Stormont Vail Health Residency Program FAQ
General Information
The PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program began in 2013, with its first graduates completing the program in 2014. We had two PGY1 residents in each year, until the 2020-2021 residency year when we expanded to four residents.
The PGY2 Emergency Medicine Pharmacy Residency program began in 2017, with its first graduate in 2018. There is one PGY2 resident each year.
The majority of our residents’ initial post-residency positions are at Stormont Vail Health. Many have moved on to other health systems to take more advanced clinical or administrative roles. Some of our past residents have gone onto PGY2 programs in Emergency Medicine, Cardiology, Pediatrics and Pharmacotherapy. We still have 10 of our 26 PGY1 graduates on staff; three are in management positions within our department. We also have two of our six PGY2 graduates on staff in our emergency department.
Our institution provides access to Lexicomp®, UpToDate®, Sanford Guide®, NeoFax® Pediatrics, and Hale’s Medications & Mother’s Milk®. Our organization resource library provides access to a variety of journals. Some of our preceptors are adjunct faculty with The University of Kansas School of Pharmacy and have access to health journals through KU Libraries.
We have a meeting at the beginning of the year to discuss research project ideas. Residents can choose from this list of options or create their own project. Residents work with at least one project preceptor in the practice area to finalize their project protocols. This preceptor is a project mentor who helps the resident complete their research poster, presentation, and manuscript.
We have both interns (students that are employed by Stormont Vail Health) and externs (experiential rotation students) at Stormont Vail Hospital. Residents have the opportunity to work with our interns during evenings and weekends while staffing. Some weekend staffing responsibilities include precepting our interns in clinical activities such as therapeutic monitoring and medication adjustments per standing orders and protocols. Residents can also act as primary preceptor for both interns and externs while under the supervision of a pharmacist preceptor. Our residents are encouraged to volunteer as resident mentors to current students at The University of Kansas School of Pharmacy through our state organizations.
Our residents are provided with remote access to our network and electronic medical record. However, all activities and hours required for residency completion must be on site. Residents may work on projects or other unsupervised activities at home using their remote access.
We do not have either an at-home or in-house on-call program at this time.
We do not allow residents to moonlight (have paid positions with other organizations) during their residency. Residents may choose to pick up additional shifts at Stormont Vail Hospital. Any shifts a resident works as a PRN pharmacist are paid at current PRN pharmacist rates in addition to their normal resident salary.
PGY1 Pharmacy
Yes! If you are graduating late because of a master’s program or other graduate education and you match with our program, we will adjust your residency program start date to accommodate your delayed graduation date. As a resident, you will still be required to complete 52 weeks of training; therefore your PGY1 completion will also be delayed.
Residents are required to staff one major holiday (eight hours on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, or Memorial Day), one evening each week (four hours per shift), and every other weekend (eight hours per day; 16 hours per weekend). Weekend staffing responsibilities alternate between operational duties and clinical duties while precepting our interns to complete clinical tasks (i.e. week 1: operations; week 2: off; week 3: clinical and precepting; week 4: off). Residents are provided with one comp day prior to staffing on weekends.
Clinical weekend shifts include 8 hours of on-site coverage with about 4 hours of clinical duties and precepting clinical interns, along with 4 hours of project time. Operational weekend shifts are 8 hours staffing in our main pharmacy, participating in medication dispensing, distribution, and order verification.
Residents will complete 11 block learning experiences; six blocks are required, one block is selective required, and four blocks are elective. Prior to Midyear, residents complete two weeks of dedicated orientation and four block experiences with 1-3 weeks of independent practice. Each block rotation is four weeks long. We allow residents to have input on the order of their rotations so they may practice in their areas of interest prior to Midyear and potential interviews.
