Dr. Atkinson is currently a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Pain Management at the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System. He graduated from LECOM School of Pharmacy in 2012, completed a PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency at VA Western New York Healthcare System in 2013, followed by a PGY-2 Pain and Palliative Care Residency at the Albany Stratton VAMC in 2014.   Dr. Atkinson specializes in complex and high-risk pain medication management through direct patient care and electronic consult services within the regional referral pain clinic.  He serves as co-chair of TVHS Opioid Safety Initiative (OSI) Taskforce, Director of PGY2 Pain Management & Palliative Care Residency Program at VA TVHS. Dr. Atkinson actively promotes expansion of pharmacy pain management services through several VHA initiatives including CPPO Pain Subject Matter Expert (SME) Workgroup, Chair of VHA Pharmacy Residency Practice Office (PRPO) Pain RPD Subgroup, and represents pain on national VA Residency Advisory Board (RAB). He recently served on the ASHP committee to revise residency competency, goals, and objectives for all pain & palliative care residency programs and co-authored the newly approved RFP for expansion of VA Pain Management residency programs. When not enjoying time with family, he has research interests in serum level monitoring, variability in opioid equivalencies, pain management in specialty disease states, and the elderly.