PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency

Pharmacy in Downers Grove

The purpose of the MWU-CCP PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program is to develop a competent and confident clinical generalist able to provide medication therapy management for various disease states. The program provides the majority of experiences in ambulatory care settings and is designed to build upon prior knowledge, skills, attitudes, and abilities in developing professionally mature practitioner-educators. The wide variety of learning experiences in ambulatory care and teaching will prepare the graduate to pursue positions in PGY2 residency programs, ambulatory care, or non-tenure track positions in academia.

Residency Program Director
Jill S. Borchert, Pharm.D., BCPS, FCCP, jborchert@midwestern.edu
Professor of Pharmacy Practice

Residency Program Coordinator
Jacob P. Gettig, Pharm.D., MPH, BCPS, jgetti@midwestern.edu
Assistant Dean for Postgraduate Education and Associate Professor

Program Description

Outcomes

Upon completion of this residency, the resident should be able to:

• Provide patient-specific medication management services within a variety of settings in an ethical and compassionate manner that results in positive patient outcomes.
• Demonstrate a commitment to teaching and the profession of pharmacy.
• Effectively communicate, verbally and in writing, with providers, patients, students, and other health care professionals.
• Demonstrate skills needed to conceptualize, develop, and improve ambulatory care pharmacy services.
• Demonstrate commitment to quality and professionalism through self-monitoring and self-assessment.

The MWU-CCP PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program:

• Prepares clinicians to be generalists who provide care to a wide range of patients in ambulatory care settings.
• Prepares clinicians to be educators as preceptors or practitioners in academia.
• Promotes professional growth and maturity.

The residency is designed to provide diverse experience in different types of ambulatory care practice settings and disease states. Additionally, considerable time is spent in academia and education, providing residents with a foundation of the principles of teaching and learning — and practical experience to implement what residents have learned.

To accomplish this, residents typically spend four days per week at clinical sites throughout the Chicagoland area and one day per week on campus involved in academic activities.

Specific Program Features

• Core Experiences: Includes experiences in ambulatory care, internal medicine, drug information, and pharmacy services. Residents are exposed to a wide variety of disease states and a culturally and ethnically diverse population.
• Ambulatory Care: Throughout the year, the resident has the opportunity to practice ambulatory care in a number of different types of practice sites, including an Academic Medical Center, Community Health Center, Managed Care Clinic, Physician Office Clinic, and Veterans Affairs Clinic. Patient care services include: anticoagulation, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, outpatient internal medicine, smoking cessation & osteoporosis. Ambulatory care rotations are designed as extended-learning experiences which give the resident an opportunity to develop ongoing relationships with patients and other health care providers and to provide continuity of care.
• Internal Medicine: One required rotation in a diverse in-patient internal medicine environment within a large teaching institution. The pharmacy resident will have the opportunity to work with physicians, nurses, and pharmacy and medical students. Residents will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of pathophysiology and clinical therapeutics for the following disease states: diabetes, hypertension, thrombotic disorders, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disorders, renal disorders, and infectious diseases.
• Drug Information: One required rotation in drug information. The residents are assigned to one rotation with the Drug Information Specialist. In addition to attending P &T committee meetings, residents will answer drug related questions sent to the DI service and either develop a monograph or complete a drug class review. Residents will present their monograph or class review at a P& T meeting.
• Pharmacy Services: Residents receive training through a rotation concurrent with an ambulatory rotation in a community pharmacy associated with clinical pharmacy services.
• Supplemental Patient Care Experiences: Eight weeks of elective experiences are available. This time can be used for additional training in one of the core areas or for other areas, including experiences in ambulatory care specialty areas, such as headache or community pharmacy.
• Research Curriculum: Residents participate in a seminar series with the residency program director and other instructors. Seminar topics include research methods, abstract writing, poster presentations, peer review and preparing manuscripts, among others.
• Teaching and Learning Curriculum: The Teaching and Learning Curriculum (TLC) is embedded in all of the Chicago College of Pharmacy residency programs. It is delivered through mini seminars, applied activities, and formative assessments throughout the yearlong residency program. Didactic teaching is evaluated by both content and delivery experts through use of standardized evaluation forms. Written and verbal feedback are provided to the resident. The TLC is directed by the Center for Teaching Excellence and Center faculty are involved in the delivery of the TLC. The goal of the TLC is to provide opportunities for the residents to gain the knowledge, attitudes, and skills they need to be effective teachers.
• Teaching and Learning Activities: Residents implement what they have learned through the TLC program by teaching in the classroom and in the clinic setting. Residents provide instruction in small-group workshops and large-group didactic settings. Residents serve as preceptors for an Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience rotation, where the resident precepts one group of students for one day per week for 10 weeks. In the second half of the residency, residents serve as a co-preceptor for a pair of students on an Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience rotation.
• Pharmacy Management and Leadership Curriculum: This curriculum is designed to support the residents' activities in pharmacy practice. Delivered through a series of seminars and applied activities, residents will gain an awareness of personal strengths and describe how to capitalize on their strengths. Management topics include comparing and contrasting management and leadership as well as styles of management. Contemporary issues in pharmacy practice, health care systems and professional advocacy will be highlighted.
• Residency Project: Each resident must design and is expected to complete a project under the guidance of a faculty preceptor who will be identified with the assistance of the program director. The project must relate to ambulatory care or pharmacy education and can be one or more of the following: original research, enhancement or evaluation of patient care services.

