Residency in Pharmacy Practice
Frequently Asked Questions
Could you briefly describe the Jefferson Pharmacy Practice Residency Program?
The Pharmacy Practice Residency is a full-time, twelve-month, ASHP-accredited program that provides the resident with a wide variety of hospital experiences. The program offers residents the ability to develop advanced skills and expertise in clinical areas of pharmacy practice. Residents also learn methods of improving patient outcomes within a multidisciplinary framework.
In addition to their clinical work at the Hospital, our residents contribute to the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of new programs. The Department of Pharmacy provides a broad scope of services, allowing the resident to gain a wide variety of experiences. Designed with considerable flexibility, the program may be tailored to emphasize the resident's practice areas of interest and, therefore, to achieve the resident's personal and professional goals.
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How do I apply for the program?
To be considered for the Pharmacy Practice Residency, the applicant must be registered with the ASHP Matching Program. The resident must then complete the Hospital's application materials. After all applicant materials have been reviewed, selected candidates will be invited for an on-site interview with the residency coordinators and preceptors. Finally, names of the selected candidates will be submitted in accordance with the rules governing the Matching Program.
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When are applications due?
Completed applications are due by January 15. After reviewing all completed applications, we will schedule interviews with selected applicants in late January and early February.
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How many residency positions are available?
There are five available positions. In accordance with our agreement with ASHP, we will give consideration only to those applicants who have registered with the Matching Program.
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When does the residency start?
The residency begins on or about July 1.
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What kinds of experiences can I expect to have as a Pharmacy Practice Resident at Jeff?
Throughout the residency, you will have the opportunity to:
- Develop, monitor and assess drug regimens and therapeutic plans for a wide variety of patients
- Serve as a preceptor for students from the Jefferson School of Pharmacy, the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP), and Temple University
- Present didactic lectures to a variety of healthcare practitioners
- Develop, conduct and present a Medication Use Evaluation
- Provide an ACPE-accredited continuing education seminar
- Serve as secretary of a Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) subcommittee
- Assume the educational and service responsibilities of the preceptor in the latter's absence
- Develop, conduct and present a residency project
- Attend educational conferences
- Enhance your time and stress management skills
- Provide primary pharmaceutical care to underserved populations
The amount of time spent in each of these activities is dependent upon your needs and interests. In addition, you are encouraged to suggest other experiences. Finally, you should be aware that the service component of the program extends the residency commitment beyond the forty-hour week.
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What rotations are required of the resident?
Adult Medicine - This experience allows the resident to assume the role of the clinical pharmacist on a medicine service. Residents participate in daily patient care activities and assist in therapeutic decision making, defining parameters to assess drug efficacy as well as toxicity. The resident is also responsible for providing drug information to members of multidisciplinary teams and for precepting pharmacy students.
Ambulatory Care - This experience provides the resident with insight into the monitoring and management of chronic drug therapy in the ambulatory setting. The resident participates in physician office visits reviewing drug regimens, making therapeutic recommendations, and counseling patients. The resident will gain first-hand experience dealing with a variety of therapeutic issues particular to ambulatory patients.
Drug Information and Policy Development - Residents develop and sharpen skills in accumulating, retrieving, interpreting and disseminating drug information. This is accomplished by responding to telephone inquiries received by the department’s Drug Information Center. Residents have the opportunity to evaluate investigational drug protocols. In addition, residents participate in the formulary review process by providing the Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committee with drug information support and drug monograph reviews. The resident will also develop the ability to synthesize and communicate information with clarity in written format (eg newsletters, policies and procedures).
Infectious Diseases- The resident participates in patient care rounds and serves a vital role in optimal drug therapy on the Infectious Diseases Consult Service. This service provides care to approximately 40-50 patients daily throughout the Hospital. The resident provides verbal and written recommendations regarding the appropriate selection, dosing and monitoring of antimicrobial therapy. This experience also emphasizes the practical application of
pharmacokinetics.
Practice Management- The practice mangement rotation challenges the resident's ability to identify problems and solve them in an organized manner. Much effort is directed toward designing new programs, evaluating existing programs, interviewing job applicants, understanding fiscal performance and participating in quality improvement activities. In addition, each resident attends and participates in numerous intra- and inter-departmental meetings.
Critical Care - Jefferson has numerous intensive care settings in which the resident may gain experience. Typically, residents are assigned to either the Medical Intensive Care Unit or the Medical/Surgical Cardiac Care Units for their required ICU experience. Residents may select additional critical care experiences in the Neurosensory ICUs, Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Emergency Department, or Neonatal ICU. The resident becomes an integral part of the multidisciplinary teams that care for patients in these intense environments.
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What elective rotations are available?
