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