Rotation Sites for Core Rotation Experiences

An example schedule for illustrative purposes. Refer to descriptions below.

Mercy Family Health Center
Preceptors: Jill Borchert, Pharm.D., BCPS, FCCP; Kathy Komperda, Pharm.D., BCPS; Brooke Griffin, Pharm.D.
This clinic provides comprehensive primary care to patients in a community health center. This practice provides the resident with experience in a diverse internal medicine clinic within a teaching facility. In addition to internal medicine, specific services provided include osteoporosis, smoking cessation, and anticoagulation management. The pharmacy residents will also have the opportunity to educate medical residents on medication-related issues and teach patient education classes.

Dreyer Medical Group
Preceptors: Jennifer D’Souza, Pharm.D., CDE; Rosalyn S. Padiyara, Pharm.D., CDE; Rochelle Rubin, Pharm.D., BCPS
This rotation provides experience in a diabetes and hyperlipidemia disease management program coordinated by a clinical pharmacist/faculty working in conjunction with physicians, nurses, and dieticians. Patients are referred to the program by primary care physicians and are seen at scheduled appointment times. The rotation offers opportunities to practice direct patient care in the management of diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. The clinic also provides experience in a managed care environment and exposure to outcomes research. This practice was recognized for excellence with the ASHP Best Practices Award in 2005.

Loyola University Medical Center
Hines VA
Loyola Preceptor: Carrie Sincak, Pharm.D., BCPS
Hines Preceptors: Justin Schmidt, Pharm.D., BCPS and Jeff Wieczorkiewicz, Pharm.D., BCPS
This rotation provides comprehensive acute care to patients within a large teaching institution. This practice site provides the resident with experience in a diverse internal medicine setting. The pharmacy resident will also have the opportunity to work with physicians, nurses, and pharmacy and medical students. Residents will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of pathophysiology and clinical therapeutics for the following disease states: diabetes mellitus, hypertension, thrombotic disorders, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disorders, renal disorders, and infectious diseases.

Selected Elective Rotation Options

Advocate Health Centers–Beverly, Evergreen & Sykes
Preceptors: Margaret Felczak, Pharm.D., BCPS; Brian Cryder, Pharm.D., CACP; Lea dela Peña, Pharm.D., BCPS; Julie Fusco, Pharm.D., CGP, BCPS
These three pharmacy clinics provide point-of-care management of anticoagulation therapy for internal medicine and cardiology patients in an integrated health care system. Pharmacists, residents, and students are involved in patient education, drug therapy management, and patient follow-up in order to improve drug therapy outcomes.

DuPage Medical Group
Preceptor: Kathleen Vest, Pharm.D., CDE; Mary Ann Kliethermes, Pharm.D.; Shaunte Pohl, Pharm.D., BCPS
The clinical pharmacists in this private physician's office are primarily responsible for coordinating and managing an anticoagulation and hyperlipidemia service. The anticoagulation service is co-managed with a nurse; the other services are pharmacist-managed. A computerized database is employed to assist in the organization of data from several hundred patients in the anticoagulation clinic. Additionally, the pharmacist receives referrals from physician assistants and internists in the clinic for treatment of patients with diabetes, asthma, and obesity, and for medication adherence.

North Chicago VA Medical Center
Preceptor: Kelly Lempicki, Pharm.D., BCPS
This rotation provides experience in the outpatient Cardiology and Pulmonary Clinics, where the resident will work with the physicians to help identify and resolve any medication-related issues. Other responsibilities during the rotation may include performing medication reviews and discharge counseling, answering drug information questions from patients and healthcare professionals, providing in-services on various pharmacy-related topics, and precepting pharmacy students.

Advocate Health Center Southeast
Preceptor: Christie Schumacher, Pharm.D., BCPS, CDE
This rotation provides an unique experience in an outpatient medical center home setting with a focus on heart failure patients. The resident will be responsible for assessing and managing chronic disease states, including but not limited to, heart failure, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, asthma and COPD. Other responsibilities during the rotation may include performing discharge counseling at Trinity Hospital, answering drug information questions from patients and healthcare professionals, providing in-services on various pharmacy-related topics, and precepting pharmacy students.

Swedish Covenant Hospital
Preceptors: Huzefa Master, Pharm.D., BCPS; Sean Mirk, Pharm.D.
This rotation provides experience in two areas: discharge counseling and medication therapy management (MTM) services run by two faculty members. Patients that meet criteria are counseled by a pharmacist on discharge medications. MTM is provided to patients via scheduled appointments in a private, office setting. The rotation offers experience in a variety of disease states, with an emphasis on cardiology. Teaching opportunities to pharmacy students and other medical staff will also be available.

Related Information

Faculty Appointment

Each resident will receive a faculty appointment as a Visiting Instructor in the MWU-CCP Department of Pharmacy Practice.

Accreditation Status

The residency program is accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

Benefits

The residency includes two weeks of vacation and health care benefits. Memberships in ASHP and AACP are provided. Support is available to attend national meetings and regional/local meetings.

Duration

The 52-week residency begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year.

Qualifications of the Resident

Applicants must have graduated with the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree and be eligible for pharmacist licensure in Illinois. The applicant must be motivated, self-directed, and have excellent communication skills. An interest in teaching is essential.

Contact

Jill S. Borchert, Pharm.D., BCPS, FCCP
Director, PGY1 Residency Program
Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy
555 31st Street
Downers Grove, IL 60515
jborchert@midwestern.edu