Program Purpose

The purpose of the UC Health – University of Cincinnati Medical Center Post Graduate Year Two (PGY2) Solid Organ Transplant Pharmacy Residency Program centers on the development of knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to become a sound and successful transplant clinical pharmacist. This program offers residents the opportunity to provide specialized pharmaceutical services and direct patient care to transplant donors and recipients throughout the various phases of transplantation, as well as build experience- and evidence-based foundations for practice, teaching, and research as a solid organ transplant clinical pharmacy practitioner/specialist.

This program strives to provide the knowledge and experience that transplant clinical pharmacy practitioners need to face challenges in today’s complex healthcare systems, while also providing essential skills to meet the practice demands of the future. The individual’s program may vary in structure and area of emphasis based on the resident’s entering level of knowledge, skills, and interests, and will evolve as the residency year progresses, but will be comprehensive enough to prepare the resident for BCTXP examination and clinical practice in a variety of transplant fields. Rotations toward the end of the residency may be tailored based on accepted positions to facilitate the transition to clinical practice.

The following outline represents the general program design and requirements for the ASHP-accredited PGY2 Solid Organ Transplant Pharmacy Residency at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The program includes a variety of direct and non-direct patient care, research, and teaching opportunities and will be individualized to meet the needs of the resident based on the resident development plan.

Program Requirements

• Doctor of Pharmacy degree from an ACPE-accredited College of Pharmacy
• Completion of an ASHP-accredited PGY1 Pharmacy Residency
• Pharmacist licensure in the state of Ohio
• The UC Health Department of Pharmacy is able to support some, but not all visa types. For questions about a specific visa type, contact Nicole Harger Dykes, PharmD, BCCCP (Manager, Pharmacy Residency Programs and Professional Development) at nicole.harger@uchealth.com.

The PGY2 Solid Organ Transplant Residency Certificate will be awarded with the completion of all established program requirements, including achievement of Required Competency Areas, Goals, and Objectives for PGY2 Solid Organ Transplant Pharmacy Residency.

Clinical Learning Experiences

Required Clinical Learning Experiences

• Orientation (4 weeks)
• Inpatient Kidney and Pancreas Transplant1 (4 weeks)
• Inpatient Kidney and Pancreas Transplant 2 (4 weeks)
• Inpatient Liver Transplant 1 (4 weeks)
• Inpatient Liver Transplant 2 (4 weeks)
• Inpatient Advanced Heart Failure/MCS/Heart Transplant (4 weeks)
• Outpatient Kidney/Liver/Heart Transplant clinics 1 (4 weeks)
• Transplant Nephrology consult (4 weeks)
• Transplant Infectious Diseases (4 weeks)

Required Longitudinal Learning Experiences

• Clinical Research Project (four 1-week blocks)
• Quality Assurance & Performance Improvement (QAPI)
• Pharmacy Grand Rounds (total of two)
• Morbidity, Mortality, and Process Improvement (MMI) (total of one)

Elective Learning Experiences (to complete a full 52-week experience)

• Outpatient Kidney/Liver/Heart Transplant clinics 2 (4-week block or longitudinal in second half of year)
• Transplant Hepatology consult (4 weeks)
• Advanced critical care (Surgical ICU, Medical ICU, or Cardiovascular ICU; 4 weeks)
• General Nephrology consult (4 weeks)
• Inpatient Hematology and BMT/HSCT (4 weeks)
• Transplant Specialty Pharmacy (2 or 4 weeks)
• Antimicrobial Stewardship (2 weeks)
• Metabolic Nutrition Support (2 weeks)
• Investigational Drug Services (2 weeks)

Salary and Benefits

• Estimated salary of $70,000–$72,000
• 28 days paid time off (includes holidays not worked, external interviews, and some professional conference travel)
• Medical, dental, and vision plans
• Individual workspace including a desktop computer
• Electronic access to the University of Cincinnati Health Sciences Library
• Weekly ACPE CE provided through Pharmacy Grand Rounds
• Financial reimbursement for select professional conferences
• Free covered parking adjacent to the hospital

Research: Flipped Model

Educational Opportunities

PGY2 residents may participate in 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 and small-group teaching requirements.

The Solid Organ Transplant pharmacy resident will assist in developing/updating and lead at least one case-based classroom session within the University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy Clinical Applications 2 course. Precepting opportunities for Advanced Practice Learning Experience (APPE) students are available throughout the year.

Pharmacy Grand Rounds

PGY2 Solid Organ Transplant pharmacy residents will develop one 30-minute ACPE CE presentation focused on the background of their research project and present an additional 30 minutes of ACPE CE in the spring on a topic of their choice.

Pharmacy Morbidity, Mortality, and Improvement

Each PGY2 SOT resident will present one pharmacy-specific process improvement opportunity at the monthly Pharmacy MMI case conference. Working with a primary preceptor, a Drug Policy Development contact, and a process improvement coach, the resident will identify a workflow issue and apply improvement methodology to propose solutions. Deliverables include a 20-minute presentation and a written summary offering Medication Safety ACPE continuing education for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

Committee Involvement

Each PGY2 SOT resident will serve as an active member of the Transplant Quality Leadership Committee (TQLC), participate in monthly planning meetings, and lead at least one meeting in the second half of the year. Residents will be assigned projects to lead and present within the committee and are expected to present at least one QAPI initiative to one or more organ selection meetings. Residents will also attend weekly selection meetings for applicable organs during certain rotations and will perform candidate evaluations in select meetings.

Independent Practice

Each PGY2 Solid Organ Transplant resident will provide weekend clinical coverage to the oncology and solid organ transplant service lines approximately every 3 weeks (total 16 weekends). Each resident is required to cover a major holiday (Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s Day) and a minor holiday.

Professional Conferences

Chief Residents:

• Required
  • Great Lakes Pharmacy Resident Conference (April/May)
  • American Transplant Congress (June), unless otherwise determined by the program director. Alternative experiences will be arranged if extenuating circumstances preclude attendance.
  • ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting (December) with presentation at the Vizient® meeting
  • AST Fellows Symposium (September/October) if funding (e.g., travel grant) is obtained; otherwise, attendance is optional

Non-Chief Residents:

• Required
  • Great Lakes Pharmacy Resident Conference (April/May)
  • American Transplant Congress (June), unless otherwise determined by the program director. Alternative experiences will be arranged if extenuating circumstances preclude attendance.
  • AST Fellows Symposium (September/October) if funding (e.g., travel grant) is obtained; otherwise, attendance is optional
• Optional
  • ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting (December); funding is not provided and presentation at the Vizient® meeting is optional

Application Process

The following items must be received by January 2 via PhORCAS:

1. A letter of intent describing your reasons for applying to the program and interests within the pharmacy profession
2. A current Curriculum Vitae
3. Three letters of recommendation (utilizing PhORCAS format)