This document provides an overview of pharmacy residency programs, including: - Residency programs are becoming increasingly important for pharmacists to gain direct patient care experience and be eligible for board certification. - Residencies allow pharmacists to build clinical skills through postgraduate training opportunities in various settings like hospitals, clinics, and retail pharmacies. - The most common types of residencies are PGY-1 programs which provide a broad range of experiences, and PGY-2 programs which offer more specialized training. - Obtaining a competitive residency position requires strong clinical skills, leadership experience, and networking at events like the ASHP Midyear meeting. Faculty at the University of Utah can provide guidance

1. An Introduction to
Residencies 2010
Elizabeth Sebranek Evans, Pharm.D., BCPS
November 11, 2010

2. Evolution of Pharmacist Training and Credentials
• The Doctor of Pharmacy degree became
mandatory for accredited Colleges of Pharmacy
beginning in 1999
• Residency training began steadily increasing as
next level of mandatory minimal training
– American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) has a
vision of residency as a prerequisite for direct patient
care by 2020

3. Evolution of Pharmacist Training and Credentials
• After residency training, Board Certification strongly
encouraged by many employers
– Pharmacotherapy Specialist
– Oncology
– Psychiatry
– Nutrition Support
– Geriatrics
– Diabetes Educator
– American Academy of HIV Medicine

4. What is a Residency?
• An postgraduate training opportunity in a specified
setting that allows pharmacists to:
– Build on their knowledge base
– Improved clinical skills and confidence
– Provide independent and effective patient care
• Opportunity for continued clinical learning with
benefit of being licensed pharmacist
• Most residencies are one year in length
(July 1s -June 30th)

5. Why Complete a Residency?
• Preferred for many types of positions
– Hospital/health-system pharmacy management
– Clinical pharmacist
– College faculty
• Improved marketability
• Residency = 3 years of practice experience
• Eligibility for board certification
• Exposure to more clinical experiences
• Opportunities to provide patient care in a “protected”
setting within a learning environment
• Career networking!!

6. What are Future Job Opportunities
After Residency?
• Disease state management in
community pharmacy
• College faculty
• Clinical pharmacist or specialist in hospital or
outpatient clinic
• HMO/Managed Care benefits manager
• Pharmaceutical Industry
• Clinical coordinator
• Hospital pharmacy manager

7. Classification of Residencies:
PGY-1 vs. PGY-2
• PGY- 1 (post-graduate year #1)
– Designed to be completed first, usually immediately after
completing a Doctor of Pharmacy degree program
– Many PGY-1 residencies offer a broad array of
experiences
• PGY-2 (post-graduate year #2)
– Intended to be completed after PGY-1 year
– Specialized area of focus (pediatrics, critical care, solid
organ transplant, oncology, drug information, etc.)

8. Types of PGY-1 Residencies
• Community pharmacy-based residencies
– There are programs based in community/retail
pharmacies
– Many also have a college of pharmacy affiliation
– Perform direct patient care with an emphasis on
disease state management (dyslipidemia, diabetes,
hypertension, immunizations, etc.)
• Practice Management
– Learn how to develop and evaluate advanced practice
sites in the community setting
– Learn how to market services and receive financial
compensation!

9. Types of PGY-1 Residencies
• Pharmacy Practice in a Veterans Affairs hospital
• Pharmacy Practice in a children’s hospital
• Pharmacy Practice through a College
of Pharmacy
• Pharmacy Practice with an ambulatory
care focus

10. Types of PGY-1 Residencies
• Pharmacy Practice in Indian Health Service
• Pharmacy Practice in a military facility
• Pharmacy Practice with an emphasis in
psychiatric pharmacy
• Pharmacy Practice in home infusion
• Managed care pharmacy-based residencies

11. Residency Application Timeline
• P3 year early December
– Attend ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting
• Residency showcase: Open house with most accredited
residency programs
• Personal placement service (PPS): Opportunity for one-on-one
interviews with residency programs directors
• Mid-December
– Submit applications to programs
• Requirements vary but programs may require CV, personal
statements, examples of clinical projects, etc.
• Usually need three letters of recommendation
• Transcripts required

12. Residency Application Timeline
• January and February
– Receive interview invitations from sites
– Interview at sites
– Sign up with National Matching Service
• Early March
– Rank interview sites and submit to National Matching
Service by Match Deadline
• Mid-March
– Match results release mid-March
• July
– Start residency

13. Barriers to Residency
• Loss of income
– 1/3 - 1/2 of a pharmacist’s salary (Avg. $37,600, range:
32K – 42.7K)
– Often difficult to make student loan payments on a
resident’s salary
– Not all loans deferrable during residency
• Distance
– May require relocation
• Workload
– Requires hard work and self-motivation
– Usually requires > 40 hours per week
– May need to provide “on call” services

14. What are Local Residency Opportunities?
• University of Utah
– 4 PGY1 positions inpatient hospital
– 1 PGY1 position in community pharmacy
• Intermountain Healthcare
– 2 PGY1 positions McKay-Dee Hospital
– 3 PGY1 positions Intermountain Medical Center
– 3 PGY1 positions Primary Children’s Hospital
– 2 PGY1 positions Utah Valley Medical Center
– 1 PGY1 position in managed care at Select Health
– 1 PGY1/PGY2 position in practice management
• VA Medical Center
– 2 PGY1 positions

