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Pharmacy Residency Program PGY1

We offer progressive PGY1 pharmacy residencies with emphasis on assessing, designing, recommending, and monitoring patient-specific pharmacotherapy in a variety of direct patient care settings.

Requirements

  • Graduate of an accredited school of pharmacy with a Pharm.D. degree
  • United States citizenship
  • Licensed or eligible for licensure as a pharmacist (licensure must be obtained within the first month of residency)
  • Successfully pass pre-employment physical exam
  • This residency site agrees that no person at this site will solicit, accept or use any ranking-related information from any residency applicant.

Benefits

For salary and other details please visit https://www.ashp.org

Deadline

January 7 

We have longstanding history of clinical pharmacy at VA Sierra Nevada Care System (VASNHCS). Our program incorporates a progressive view of pharmacy practice, utilizing informatics, automation and advanced clinical technician skills to support our pharmaceutical services. Residents will participate in the ongoing revision and improvement of a managed health care system. VASNHCS provides tremendous opportunities to include the development of pharmaceutical care plans with defined outcomes utilizing collaborative drug therapy management and systems that support a progressive view of pharmacy practice. After completing their residency, pharmacists will be able to independently manage patients in a variety of disease states and practice settings. They will initiate, modify, and evaluate drug therapy according to defined outcomes and under an expansive scope of practice. Practice management experiences include formulary system management, committee involvement, grand rounds presentations, journal clubs, leadership discussions and a residency project presented at Western States Conference.

This progressive residency in Pharmacy Practice is designed to emphasize the development and training of a clinical practitioner who can improve drug therapy and excel in future professional endeavors. The resident will assess, design, recommend and monitor patient-specific pharmacotherapy in a variety of direct patient care settings. The resident will participate in the ongoing revision and development of a managed care health system with a primary care emphasis. Opportunities include the development of skills in utilizing health care systems that support an expanded view of pharmacy practice.

The resident will develop these skills through participation in rotations and electives including:

Required learning experiences:

  • Orientation (4 weeks)
  • Ambulatory Care (4 weeks)
  • Anticoagulation (4 weeks)
  • Geriatrics (CLC) (5 weeks)
  • Infectious Disease (4 weeks)
  • Inpatient Pharmacy Operations (2 weeks)
  • Internal Medicine (4 weeks)
  • Outpatient Pharmacy Operations (2 week)
  • Pharmacoeconomics (4 weeks)
  • 1-weekend per month staffing (16-hours per month for 12 months)


Elective learning experiences:

  • Academic Detailing (4 weeks)
  • Advanced Ambulatory Care (4 weeks)
  • Emergency Medicine (4 weeks)
  • Home Based Primary Care (4 weeks)
  • Hospice/Palliative Care (4 weeks)
  • ICU (4 weeks)
  • Inpatient Mental Health (4 weeks)
  • Oncology (4 weeks)
  • Pain Management (4 weeks)
  • Specialty Pharmacy Clinic (4 weeks)
  • VISN 21 Population Health Management (4 weeks)

Obtaining a teaching and learning certificate is a requirement of the program. During the year, there is also the opportunity to precept students from a variety of schools of pharmacy. In addition, the resident will participate in the completion of a formal project that will be presented at the Western States Residency Conference.

Other residencies affiliated with this program include:

  • Geriatric Pharmacy (PGY2)
  • Psychiatric Pharmacy (PGY2)
  • Pharmacy Outcomes and Healthcare Analytics (PGY2)

Six PGY1 Pharmacy Resident Positions Available Match ID#: 170013

Learning Experiences

Ambulatory Care

Residents will learn to independently care for patients in the setting of a pharmacist-managed ambulatory care clinic. Residents will hone their skills at managing patients with chronic disease states – including, but not limited to hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, COPD, and thyroid disorders.

Anticoagulation Clinic

The Anticoagulation Clinic is primarily telephone based, however the resident will also have experience with individual (face to face) visits, which tend to have greater complexity.  The Anticoagulation clinic manages warfarin, DOACs, and low molecular weight heparins (LMWH) and provides advice to providers in many clinical scenarios including peri-procedural bridging.

Community Living Center/Geriatrics

The rotation involves providing comprehensive pharmaceutical care in an interdisciplinary inpatient care team. The Community Living Center (CLC) is a unique setting which cares for patients from a variety of care categories including long term care, palliative care, rehabilitation care, and sub-acute care. Activities will focus on learning to write comprehensive drug regimen reviews, monthly review notes as a consultant pharmacist would perform, as well as participation in weekly interdisciplinary team rounds, and discharge responsibilities. Didactic discussions and readings on geriatrics topics including pharmacology, chemical restraints, MDS, falls, etc. will take place regularly, and the resident will be expected to complete at least one in-service presentation. In addition, the resident will participate in wound care clinic.

