Corey Caillouet, PharmD, a staff pharmacist for Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, was recently recognized with a Summer 2026 Vanderbilt Health Credo Award. (Photo by Erin O. Smith)
Corey Caillouet, PharmD, took an indirect route to his pharmacy career. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Louisiana Tech University and spent several years working in the chemical industry before returning to school to pursue a career in pharmacy.
His love for science has been at the core of every job along his career path.
“My interest in the sciences was always from a desire to want to know and understand how things work — not only out in the world, but also in the human body,” he said.
As a staff pharmacist who works overnight shifts at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Caillouet helps care for some of the hospital’s sickest patients.
“I do my job the way that I would want somebody doing it if it was my child,” he said.
His knowledge of how the human body works proved critical one night when a child came to hospital after an accidental overdose of a blood pressure medication — a common prescription in thousands of households across the nation. After deteriorating quickly, the child was stabilized thanks to Caillouet’s quick life-saving work.
His ability to stay calm in a high-pressure situation and coordinate a rapid response with the right medications earned Caillouet a 2026 Summer Vanderbilt Health Credo Award.
“Corey’s proactive ownership was recently on full display during a critical calcium channel blocker overdose,” his nominator wrote. “Corey managed the complex clinical intervention flawlessly, ensuring a positive patient outcome.”
Caillouet also saw an opportunity to prepare his colleagues for future emergencies. He later developed a pocket-sized clinical guide for medication dosing and preparation guidelines so other pharmacists could quickly access treatment information during similar emergencies to benefit future patients.
“The next time it happens, our response is more streamlined and we’re ready. I try really hard to help people understand not only what we have to do, but why we have to do it,” he said.
His nominator also praised Caillouet’s commitment to teaching.
“… he realized that his personal expertise shouldn’t be the only thing the team relies on … By creating this resource, he translated his high-level clinical knowledge into a tool that empowers every pharmacist to provide life-saving care in high-pressure situations,” the nominator wrote.
The Credo recognition was a for Caillouet. While he was on break, colleagues transformed the pharmacy into a celebration space complete with banners, balloons and confetti. His supervisor then lured him from the break room under the guise of a question from the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
When he walked through the pharmacy doors, his coworkers were waiting.
“I was left speechless. My family and colleagues will tell you that there’s not a whole lot that leaves me without a quick comeback, but that did,” he joked.
“One of your colleagues thinks highly enough of what you do and how you do it to take the time to sit down and write a nomination — when I consider that somebody I work with felt that way, it makes it much more meaningful.”
Caillouet joined Vanderbilt Health a decade ago after several years practicing pharmacy in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. But his connection to Monroe Carell began even earlier, when he and his wife brought their infant son to the hospital as worried new parents.
Though their son’s condition ultimately proved minor, the experience left a lasting impression.
“I remember what that uncertainty was like. You’re scared for your child, and you just want them to get better and go home,” he said.
Today, that perspective guides how he approaches every shift.
“Everything that we do should advance the mission of taking care of these children,” he said.
View Caillouet’s Credo Award video.
If you are a VUMC employee, you can nominate a colleague for a Credo Award, C. Wright Pinson Leader Award, or Vanderbilt Health Team Award. Visit the Leadership Forum website to fill out a nomination form. Employees demonstrate credo behaviors when: They make those they serve the highest priority; respect privacy and confidentiality; communicate effectively; conduct themselves professionally; have a sense of ownership; and are committed to their colleagues. Elevate award nominations are accepted year-round. If a nomination is received after the cutoff for an award selection period, the nomination will be considered for the next period. VUMC VOICE will post stories on each of the award winners in the weeks following their announcement.
