PGY1 Residency (West Chester Hospital)

 

West Chester Hospital Post Graduate Year One (PGY1) Pharmacy Residency

As a member of UC Health, West Chester Hospital (WCH) seeks to fulfill our system-wide mission of advancing medicine and improving the health of all people, in addition to creating outstanding patient experiences and offering excellent patient care. With that aim in mind, West Chester Hospital offers an ASHP-accredited PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program. The PGY1 Residency is a 12-month, structured training program designed to develop competence in providing the highest level of pharmaceutical care. The program will be individualized based upon the resident’s level of knowledge, skills, and interests. Elective rotations allow the resident to further pursue interests related to their personal career objectives.

PGY1 Residents will join a robust preceptor team who serve as experts in their area of practice. WCH Department of Pharmacy has Clinical Specialists in Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Critical Care, Infectious Disease/Antimicrobial Stewardship, Hematology and Oncology, Transitions of Care, and additional pharmacy services provided in Surgery and Ambulatory Care. The PGY1 Resident will be trained in Pharmacy Consult Services including Pharmacokinetic Dosing and Monitoring, Nutrition Support, Anticoagulation, Heart Failure, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Patient Falls and Polypharmacy, and Medication Reconciliation. The PGY1 resident will be an integral part of a multidisciplinary team taking care of patients at West Chester Hospital.

Required Learning Experiences (1 month)

Orientation
Internal Medicine
General Surgery
Intensive Care
Infectious Diseases
Emergency Medicine
Pharmacy Administration
Drug Policy and Drug Information

Elective Learning Experiences (3 rotations, 1 month each)

Advanced Acute Care Pharmacotherapy
Advanced Critical Care
Ambulatory Care
Antimicrobial Stewardship
Cardiology (offered in 2nd half of year)
Hematology/Oncology
Pain Stewardship*
Psychiatry (Lindner Center of Hope)*
Specialty Pharmacy*
Transitions of Care
Transplant
Trauma

*offsite rotation, limited to one offsite elective

Required Longitudinal Experiences

Anticoagulation Clinic

  • The ambulatory care longitudinal experience is designed to develop the resident’s knowledge of, and problem-solving skills related to the management or anticoagulation therapies, particularly warfarin, low molecular weight heparins, and direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs).
  • The residents will manage a patient’s anticoagulation therapy through patient interview, lab monitoring, dose adjustment, provider consultation, and patient education.

Emergency Response

  • PGY1 residents will have the opportunity to master skills related to providing pharmacy services during medical emergencies, including Rapid Response, Code Blue, Trauma Stat, STEMIs, Stroke Alerts, and Emergent Intubations.

Pharmacy Operations and Clinical Staffing

  • The resident is scheduled approximately every other weekend to provide pharmaceutical care to West Chester Hospital patients. The weekend shifts consistently rotate between an operational shift and a clinical shift.
  • Responsibilities of the clinical shift include chart review, consult coverage, ED culture result follow-up, and code response. Once the resident completes the required Intensive Care learning experience, the resident will provide clinical coverage for the ICU in addition to other assigned duties.

Longitudinal Research Project

  • The resident will learn the principles of the scientific method including design, preparation, performance, and interpretation of a research project
  • The resident will gain experience in the preparation of a manuscript for publication and will improve public speaking skills through formal presentation at Ohio Pharmacy Resident Conference and a poster presentation at the Greater Cincinnati Society of Health-System Pharmacists Best Practices Poster Presentation.
  • A research timeline is established to ensure the resident stays on schedule for completion of residency, along with the guidance from project preceptors.

Medication Use Evaluation

  • The resident will perform a MUE, contribute to process improvement within the health system, and follow up with action items by presenting at committees, implementing policies, and working with other disciplines when appropriate to improve the medication use process.
  • The resident will present MUE results with a poster presentation at the Vizient Pharmacy Network Meeting (typically day prior to ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting) and presentation at a UC Health committee meeting.
  • An MUE timeline is established to ensure the resident stays on schedule for completion of residency, along with the guidance from 2 project preceptors.