Infectious Diseases

Residents work in collaboration with an infectious disease specialist physician and infectious disease pharmacists.   Residents round daily with both the medical and infectious disease teams. Specialty outpatient clinics include a hepatitis C clinic and travel clinic. Our antibiotic stewardship program provides hands on experience in the management of antibiotic therapy to minimize the development of antibiotic resistance and ensure appropriate antibiotic spectrum coverage.

Intensive Care Unit

During the ICU rotation, residents work with the ICU pharmacists, ICU medical residents, attendings and ICU nurses, in taking care of ICU medical and telemetry patients. Round daily with a Medical ICU team. Evaluate patient information, including laboratory values, disease states and medications, to ensure standard of care, VA guidelines and formulary, and standard processes, i.e. consults and documentation of use of high alert medications, are being followed. Document your interventions in the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS). Present your patients (disease, drugs, labs, etc.) daily to your preceptor. Provide drug information to members of the healthcare team and patients when necessary. Perform the duties necessary to staff the ICU by the end of the rotation including order entry, discharge medication processing, and counseling patients on discharge.

Medicine

Work with the medicine pharmacist, medical residents, attending and nurses, in taking care of medical and surgical patients. Round daily with Medical team. Evaluate patient information, including laboratory values, disease states, and medications, to ensure standard of care, VA guidelines and formulary, and standard processes, i.e. consults and documentation of use of high alert medications, are being followed. Document your interventions in the Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS). Be prepared to present your patients (disease, drugs, labs, etc.) at all times to your preceptor. Provide drug information to members of the healthcare team and patients when necessary. Perform the duties necessary to staff by the end of the rotation, including order entry, discharge medication processing, and counseling patients on discharge and if they have any medication questions while in the hospital.

Mental Health

The mental health rotation provides comprehensive pharmaceutical care to mental health patients in an acute inpatient care setting. Resident will gain experience in inpatient psychotropic medication management. The rotation consists of weekly topic discussions, medication education groups, involvement in addictive disorders treatment and intensive case management programs, and tobacco cessation clinic. The rotation may incorporate other related topics according to individual interests.

Oncology & Research

This rotation involves providing pharmaceutical care to oncology patients in the outpatient and inpatient settings. Also, this rotation involves participation in the investigational drug program, R&D Committee and other research situations.  This rotation may incorporate other related topics according to individual interests.

Pharmacoeconomics

The resident will develop skills in the practical application of pharmacoeconomic principles to the VA healthcare environment and in research design and methodologies to assess pharmaceutical-related economic, clinical, and humanistic health outcomes. In addition, the resident will spend time with Pharmacy Management attending meetings related to strategic planning, Chiefs Calls, budgetary planning, financial management, accreditation/regulatory, safety.

How to apply

Application deadline

The deadline for this year is January 7.

Important dates for, "The Match," can be found at http://www.natmatch.com/ashprmp/

Application must include

  • A written response to the following prompted questions:
    • From these 5 characteristics: communication, adaptability, dependability, problem solving, organization, rank in order from 1 to 5 (1 = area of strength, 5 = area of improvement).
      1.
      2.
      3.
      4.
      5.
    •  Please provide two specific examples as to why the characteristic you ranked as number 1 is your greatest strength.
    •  Please provide two specific examples as to why the characteristic you ranked as number 5 is your greatest area of improvement.
    • How do you feel a residency at VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System will help highlight your areas of strength and improve upon your areas of improvement?
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • College of Pharmacy Transcripts (official)
  • Three (3) Professional Letters of Recommendation submitted through PhORCAS

How to submit

All application and supplemental materials should be submitted via the ASHP PhORCAS system.
Pharmacy Practice Match ID#: 170013

If matched the following forms will be required.
Do not send prior to matching.

  • Application for Health Professions Trainee
  • Form OF 306

For further information, please contact

Carrie Linn, PharmD, MPH
PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Director
VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System
Pharmacy Service (119)
975 Kirman Avenue
Reno, NV 89502
Tel: ext 6729
Carrie.Linn@va.gov

Additional information

The programs are affiliated with the Idaho State University College of PharmacyRoseman University of Health SciencesUniversity of Nevada School of MedicineCreighton University School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, and Oregon State University| Oregon Health & Science University College of Pharmacy.
 
The hospital is located minutes from Lake Tahoe, the Sierra Nevada Mountains and world class skiing. Reno offers an ideal climate for outdoor activities, many opportunities for entertainment, and San Francisco, Napa Valley and Yosemite National Park are within a three-hour drive.