safety.

Personal Interests: Outside of pharmacy I love to enjoy spending time with my family and friends. You might find me at a petting zoo, a winery or my favorite: traveling!

Why Vassar? I knew Vassar was a good fit because not only does VBMC have a program that aligns with my professional interests, but Nuvance Health as a whole has a mission and vision, I strive to be a part of. This program has so many different areas of opportunity and I believe being a part of a new residency program would be a great learning experience not just for Vassar, but for myself as a resident. Though my interview was virtual, I believe the RPD and preceptors created a welcoming comfortable environment that will extend throughout my residency.

Advice to students interested in applying to a residency: Don’t worry, you don’t have to know everything! The point is to be able to learn throughout your residency year, and how you respond to questions (whether it be the right answer, or the offer to find the correct answer) is a good way for interviewers to gauge if you may be a good fit with their program. Also, be confident! You should be proud of how far you have become and showing confidence throughout your interview is an invaluable skill.

Contact: Katrina.almodovar@nuvancehealth.org

Dr. Lauren Martinez, PharmD
Hometown: Gardiner, NY

Pharmacy School: Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Professional Interests: My professional interests include Oncology, Neurology, and Ambulatory Care.
Personal Interests: I spend too much time playing with my three cats and watching movies/TV shows. I’m a bit of a homebody so I typically spend my free time relaxing and eating too much food.

Why Vassar Brothers Medical Center? I first found out about this PGY1 program during phase II of the match. I was originally trying to go out of state, but Vassar made me rethink my plan. At the interview, everyone I met was super nice and the program had rotations in my areas of interest. I also liked that as a new program, I would be able to be part of the growth process and offer my thoughts on how to improve the program for future pharmacists.

Advice to students interested in applying to a residency: My advice to those applying for residency is to know that it’s not the end of the world if you do not match in phase I. I was devastated when I didn’t match, but phase II allowed me to find programs I hadn’t heard of before that were better suited for me than the programs I had applied to in phase I. Phase II gives you the opportunity to learn from your mistakes and your interview experiences. I would also recommend contacting programs with your questions!

Contact: lauren.martinez@nuvancehealth.org