Presentations

Pharmacy Grand Rounds

  • Each resident will complete two (2) Pharmacy Grand Rounds presentations which is a 60-minute ACPE-accredited CE session attended by UC Health pharmacy staff, residents, and students.
  • The first presentation will be focused on the topic area selected for the longitudinal research project and the second PGR presentation will be on a pharmacotherapeutic topic of the resident’s choice.

Pharmacy Morbidity, Mortality, and Improvement (MMI)

  • The goal of MMI is to review and discuss a real-world, patient safety situation with opportunity for improvement in the medication use process. Each resident will select a case for presentation verbally for facilitated, process improvement discussion and as a written article for departmental communication and continued education.

Hospital Committee Involvement

The purpose of committee membership and active participation is to assist in fostering interdisciplinary and interdepartmental working relationships, teach organization and management skills, and introduce the resident to the working structure of the hospital.

Examples of committees the resident may serve on include Medication Utilization Committee, Medication Reconciliation Committee, Clinical Pharmacy Meeting, and Pharmacy Staff Meeting.

Teaching Certificate Program and Education Opportunities

PGY1 residents earn a teaching certificate through the University of Cincinnati James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy Teaching Certificate Program. The program is available for all residents in the greater Cincinnati area and consists of a two-day seminar along with longitudinal didactic, co-precepting and small group teaching requirements. The program offers both an academia and a preceptor track so each resident may more closely tailor the experience to their future goals.

Residents also has the opportunity to precept APPE and IPPE students on rotation, lead case conference/topic discussions, direct anti-coagulation education, and provide guidance and leadership to students.

Salary and Benefits

Final information regarding salary, benefits, and pre-employment requirements will be provided to matched applicants prior to the start of the residency year.

  • Estimated salary of $53,000
  • 27 days paid time off (includes holidays not worked)
  • Medical, dental, vision plans
  • Individual and private workspace in the resident office including a dual-monitor desktop computer, desktop phone, hospital-network mobile phone, printer, refrigerator, Sandford guide
  • Personalized UC Health White Coat
  • Electronic access to the University of Cincinnati Health Sciences Library
  • Weekly ACPE CE provided through Pharmacy Grand Rounds
  • Financial reimbursement for select professional conferences
  • Advanced Cardiac Life Support certification
  • Free parking adjacent to hospital

Professional Conferences

PGY1 residents are afforded the opportunity to attend the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting/Vizient Pharmacy Network Meeting (December) and Ohio Pharmacy Resident Conference (May).

Program Eligibility

Program Code: 44048
National Matching Service Code: 215013
Number of positions: 4

 
Entrance into the PGY1 Pharmacy Residency requires the following:

  • Doctor of Pharmacy degree from an ACPE – accredited College of Pharmacy or Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Committee (FPGEC) Certificate from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP)
    • We welcome all applicants but currently are unable to sponsor employees or applicants for H1B visa at this time.
  • Pharmacist licensure in the state of Ohio anticipated
  • Ohio pharmacy intern license for orientation activities, if the resident does not anticipate having an active Ohio Pharmacist License by mid-June
  • Must have availability to start on June 12th, 2023 and end on June 30th 2024

The following items must be received by December 31 to complete application to the program. Please submit all application materials through the Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PhORCAS):

  • Letter of intent
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • College transcripts
  • Three letters of recommendation (PhORCAS format)

Recruitment

West Chester Hospital PGY1 Residency program will be recruiting at the OSHP Residency Showcase and ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting Residency Showcase.
We will be hosting open houses on Wednesday November 9th from 5pm-6pm and Wednesday November 16th from 5pm-6pm. Check out our twitter account for more updates @UCH_PharmRes

Program Contact

Tara Harpenau, PharmD, BCIDP
Director, PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Infectious Diseases/Antimicrobial Stewardship
UC Health – West Chester Hospital
Tara.Harpenau@uchealth.com
Office 513-298-8989
Fax (513) 298-7908

 

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