| Required Blocks | Selective Required Block Options | Elective Blocks |
|---|---|---|
| Cardiology | Emergency Medicine | Any selective required experience |
| Infectious Disease | Medical ICU | |
| Internal Medicine | Surgical ICU | Advanced Critical Care |
| Oncology | Advanced Emergency Medicine | |
| Pediatrics and NICU | Advanced Internal Medicine | |
| Psychiatry | ||
| Advanced Pediatrics and NICU | ||
Additionally, residents complete five longitudinal learning experiences. The ambulatory care longitudinal rotation occurs for one afternoon every other week.
| Required Longitudinal |
|---|
| Orientation (12 weeks) |
| Ambulatory Care (50 weeks) |
| Clinical Education Series (50 weeks) |
| Management (50 weeks) |
| Operations-Staffing (42 weeks) |
| Research (50 weeks) |
The Clinical Education Series rotation includes journal club, patient case, and grand rounds presentations that take place separately from block rotations. These occur during standing meetings each Thursday afternoon.
Example calendar
| Start Date | Block Experience | Longitudinal Experience |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Orientation & Boot Camps | Begin Orientation |
| Week 3 | Internal Medicine | Begin Ambulatory Care, Clinical Education Series, Management, and Research |
| Week 7 | Cardiology | |
| Week 11 | n/a | Operations training, begin staffing evenings and wekeends |
| Week 13 | Pediatrics, PICU, and NICU | End of Orientation |
| Week 17 | Independent Practice | |
| Week 18 | Infectious Disease | |
| Week 22 | Independent Practice | |
| Week 24 | ASHP Midyear | |
| Week 25 | Emergency Medicine | |
| Week 29 | Surgical ICU | |
| Week 33 | Advanced Internal Medicine | |
| Week 37 | Oncology | |
| Week 41 | Psychiatry | |
| Week 45 | Medical ICU | |
| Week 49 | Advanced Pediatrics |
To successfully complete our PGY1 program, residents must:
- Obtain a Kansas pharmacist license
- Complete all orientation and recurring training requirements for Stormont Vail Health employees, pharmacy employees, and pharmacy residents
- Complete all required block and longitudinal rotations, four additional elective rotations, and all staffing requirements
- Achieve competencies required by ASHP for PGY1 Pharmacy residency programs
- Complete a teaching certificate program or other professional certificate program available from ASHP (reimbursed)
- Attend assigned professional organization meetings and Stormont Vail committee meetings
- Participate in residency recruiting events
- Complete 52 weeks of residency training
We provide registration reimbursement for the Kansas Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting. We also provide registration and travel reimbursement to attend the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and Midwest Pharmacy Residents Conference to present the results of your research project or Kansas Pharmacy Residency Conference. Residents may attend additional professional meetings at their own discretion, as long as attendance does not interfere with their successful completion of the residency program. Professional leave that is separate from PTO may be provided if a resident actively participates on a professional organization committee or gives a presentation at a professional meeting.
We require three recommendation letters. If you have relevant work history, we would like to see a recommendation from your employer. Ultimately, you may choose whichever letter writers you feel will provide the best overall picture of your professional experiences, accomplishments, and progress. When available, we prefer to see letters that capture your experience from a variety of perspectives. These may be employers, preceptors, school or college of pharmacy faculty, or other professional colleagues.
We allow a virtual interview option for applicants outside the region. We would prefer to meet you in person, but we understand the degree of expense for travel and the application process.
PGY2 Emergency Medicine
Residents are required to staff one major holiday (twelve hours on New Year’s, Thanksgiving or Christmas), one minor holiday (twelve hours on Memorial Day), one evening a week (four hours per week), and every other weekend (12 hours per day, 2 days per weekend). All staffing is completed in the emergency department satellite pharmacy. Residents are provided one comp day during the week after staffing the weekend.
The start date of the PGY2 is slightly flexible depending on the candidate’s date of completion for their PGY1 residency program. The PGY2 resident is expected to be capable of staffing independently by the end of August.