The resident can create any combination of experiences from among the required rotations or from the following:
- Anticoagulation
- Bone Marrow Transplantation
- Cardiology
- Drug Policy Development
- Emergency Medicine
- Family Medicine
- Heart Failure/ Heart Transplantation
- Hematology/ Oncology
- Home Health/Home Infusion
- Investigational Drug Service
- Medical Writing
- Medication Safety
- Neonatology
- Neurology
- Neurosurgery
- Metabolic Support (Nutrition)
- Pain Management
- Pediatrics
- Pharmacoeconomics
- Pharmacy Informatics
- Solid Organ Transplantation
- Surgery
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How is the residency coordinated?
A Residency Advisory Committee, including staff members who are former residents, provides overall direction for the program. The Residency Program Director administers the department's Pharmacy Practice Residency. The Pharmacy Practice Residency Coordinator assures optimal experiential sequencing and preceptor assignment for each rotation which is precepted by a specialist within the particular area of practice. Our integrative approach to the coordination of the residency ensures that each resident's experience is individualized to meet his or her needs and career goals. To obtain more information about the Pharmacy Practice Residency, interested applicants are encouraged to contact the program director at 215-955-9055 or at
gerald.meyer@jeffersonhospital.org
Gerald E. Meyer, PharmD, MBA, FASHP
Phone: 215-955-9055
E-mail: Gerald.Meyer@jeffersonhospital.org
Program Director & Preceptor, Pharmacy Practice Residency
Residency: Rhode Island Hospital
MBA: Drexel University
BS & PharmD: Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science
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What teaching opportunities exist?
The Pharmacy Department is committed to providing numerous educational programs for a variety of healthcare professionals. By participating in several opportunities that exist at the Jefferson School of Pharmacy (JSP), the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP) and the Temple University School of Pharmacy, the residents are able to develop a broad range of teaching skills. These opportunities include presenting formal didactic lectures to medical, nursing and pharmacy students; precepting undergraduate pharmacy students; serving as instructors; and providing numerous inservices to various healthcare professionals. Residents receive appointments as adjunct faculty at JSP. In addition, residents are required to prepare and present an ACPE-accredited continuing education program, to prepare and present an educational poster at the ASHP Midyear Meeting, and to present a platform presentation at the Eastern States Conference for Pharmacy Residents and Preceptors.
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What research opportunities exist?
All residents are required to complete a project, from developing a hypothesis to collecting and analyzing data. This experience affords the resident a real application for scientific methodology. Project opportunities are many and varied, ranging from systems research to clinical research to economic and outcomes assessment. Residents select preceptors and projects focusing on areas of mutual interest. The Department of Pharmacy has a long history of active commitment to research and publication from which the residents may benefit. The resident is also required to develop, complete and present a formal Medication Use Evaluation. Residents who have a particular interest in research may elect to spend time in the department's Investigational Drug Service.
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What is the stipend and what benefits are offered?
The stipend for the 2009-2010 year is expected to be approximately $45,500 paid bi-weekly over a period of 26 pay periods. An excellent benefits package is also included: medical insurance, ten vacation days, five personal days, sick days, holidays, meal allowances, discounts on parking and public transportation, lab coats and travel reimbursements.
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What is the staffing requirement of the residency?
Currently, the staffing commitment consists of:
- One evening per week
- Approximately every 4th weekend
- Two holidays per year
When the residents staff, they serve as the pharmacist-in-charge for the entire pharmacy operation. Residents are responsible for performing administrative functions, such as solving problems with scheduling or operations. In addition, residents are responsible for assisting in order entry and drug distribution, attending codes, covering the Investigational Drug Service, answering drug information questions, and covering clinical services. This experience affords the resident distributive, clinical, supervisory, and administrative experience. Administrative and clinical staff members are always on-call and available to assist the resident with any problems that may arise.
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Is licensure in Pennsylvania required?
Yes, residents are expected to become licensed in Pennsylvania at the earliest possible date. Licensure permits the resident to accept full responsibility and accountability for the care of patients; an essential outcome of residency training. Delays in becoming licensed in Pennsylvania may jeopardize the resident's ability to meet the residency program outcomes.
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What is the size of the Pharmacy Department? How is it organized?
The Pharmacy Department at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals consists of approximately 65 full-time pharmacists and 65 full-time supportive personnel (pharmacy technicians and clerks). A sizeable part-time staff increases the department's resources to more than 150 employees.
The department consists of a large centralized pharmacy and three decentralized pharmacies that are responsible for providing comprehensive pharmacy services to the approximately 660 beds at our flagship facility, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. The department also consists of a well-established Investigational Drug Service that participates in numerous inpatient and outpatient protocols and a Drug Information Center that services practitioners throughout the Jefferson Health System. The department staffs outpatient pharmacies at several convenient on-campus locations and has responsibility for pharmacy services at the Jefferson Hospital for Neurosciences.
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Is workspace provided to the residents?
Yes, each resident is provided with his or her own desk equipped with a personal computer located within the administrative offices of the department. On the PC, the resident is able to gain access to the Hospital computer network including patient profiles and laboratory data, Medline®, Micromedex®, email, and standard office applications (Microsoft Office®).
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