Pharmacy Residency

The residency program offers longitudinal experiences which allow residents to become fully immersed in the PCMH model, sharpen core skills, and be involved in the community.

Upon completion of the program, a resident will demonstrate competency in:

• patient care;
• advancing practice and improving patient care;
• leadership and management; and,
• teaching, education, and the dissemination of knowledge.

Required and elective learning experiences will serve as the framework for the residency year:

Orientation

A structured orientation program is scheduled for the first four to six weeks of residency. It is designed to introduce incoming residents to GLFHC as well as responsibilities to MCPHS University as an adjunct faculty member.

Residents are given the opportunity to participate in National Health Center Week. See below for our 2017 slideshow!

Clinical Pharmacy Services (CPS)

This longitudinal learning experience will train pharmacy residents to become highly skilled, confident, and compassionate clinical pharmacists providing direct one-on-one patient care services as integral members of the PCMH team. The interdisciplinary team includes doctors, medical residents, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, medical assistants, dieticians, community support staff, administrative assistants, and other ancillary healthcare workers. Residents will form and establish relationships with patients and the healthcare team to monitor patients’ progress throughout the year. By actively managing all aspects of medication therapy, pharmacy residents can proactively identify, prevent, and resolve medication-related problems and assure appropriate use of prescription, over-the-counter, and herbal medications, especially for those with chronic illnesses. Commonly encountered disease states include diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. Residents will also be directly involved with anticoagulation management and the treatment of persons with latent tuberculosis infection.

Patient-Centered Dispensing

Residents will be exposed to a varied patient population seeking medications for different disease states. This longitudinal learning experience is designed to ensure that he or she is proficient in outpatient pharmacy operations and services as well as the provision of direct patient care at a dispensing pharmacy. This experience will hone dispensing skills and clinical judgment so as to provide safe and effective pharmaceutical care to patients. Residents will gain direct insight into policies and procedures of community pharmacy practice as well as the policies and procedures required of a 340B pharmacy with two physical inventories.

Operations Management

This administration learning experience is longitudinal and includes several projects throughout the year. Experiences acquired will allow residents to learn how to manage a 340B community and ambulatory care pharmacy practice within a Federally Qualified Health Center functioning as a Patient Centered Medical Home. Residents will work closely with the Senior Vice President of Pharmacy Operations and Director of Pharmacy to gain experience managing five outpatient pharmacies. The residents will also assist in the cultivation and coordination of clinical pharmacy services within the institution. There will be exposure to pharmacy finances with special attention to GLFHC’s 340B participation through internal pharmacy services. Residents will participate in quarterly Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P & T) Committee meetings, quarterly Safety and Sentinel meetings, and 340B Compliance trainings. There will also be opportunity to update standing orders, such as flu and naloxone, look-alike, sound-alike drug lists, and attend a managers training.

Teaching and Learning

This is also a longitudinal learning experience. Precepting pharmacy students on clinical rotations, delivering continuing education programs to other pharmacists and health care professionals, and formally teaching in an academic setting requires the development of skills that are best acquired during a University co-sponsored residency program. At GLFHC, residents will have the opportunity to precept Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience interns, participate in several educational sessions for medical residents, and attend medical rounds. MCPHS University will host a Residency Teaching Certificate Program (RTCP). The aim of the RTCP is to motivate and prepare residents to be proficient clinical educators. The RTCP will provide residents with a foundation of core educational principles presented in live and online didactic modules. Guided by an academic faculty mentor (AFM), each resident will also gain practical teaching experience in a variety of educational settings (e.g. large/small classroom, clerkship, laboratory, or seminar). Residents will also develop, with the assistance of their faculty mentor, a formative teaching portfolio that will document their progress and enhance the learning experience. Upon successful completion, a Teaching Certificate from MCPHS University will be awarded.

Residency Project

This is a longitudinal learning experience that is designed to expose pharmacy residents to larger scale and/or longer term impact projects. Pharmacy residents will design and execute a pharmacy-related project, which will be worked on throughout the course of the year. The project should be one that will impact clinical pharmacy and/or add to the general knowledge of the profession.

Electives

Homeless Shelter Elective: An opportunity for residents to work collaboratively with the health care team to provide primary and preventative care services to the uninsured and homeless. Residents will provide medication therapy management services and adherence reporting, problem-solve medication-related issues, and offer patient and provider education.

Behavioral Health Elective: An opportunity for residents to work collaboratively with the health care team to provide mental health services. Residents will participate in medication therapy management in addition to patient and provider education as it relates to patients with psychiatric-related illnesses.

There is also opportunity to create a new elective based on each resident’s interests.