Why CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Health System?
CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Health System is the region’s preferred health care provider, with a proud tradition of over 80 years of dedicated service to the people of East Texas. CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic is the area’s preferred multi-specialty medical group, with more than 650 Physicians and Advanced Practice Providers representing 41 specialties in 82 locations serving Northeast Texas across 41 counties.
A national leader in patient satisfaction, advanced technology, and quality initiatives, CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances is a faith-based, not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating healthy lives for people and communities by extending the healing ministry of Jesus Christ.
Why CHRISTUS Specialty Pharmacy?
CHRISTUS Specialty Pharmacy, located in CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital – Tyler, offers life-changing specialty pharmacy services designed to simplify every aspect of patient care. Services include patient education and counseling, obtaining financial assistance, navigating insurance benefits, coordinating with providers, managing refills, and prescription delivery. CHRISTUS Specialty Pharmacy is dual-accredited by URAC and ACHC, and strives to deliver the highest quality care for all patients and is comprised of a care team with pharmacy technicians, liaisons, and specialty clinical pharmacists.
Specialty clinical pharmacists at CHRISTUS Specialty Pharmacy serve as integrated health care team members to provide collaborative and individualized patient care. Pharmacists support various health system specialty clinics, including rheumatology, gastroenterology, dermatology, neurology, endocrinology, cardiology, pulmonology, oncology, and hematology. Services include ongoing safety and appropriateness monitoring for specialty therapies, therapeutic recommendations and development of care plans, patient education and counseling, and clinical interventions. Pharmacists also work closely with prescribers through the utilization of clinical protocols to ensure medication appropriateness, safety, accessibility, and continuity.
The CHRISTUS Specialty Pharmacy PGY1 Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program is designed to develop the resident’s knowledge of specialty pharmacy operations, enhance their ability to deliver clinical services in specialty disease states, grow administration and leadership skills, and provide opportunities for scholarly activities. The resident will train in a health-system-based specialty pharmacy and clinics, where clinical pharmacists serve as integrated patient care team members.
The program is comprised of a primary and a participating site. The resident will spend approximately 70% of their time in Irving, TX at the CHRISTUS Health System Office and 30% of their time in Tyler, TX, at the CHRISTUS Specialty Pharmacy and surrounding clinics. Prior to the start of the residency year, the resident will choose to reside within a commuting distance of either Tyler or Irving practice locations. When the resident is expected to be at the non-home location, travel expenses will be reimbursed by CHRISTUS Health, including mileage, hotel, and meals.
Residency Activities
Clinical Services
Collaborate with providers to assess the appropriateness of therapy
Tailor patient counseling and education strategies
Drug-diseases/Drug-drug interaction monitoring
Patient follow-up and review of clinical history (laboratory data, disease progression, and provider notes in electronic health record)
Continue to develop clinical programs to best serve patients and physicians
Pharmacy Operations
Benefits investigation, prior authorization, and appeal processes
Understanding of unique billing scenarios (e.g., Medicare Part B billing, benefits coordination)
Patient co-pay assistance and investigation of medication access options
Inventory management
Order fulfillment and verification
Cold-chain distribution
Administrative/Leadership Responsibilities
Participate in all Clinical, Operation and Quality Meetings
Become familiar with URAC and ACHC standards and how they apply to pharmacy operations
Understand 340B pharmacy operations
Participate in pharmacy quality assurance, self-assessments reports
Participate in program growth initiatives
Scholarly Activities and Service
Serve as preceptors for students on APPE rotations
Design and execute research projects pertaining to pharmacy practice
Present scholarly project findings at state and national conferences
Required core learning experiences:
Orientation
Rheumatology
Gastroenterology
Hepatology
Cardiology
Dermatology and pulmonology
Neurology
Rare inflammatory
Oncology
Endocrinology
Pharmacy operations and quality improvement
Specialty pharmacy dispensing and management – Part 1
Specialty pharmacy dispensing and management – Part 2
Required longitudinal learning experiences:
Leadership in specialty pharmacy operations
Research
How to Apply
We use the Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PHORCAS) to accept applications, transcripts and other supporting application materials.
ASHP code: 74804
Program match (NPS) code: 312915 Visit PHORCAS to apply
Application deadline: January 4, 2026
Application Requirements
For an application to be considered by the CHRISTUS Specialty Pharmacy PGY1 Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program, the following criteria, at minimum, must be met:
Graduate or candidate for graduation from an ACPE-accredited degree program or one in the process of pursuing accreditation
Minimum of a 3.0 GPA (or equivalent for programs without GPAs)
Licensed or eligible for licensure in the state of Texas
Other broad criteria for selection to the residency program include leadership abilities, professional development, communication skills, scholastic achievements, and professional competence in clinical situations. Applications should be submitted through PhORCAS. The applicant must submit a curriculum vitae, letter of intent, pharmacy school transcripts, and three letters of recommendation.
Applicants must submit:
official college of pharmacy transcripts
letter of intent
three letters of recommendation
curriculum vitae
Pharmacy Residency Program Contacts
Alexandra Ritenour, PharmD, CSP
Program Manager of Specialty Pharmacy Education and Research
Residency Program Director alex.ritenour@christushealth.org