Pharmacy Residency Preceptors

 

Allen Broome, Pharm.D.

Allen Broome, Pharm.D., is currently the Health System Director of Pharmacy for USA Health and is responsible for all pharmacy functions across the system.

Broome earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He went on to complete his Doctorate of Pharmacy degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center as well as a pharmacy practice residency at Methodist Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. After working as a clinical pharmacist at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, he accepted the position of Operations Manager and eventually transitioned into the role of Senior Director of Pharmacy. In this role, the pharmacy department experienced unprecedented growth, savings and development of operational and clinical initiatives.

His passion includes process and quality improvement while keeping the patient at the center of the pharmacy practice.

 

Cammie Burgess, Pharm.D., M.S., B.B.A. 

Cammie Burgess, Pharm.D., M.S., B.B.A., works as a pharmacist in the Department of Information Systems and Technology at USA Health. She leads the pharmacy IT group and is responsible for maintaining the build of the pharmacy functions for electronic health records and the automated dispensing cabinets.

Burgess earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in accounting and a Doctorate of Pharmacy degree from the University of Louisiana Monroe. She also completed a Master of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which included American Society of Health-System Pharmacists PGY-1 and PGY-2 residencies.

Before coming to USA Health, she held pharmacy supervisory and managerial roles in other university health systems.

 

Hallie Butler, Pharm.D.

Hallie Butler, Pharm.D., is a clinical pharmacist specializing in critical care at USA Health University Hospital. Her primary practice site is the neuroscience intensive care unit (NSICU). She currently serves as a primary preceptor for the adult critical care (NSICU) learning experience.

Butler received her Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Mississippi in 2019 and her Doctor of Pharmacy, magna cum laude, from the University of Mississippi College of Pharmacy in 2022. After graduation, she completed a PGY-1 pharmacy residency at CHI Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Her professional interests include critical care, internal medicine, and infectious diseases. In her spare time, she enjoys playing with her two dogs, Milo and Touie, and planning vacations.

 

Allison M. Chung, Pharm.D., B.C.P.P.S., F.C.C.P.

Allison Chung, Pharm.D., B.C.P.P.S., F.C.C.P., is an adjunct associate professor in the pediatrics department at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. She is also an associate clinical professor for the Department of Pharmacy Practice at Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy.

She is a board certified pediatric and pharmacotherapy specialist. Chung has an active clinical practice with the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital. Her education and scholarly activities have involved pediatric pharmacotherapy especially in the PICU, anticonvulsants, HIV, asthma areas of medicine.

She graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy and completed her PGY-1 residency at University of Maryland Medical Center. She completed a fellowship in pediatric clinical pharmacology/toxicology at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.

 

Ashley Hawthorne, Pharm.D., B.C.C.C.P.

Ashley Hawthorne, Pharm.D., B.C.C.C.P., is an assistant clinical professor in the department of pharmacy practice at the Harrison College of Pharmacy (HCOP) Mobile Campus. Hawthorne joined the HCOP faculty in January 2023 and currently practices with the Surgical-Trauma ICU team at USA Health, providing clinical pharmacy services.

She has been board certified in Critical Care Pharmacotherapy since 2019, and her areas of interest include infectious diseases, ICU delirium and anticoagulation.

Hawthorne earned her Pharm.D. from the Harrison College of Pharmacy in 2014. Upon graduation, she worked as a clinical pharmacist with Providence Hospital in Mobile until 2019. She then accepted a position as an assistant professor of pharmacy practice with the William Carey School of Pharmacy, a position she held until joining HCOP. While at William Carey, she practiced with the medical and surgical ICU at Ocean Springs Hospital.

Hawthorne is a member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, serving as a member at large for the steering committee’s in-training section since 2020. She is also an active member of the American Academy of Colleges of Pharmacy and the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, of which she serves as the vice chair for communications committee. She resides in Mobile with her husband and two sons.

 

Bobby Helmer, Pharm.D., B.C.P.S.

Bobby Helmer, Pharm.D., B.C.P.S., is a 2010 graduate of the South Carolina College of Pharmacy. After earning a Doctorate of Pharmacy degree, he completed a combined 24 month PGY-1/PGY-2 pharmacotherapy residency at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Helmer practices as a clinical pharmacist with the inpatient internal medicine services at the USA Health University Hospital. He is also an associate clinical professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy.  

 

Emily Kelley, Pharm.D.

Emily Kelley, Pharm.D., is the clinical pharmacist at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital. She found a passion for pediatrics while completing a Doctorate of Pharmacy degree at Mercer University in Atlanta. Emily finished a PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at Children’s Minnesota Hospital in Minneapolis.

A native of Mobile, Kelley returned in 2007 to establish the clinical program at Children’s & Women’s Hospital and works closely with a variety of specialties. Kelley is a Board Certified Pediatric Pharmacotherapy Specialist (B.C.P.P.S). 

 

Rachel Lee, Pharm.D., M.B.A

Rachel Lee, Pharm.D., M.B.A., is the director of pharmacy at USA Health University Hospital. In this role, she oversees pharmacy services for University Hospital, Mitchell Cancer Institute, in Mobile and Baldwin counties, and USA Commons Infusion Center. 

Lee received a bachelor's degree from the University of Alabama and her Doctorate of Pharmacy degree from Samford University’s McWhorter School of Pharmacy. After graduation, she completed a PGY-1 pharmacy residency in Mobile and came to USA Health as the clinical coordinator for University Hospital.

She completed a Master of Business Administration degree at the University of South Alabama Mitchell College of Business in 2013.

She enjoys kayaking, fishing and traveling.

 

Sean Smithgall, Pharm.D. 

Sean Smithgall, Pharm.D., graduated from East Tennessee State University, Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy in 2014 with a Doctorate of Pharmacy degree. He completed a PGY-1 in pharmacotherapy at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania. He returned to ETSU in order to complete a PGY-2 in ambulatory care with a focus in transitions of care. He worked at Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy as an assistant clinical professor.

Smithgall's practice site is an outpatient model with some hybrid inpatient components with the University of South Alabama Department of Family Medicine. His primary focus is improving transitions of care and chronic disease management within the family medicine practice.

 

Linda Tran, Pharm.D., B.C.P.S. 

Linda Tran, Pharm.D., B.C.P.S., is a clinical pharmacist specializing in critical care at USA Health University Hospital. Her primary practice site is the medical intensive care unit (MICU). She currently serves as a primary preceptor for the adult critical care (MICU) learning experience and a co-preceptor for the emergency medicine learning experience.

Dr. Tran received her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences from Auburn University in 2019 and her Doctor of Pharmacy, summa cum laude, from the Auburn University Harrison College of Pharmacy in 2022. After graduation, she completed a PGY1 pharmacy residency at USA Health University Hospital. She is a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist.

Her professional interests include critical care, emergency medicine, infectious diseases, informatics, and academia. She is a member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, Alabama Society of Health-System Pharmacists, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and the American College of Clinical Pharmacy.

 

ShaRhonda Watkins, Pharm.D., M.B.A, B.C.P.S

ShaRhonda Watkins, Pharm.D., M.B.A, B.C.P.S., is a clinical pharmacist who has been employed at USA Health University Hospital since 2013. Her primary practice site is the medical/surgical unit where she assists in managing internal medicine patients.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and a Doctorate of Pharmacy from Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. After graduation, she completed an ASHP-accredited PGY-1 pharmacy practice residency in Mobile. She went on to earn a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of South Alabama Mitchell College of Business.