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 55-week, 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 Pharmacy Specialists in Ambulatory Care, Critical Care, Emergency Medicine, Trauma/Surgery, Hematology and Oncology, Infectious Disease/Antimicrobial Stewardship, and Internal Medicine. The PGY1 Resident will be trained in Pharmacy Consult Services including Pharmacokinetic Dosing and Monitoring, Nutrition Support, Anticoagulation, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and Medication Reconciliation. The PGY1 resident will be an integral part of a multidisciplinary team taking care of patients at West Chester Hospital.
The PGY1 residency conducted by West Chester Hospital in West Chester, OH is accredited by ASHP.
Required Learning Experiences (1 month)
Elective Learning Experiences (3 rotations, 1 month each, limited to one offsite elective)
*Offsite rotation at UC Health Medical Center (UCMC)
**Offsite rotation at Linder Center of Hope
Required Longitudinal Experiences
Anticoagulation Clinic
- The anticoagulation 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). Residents will spend one afternoon weekly in the anticoagulation clinic over the course of the year.
- The residents will manage a patient’s anticoagulation therapy through patient interview, lab monitoring, dose adjustment, provider consultation, and patient education.
Medical 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. Residents will be assigned 3 months of coverage over the course of the year (assigned with monthly rotation during orientation) and will also cover during weekend staffing shifts.
Medication Use Evaluation (MUE)
- The resident will perform a MUE over the course of the year, 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 1-2 project preceptors.
Pharmacy Operations
- 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.
Practice Management
- This longitudinal learning experience that spans the duration of the year includes various longitudinal activities such as chief resident of the quarter, committee involvement, and drug-information question write-ups on which residents will be evaluated. The RPD evaluates the resident’s ability to balance all responsibilities over the course of the year in terms of patient care, teaching, and project management as they become a clinical pharmacist
Research
- The resident will work over the course of the year (with a focused project month during December) and learn the principles of the scientific method including design, preparation, performance, and interpretation of a research project.
- The residents will be assigned the project during orientation and receive guidance at various points over the course of the year on data collection basics, statistical analysis, etc. The resident will prepare a manuscript suitable for publication at the culmination of the year and formally present the research at the 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.
Teaching Certificate
- PGY1 residents participate in the teaching certificate program through the University of Cincinnati James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy. 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 over the course of the year. The program offers both an academia and a preceptor track so each resident may more closely tailor the experience to their future goals.
- Residents are also required to precept one APPE student on rotation, lead case conference/topic discussions, direct anti-coagulation education, and provide guidance and leadership to students.
Required Presentations
Pharmacy Grand Rounds
- Each resident will complete two (2) Pharmacy Grand Rounds presentations which typically consists of a 30-60-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.
Morbidity, Mortality, and Improvement Conference (MMI)
- The goal of pharmacy’s MMI conference 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. Residents will be assigned to participate in two committees over the course of the year (each for ~half of the program) as part of the practice management learning experience.
Examples of committees the resident may serve on include Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, Medication Utilization Committee, Clinical Pharmacy Meeting, and Pharmacy Staff Meeting.
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 $65,124
- 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 present their MUE findings at the the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting/Vizient Pharmacy Network Meeting (December) and research at the Ohio Pharmacy Resident Conference (May) and the Greater Cincinnati Society of Health-System Pharmacists Best Practice Research Symposium (June). Financial support is provided for required conferences.
Program Eligibility
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 10, 2024 and end on June 30, 2025
The following items must be received by January 2 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 host open houses on site and virtually in November. Check out our twitter account for more updates and details @UCH_PharmRes
Program Contact