Greater Lawrence Family Health Center (GLFHC), in affiliation with MCPHS University-Boston, provides a Postgraduate Year One (PGY-1) pharmacy residency program which offers in-depth, hands-on experiences in all aspects of ambulatory care pharmacy practice.
GLFHC, a Federally Qualified Health Center, is the second largest health center in Massachusetts and provides primary health and acute care services to residents of Lawrence and the surrounding Merrimack Valley area. The city of Lawrence is a densely populated community named the “Immigrant City” for its rich multiethnic and multicultural history. Currently, a large percentage of the population is Hispanic which further shapes the local culture and how health care is delivered.
GLFHC is recognized as a National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) level-3 Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) which affords our pharmacy resident a wealth of interdisciplinary interactions. GLFHC became the first organization in the nation to have an accredited Community Health Center sponsored Family Medicine Residency. This means the resident will have the opportunity to directly work and train alongside primary care physicians.
Our clinical pharmacy team provides direct patient care as partners in the PCMH model and practice under collaborative drug therapy management (CDTM) agreements. The GLFHC Family Pharmacy participates in the 340B program which enables scarce resources to be stretched and spread to the most vulnerable patient populations. As a whole, GLFHC distinguishes itself by providing the highest quality multidisciplinary patient care experience and innovative solutions to improve health outcomes in an underserved urban community.
MCPHS University is one of the few private, free-standing universities in the United States specializing in the education of health professionals, and has prepared more students for professional careers in pharmacy than any other academic institution in the world.
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, the 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 for the resident is scheduled for the first four to six weeks of residency. It is designed to introduce the incoming resident to GLFHC and the resident’s responsibilities to MCPHS University as an adjunct faculty member.
During orientation, the resident is 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 the pharmacy resident to become a highly skilled, confident, and compassionate clinical pharmacist providing direct one-on-one patient care services as an integral member 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. The resident will form and establish relationships with patients and the healthcare team to monitor the patients’ progress throughout the year. By actively managing all aspects of medication therapy, the pharmacy resident 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. The resident will also be directly involved with anticoagulation management and the treatment of persons with latent tuberculosis infection.
Patient-Centered Dispensing
The resident 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. This experience will hone the resident’s dispensing skills and clinical judgment so as to provide safe and effective pharmaceutical care to patients. The resident 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 the resident 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. The resident will work closely with the Vice President of Pharmacy Operations to gain experience managing five outpatient pharmacies. The resident 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. The resident 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, or formally teaching in an academic setting requires the development of skills that are best acquired during a University co-sponsored residency program. At GLFHC, the resident 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 the resident to be a proficient clinical educator. 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), the 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, the resident will be awarded a Teaching Certificate from MCPHS University.
Residency Project
This is a longitudinal learning experience that is designed to expose the PGY-1 pharmacy resident to larger scale and/or longer term impact projects. The pharmacy resident will design and execute a pharmacy-related project, which the resident will work 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 the resident to work collaboratively with the health care team to provide primary and preventative care services to the uninsured and homeless. The resident 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 the resident to work collaboratively with the health care team to provide mental health services. The resident 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 the resident’s interests.
Accreditation Status
The program is accredited by the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists (ASHP).
Number of Positions
The program will be accepting 2 residents for 2019-2020.
Application Deadline
We utilize PhORCAS and the Match. Applications are due in PhORCAS by January 7, 2019.
Program Start Date
The one year residency program runs approximately from early July through the end of June.
Applicant Qualifications & Requirements
- Must be a candidate for spring graduation or already have obtained a PharmD degree from an ACPE-accredited school of pharmacy
- Be licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts within 90 days of the residency start date
- Be a citizen of the USA (naturalized citizens must provide proof of naturalization) or hold a visa allowing for completion of the residency year (we cannot sponsor visas)
Contact Information
| Residency Program Director: | Alicia Mam daCunha, PharmD, BCACP
Email: amdacunha@glfhc.org
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| Vice President of Pharmacy Operations: | Diane Martin, RPh
Email: diane.martin@glfhc.org
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| Residency Program Coordinator and Primary Contact: | Alexia Sroka, BA, PharmD, BCPS
Email: alexia.sroka@glfhc.org
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Sandy Lee, PharmD is the newest member of the GLFHC/MCPHS University pharmacy residency team. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Arizona. Her current interests include psychiatry and pain management. She is excited to share her passion for pharmacy and hopes to make a difference in the community. Born and raised in Tucson, AZ, Sandy fittingly loves all things cactus print.
Christine Dimaculangan, PharmD is originally from Jersey City, NJ. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, PA. She completed her PGY-1 pharmacy residency training at GLHFC/MCPHS University and is currently participating in PGY-2 training in ambulatory care at the University of Maryland. Her professional interests include transitions of care, primary care, serving the underserved, and academia. Her favorite part of the GLFHC/MCPHS University residency was having the opportunity to serve a community with people who are passionate about the work they do every single day. Outside of pharmacy, she enjoys hiking, trying new foods, watching live music, and spending time with her family.
Alana Regan, PharmD received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Western New England University in Springfield, MA. Following the completion of her PGY-1 residency at GLFHC/MCPHS University, Alana continued her post-graduate training and completed a PGY-2 psychiatric pharmacy residency at the VA Boston Healthcare System. Her pharmacy practice interests include mental health, chronic disease state management, teaching, and improving patient access. Alana attributes her wonderful experience at GLFHC/MCPHS University’s residency program to the wide variety of patient care and collaborative pharmacy practice experiences afforded to her, all with a focus on her professional development. In her free time, Alana enjoys relaxing with family and friends by exercising, cooking, or traveling together.
Jacob Reaser, PharmD earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree at the University at Buffalo. Shortly after he graduated from pharmacy school, he joined GLFHC/MCPHS University as the second pharmacy resident. As a pharmacy resident at GLFHC/MCPHS University, Jacob enjoyed working with a wide range of physicians and establishing long-term relationships with his patients. After completing his residency, Jacob became an Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) where he teaches and precepts pharmacy students and pharmacy residents. Jacob also has a clinical practice site at a primary care clinic that focuses on treating and managing geriatric patients. He works alongside a gastroenterologist to help manage patients infected with chronic hepatitis C. Jacob believes his time at GLFHC/MCPHS University helped shape him into the confident and caring clinician he is today. In Jacob’s free time, he enjoys running and is currently training to complete a half-marathon.
Alexia Sroka, BA, PharmD, BCPS received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from MCPHS University in Worcester, MA. After graduation she completed her PGY-1 residency at GLFHC/MCPHS University as the programs inaugural resident. Immediately after residency, Alexia joined the GLFHC ambulatory clinical pharmacy team. Her area of practice is broad but includes anticoagulation, latent tuberculosis, and chronic disease state management. Her interests and passions extend even further when you consider precepting. If you ask, Alexia will say that her GLFHC/MCPHS University residency experience opened the door to a wealth of opportunity from networking to the delivery of exceptional patient care. In her free time she enjoys finding hilarity and baking Grandma Maggie’s famous banana cake.