Starting with orientation, each required rotation is four weeks in length, with the exceptions of EMD II and EMD Advanced Independent Practice which are five weeks in duration. The resident has ten required rotations and has six elective rotations to choose from. Elective rotations are two to four weeks in duration. Typically required rotations are completed first with the elective blocks during the second half of the residency year. EMD Advanced Independent Practice is always the last rotation.
| Required Blocks | Elective Blocks |
|---|---|
| Orientation | Infectious Diseases |
| Medical Intensive Care | Medical Intensive Care II |
| Surgical Intensive Care | Surgical Intensive Care II |
| Pediatric Intensive Care | Preceptorship |
| Cardiology | Psychiatry |
| Emergency Medicine I | |
| Emergency Medicine II | |
| Emergency Medicine III | |
| Advanced Independent Practice | |
| Transitions EMED to Critical Care | |
| *Precepting Objectives |
* Precepting Objectives are objectives related to precepting which will be added to a different required or elective rotation when the PGY2 resident overlaps with a learner (a P4 pharmacy student or PGY1 pharmacy resident).
Required longitudinal rotations are built in throughout the entire residency year (52 weeks).
| Required Longitudinal |
|---|
| ED Pharmacy Staffing |
| Research Project |
In addition to required rotations and longitudinal rotations, weekly Thursday afternoon meetings are held in conjunction with the PGY1 residents to present journal clubs, case presentations, or a pharmacy grand rounds. All residents present on a rotating basis.
Example calendar
| Start Date | End Date | Block Experience |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Week4 | Orientation |
| Week5 | Week 8 | EMD 1 |
| Week9 | Week12 | PICU/Pediatrics |
| Week 13 | Week 16 | Surgical ICU |
| Week 17 | Week 20 | Medical ICU |
| Week 21 | Week 22 | Transitions of Care |
| Week 23 | Week 23 | Midyear |
| Week 24 | Week 25 | Transitions of Care |
| Week 26 | Week 29 | Elective |
| Week 30 | Week 34 | EMD II |
| Week 35 | Week 35 | Professional Conference (ex. SCCM) |
| Week36 | Week 39 | Elective |
| Week 40 | Week 43 | EMD III |
| Week 44 | Week 47 | Elective |
| Week 48 | Week 52 | Advanced Independent Practice |
An effort is made for the PGY2 resident to precept an APPE student during their Advanced Independent Practice rotation each June.
The transitions of care rotation follows the care of patients from the emergency department to the inpatient critical care units. A typical day would have the resident rounding on ICU patients in the morning and working in the emergency department in the afternoon monitoring for new ICU admissions. The resident is not required to follow all ICU patients, but only those admitted through the emergency department the previous day. The goal of this rotation is for the resident to see how the care provided in the emergency department effects patients the following days while in the ICU.
The Advanced Independent Practice rotation is the last rotation a resident will complete prior to completing their residency year. Think of this rotation as a test drive of holding a full time emergency medicine pharmacist position. Preceptors are always available and topic discussions will be scheduled, however the resident takes the driver’s seat and preceptors are there to help. An effort is made for an APPE student to be on rotation in the emergency department at the same time for the PGY2 resident to practice the precepting skills they have developed.
To successfully complete the PGY2 emergency medicine program, residents must:
- Obtain/maintain Kansas licensure
- Complete all required, elective and longitudinal rotations
- Complete all training requirements for Stormont Vail Health employees, pharmacy employees and pharmacy residents
- Achieve all competencies required by ASHP for PGY2 emergency medicine residency programs
- Complete all required outside certifications, which will be reimbursed
- One additional certificate or professional training program, such as an ASHP certificate program
- Assigned committee and meeting attendance
- Participate in residency recruiting events
- Complete 52 weeks of residency training
A comprehensive residency completion checklist can be provided at your request.
Stormont will provide registration and travel reimbursement to attend the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and a spring meeting to present the results of your research project – either Midwest Pharmacy Residency Conference or Kansas Pharmacy Residency Conference. The PGY2 resident may attend one additional professional meetings of their choice if education funds are available.
Virtual interviews will be offered for applicants outside the region. We would prefer to meet you in person, but we understand the financial burden for application process and travel expenses.