15. How Competitive is it to Obtain a Residency?
• 2010 National Match Statistics:
– Approximately 3000 applicants signed up for
the Match
– Approximately 2000 residency positions were in
the Match
– On Match Day, about 1850 residency positions were
matched between positions and candidates
– About 150 residency positions were left unmatched
and 1150 applicants left to “scramble” for positions

16. What if I Wait a Few Years to
Do A Residency?
• Cons
– You may lose valuable sources of information about
residencies after graduations
– It takes a great deal of discipline to transition from
full pharmacist salary to resident salary
– Would need to take time off of work to interview for
residencies
– Delay achieving your long term goals
• Pros
– Pharmacist work experience and time management
skills will make you a stronger resident candidate

17. What Makes an Excellent
Resident Candidate?
• Excellent work ethic and communication
skills required
• Strong clinical skills
• Going “above and beyond” basic requirements
for graduation
– Leadership
– Community service
– Scholarship

18. How Can a USN Student Become a More
Competitive Residency Candidate?
• Clinical Skills Opportunities
– ACCP Clinical Challenge (September)
– ASHP Clinical Skills Competition (October)
– APhA Patient Counseling Competition (January?)
• Leadership
– Active participation in student organizations
– Attendance and active participation at local and
national pharmacy organization meetings
– Networking, networking, networking!
• Community service
– Health fairs
– Brown-bag events

19. How Can a USN Student Become a More
Competitive Residency Candidate?
• APPE rotations
– Select challenging clinical sites
– Consider sites with unique opportunities
– Proactively seek opportunities for journal clubs,
presentations, and quality-improvement projects
• Scholarship
– Formal research opportunities with science or
clinical faculty
– Submit case reports or review articles to peer-reviewed
medical journals for publication
– Present posters at state (USHP, UPhA) or national
meetings (APhA, ACCP, ASHP)
– Develop high-quality patient education materials

20. More Information
• American Society of Health-Systems
Pharmacists (ASHP)
– www.ashp.org
– Directory of accredited residency programs available
online (search for free)
– “Professional Development: Residencies, the ASHP
midyear clinical meeting, and more” (The “Blue Book”)
• Careful! This hasn’t been updated since 2005
• American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP)
– www.accp.com
– Directory of residencies and fellowships available online
– Free online job and residency position searches

21. More Information
• American Pharmacists Association (APhA)
– www.aphanet.org
– Only provides information on community residencies but
generous detail available

22. Faculty Resources
• Dr. Boehme (sboeme@usn.edu)
– Pediatric transplant and pediatric general medicine
residency preceptor at Primary Children’s Hospital
• Dr. Chan (achan@usn.edu)
– Completed PGY1 at Utah Valley Medical Center
– Adult internal medicine residency preceptor (starting
2010-2011) at Intermountain Medical Center
• Dr. Christensen (tchristensen@usn.edu)
– Critical care / cardiology residency preceptor at Utah
Valley Medical Center

23. Faculty Resources
• Dr. Drake (tdrake@usn.edu)
– Ambulatory care residency preceptor at
McKay-Dee Hospital
– Residency Director at McKay-Dee Hospital
• Dr. Harper (mharper@usn.edu)
– Critical care residency preceptor at McKay-Dee Hospital
• Dr. Healy (rhealy@usn.edu)
– Completed PGY1 residency at Intermountain
Medical Center
– In process of completing PGY2 residency in Oncology /
Teaching through Intermountain Medical Center and USN

24. Faculty Resources
• Dr. Kobayashi (kkobayashi@usn.edu)
– Completed PGY1 at Intermountain Medical Center
– Completed PGY2 in Internal Medicine / Teaching with
Intermountain Medical Center and USN
– Adult internal medicine residency preceptor (starting
2010-2011) at Intermountain Medical Center
• Dr. Sebranek (esebranek@usn.edu)
– Completed PGY1 at Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee, WI
– Adult internal medicine residency preceptor at
Intermountain Medical Center
– Member of Intermountain Medical Center Residency-
Advisory Committee

25. Faculty Resources
• Dr. Smith (ksmith@usn.edu)
– Completed PGY1 residency at University of Arizona
Medical Center, Tucson, AZ
– Completed PGY2 specialty residency in pediatrics at
University of Tennessee, Le Bonheur Children’s
Medical Center
– Precepted pharmacy residents on neonatology rotation at
University Medical Center of Southern Nevada

26. Faculty Resources
• Dr. Stahl (estahl@usn.edu)
– Completed PGY1 at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Denver, CO
– Completed PGY2 in Internal Medicine at
St. Joseph’s Hospital, Denver, CO
– Adult internal medicine residency preceptor at
Intermountain Medical Center
• Dr. Strohecker (jstrohecker@usn.edu)
– Ambulatory care residency preceptor at Intermountain
Medical Center