Clinical Pharmacy Specialists

Audis Bethea, Pharm.D., BCPS , is a clinical pharmacy specialist practicing with the trauma/surgery service at the General hospital of CAMC. Dr. Bethea received his Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from Medical University of South Carolina. In June of 2003 he completed two years of residency training at Virginia Commonwealth University Health Systems where he focused on pharmacy practice in Internal Medicine and Critical Care. Dr. Bethea is actively involved in industry sponsored, investigator-initiated, and resident research at CAMC.  He also serves on the WVU/CAMC Scientific Investigational Review Board.  Professionally, Dr. Bethea enjoys practicing with the trauma service and collaborating with residents in the development of their research on a yearly basis.  Personally, Dr. Bethea enjoys college football, watching movies, spending time with his family and going out to eat.

Patrick Dunn, Pharm.D. , is a critical care specialist in the medical intensive care unit at Charleston Area Medical Center . He also serves as a consultant for the surgical intensive care unit as well as the coronary care units of CAMC. Dr. Dunn obtained his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from West Virginia University in 2005. Patrick completed pharmacy practice (2006) and critical care residencies (2007) at CAMC.  He is currently conducting research involving the use of enteral naloxone to prevent decreased gastric motility in trauma patients

Chadrick Lowther, MS, PharmD, BCPS , is an internal medicine / cardiology clinical specialist at CAMC Memorial Hospital.  He received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from West Virginia University (WVU) School of Pharmacy and completed a two-year specialty residency in pharmacotherapy at Cleveland Clinic.  Dr. Lowther also holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Exercise Physiology from WVU and served as a director of a cardiopulmonary rehabilitation center in Nashville , Tennessee .  Dr. Lowther has focused in cardiovascular medicine and is a preceptor for a resident cardiology rotation.  His current research interests involve formulation / stability of a master-follower cardioplegia formulation and evaluation of patient outcomes using master-follower cardioplegia solution when crystalloid infusions have been minimized.

Pam McDevitt, Pharm.D., BCOP , has 20 years of service as a pharmacist at Charleston Area Medical Center . She received her Bachelor of Science degree at West Virginia University and her Doctor of Pharmacy degree at the University of Kentucky . Her practice areas include oncology and palliative care. Dr. McDevitt practices at the David Lee Cancer Center - Cancer Care Center of Southern West Virginia, which is among the top 100 cancer centers in the country.

Lisa Robinson, PharmD is a critical care specialist for the medical and neuroscience intensive care units at CAMC General Hospital . She received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Davidson College in 2003 and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in 2008. Dr. Robinson has completed a pharmacy practice residency (2009) and a critical care residency (2010) at Charleston Area Medical Center . She is currently conducting research on the effect of etomidate on mortality when administered to critically ill patients requiring intubation and on the clinical and economic impact of using PNA-FISH on positive blood cultures.

Shelley Schliesser, Pharm.D., has been the coordinator of the Drug Information Center at Charleston Area Medical Center for sixteen years. Dr. Schliesser received her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from the University of Toledo . She then went to the University of Kentucky Medical Center to obtain her Pharmacy Practice and Drug Information Specialty residencies. In addition to drug information, Dr. Schliesser, as Secretary of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee is involved in adverse drug reactions, formulary management and medication use evaluations. She is also an assistant professor at the University of Charleston School of Pharmacy where she teaches drug literature evaluation and advanced adverse drug reaction identification and management.

Lisa Tarakji, Pharm.D., BCPS, is a clinical specialist in internal medicine at Charleston Area Medical Center where she serves as preceptor to PGY 1 and PGY 2 residents as well as pharmacy students in their fourth year.  She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Biology in 2001 and Doctor of Pharmacy in 2006 from West Virginia University. She completed a pharmacy practice residency at CAMC in 2007. In addition to teaching and mentoring residents and students, Dr. Tarakji has focused her research on medication use processes, communication, and the development of collaborative practices in the hospital setting.

Christine Teague, Pharm.D., MPH, AAHIVE obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Virginia. She completed a residency in Infectious Disease at the University of Rhode Island and received a Master of Public Health degree from West Virginia University . Dr. Teague is accredited as an HIV Expert by the American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM). Dr. Teague is program director for the Ryan White Outpatient HIV Program at CAMC and is co-director of CAMC's Antimicrobial Stewardship Program.

WVU Faculty Preceptors:

Amanda Geist, PharmD earned her Doctorate of Pharmacy from Duquesne University , Pittsburgh , PA. She then went on to complete a pharmacy practice residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy and a pediatric specialty residency at the University of Kentucky . She is a Clinical Assistant Professor at West Virginia University School of Pharmacy with responsibilities in teaching pediatric related topics throughout various classroom and laboratory courses for students in their first through third professional years. In addition to her role at WVU, she also serves as the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Specialist at Charleston Area Medical Center where she serves as preceptor to PGY 1 and PGY 2 residents as well as pharmacy students in their fourth professional year.

Dr. Elizabeth J. Scharman, Pharm.D., DABAT, BCPS, FAACT , is a tenured Professor of Clinical Pharmacy at West Virginia University . She received a B.S. in Pharmacy (1986) from Butler University and a Pharm.D. (1991) from Virginia Commonwealth University (Medical College of Virginia) then completed a Clinical Toxicology Fellowship (1992) at the Pittsburgh Poison Center . She is currently the Director of the West Virginia Poison Center ; a position she has held since July 1992. She became a Diplomate of the American Board of Applied Toxicology (ABAT) in 1992 and became a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist in 1995. She is currently the Deputy Strategic National Stockpile Coordinator for West Virginia . She is involved in multiple disaster related projects in West Virginia including being the Chair of the Kanawha/Putnam Emergency Planning Committee. She has held numerous positions on boards of national committees including the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, the American Board of Applied Toxicology, and the American Association of Poison Control Centers and currently serves on a variety of national committees. She has multiple publications in the field of clinical toxicology.

Chris Terpening, PhD, PharmD , is an Associate Professor at West Virginia University-Charleston Division. He holds a joint appointment in both the Departments of Clinical Pharmacy and Family Medicine. Dr. Terpening has a background in basic science research. He received his initial bachelor's degree, in biochemistry, from the University of Texas , and a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Arizona . This was followed by four years of post-doctoral fellowship at Colorado State University . After deciding to follow a more clinical career path, he returned to school and received his Bachelor's and PharmD degrees from the University of Colorado . He then completed a two-year specialty residency in Family Medicine at the University of Florida . Dr. Terpening now serves as an educator and preceptor for family medicine residents, interns, medical students and pharmacy students. He runs a Pharmacotherapy Clinic at two different clinic sites in the Kanawha Valley and pursues his varied clinical research interests. Dr. Terpening has been an author on over 30 articles, cases, and book chapters, and serves as Chair of the Ambulatory Care Panel of the Editorial Board for Annals of Pharmacotherapy . He also serves as vice chair on the WVU/CAMC Institutional Review Board and the West Virginia Drug Utilization Review Board.