Residency Showcase Program Listings

We have a long standing history of clinical pharmacy at VA Sierra Nevada Care System (VASNHCS). Our program incorporates a progressive view of pharmacy practice, utilizing informatics, automation and advanced clinical technician skills to support our pharmaceutical services.

Residents will participate in the ongoing revision and improvement of a managed health care system. VASNHCS provides tremendous opportunities to include the development of pharmaceutical care plans with defined outcomes utilizing collaborative drug therapy management and systems that support a progressive view of pharmacy practice. After completing their residency, pharmacists will be able to independently manage patients in a variety of disease states and practice settings. They will initiate, modify, and evaluate drug therapy according to defined outcomes. Practice management experiences include formulary system management, committee involvement, grand rounds presentations, journal clubs, leadership discussions and a residency project presented at Western States Conference.

The VASNHCS also offers a one-year ASHP accredited pharmacy practice residency (PGY1) with opportunities to experience Rural Health. The VASNHCS provides care to veterans over a large area, much of which is considered rural/highly rural. The majority of learning opportunities will occur at the Reno Campus in order to provide a well-rounded residency experience and for residents to learn how to coordinate care across the continuum of a health care system. Residents will also learn to provide patient-centered pharmacy services in a community based outpatient clinic (CBOC) setting. Our CBOCs offer primary care, specialty clinics, mental health, and health-informatics, among other services, for veterans in outlying geographical areas.  A total of three months will be spent at a CBOC site.

Both the standard PGY1 and PGY, Rural Health are based at our medical center located in Reno.
The PGY1 rotation schedule includes:

• ICU 
• Medicine
• Ambulatory Care 
• Infectious Disease
• Long Term Care/Geriatrics
• Anticoagulation
• Infectious Disease
• Pharmacoeconomics
• Electives

The PGY1 Rural Health rotation schedule includes:

• Ambulatory Care
• Anticoagulation
• Specialty Clinic
• Emergency Department
• Pharmacoeconomics
• Rural Clinical Based Outpatient Clinic rotations
• Electives

The following are established electives; any of the core areas may be selected as an advanced elective rotation, while additional electives may be able to be created based on resident interest:

• Academic Detailing
• Emergency Department 
• “Graveyard” (Inpatient) 
• Home Based Primary Care 
• Hospice/Palliative Care 
• Inpatient Pharmacy Operations 
• Mental Health 
• Oncology/Research 
• Pain Management 
• Specialty Clinic 
• VISN 21 Healthcare Outcomes and Analytics

Both programs include participation in longitudinal experiences such as our "Leadership Lecture" discussions and obtaining a Teaching and Learning Certificate (required).  Additionally, we are forunate to have three PGY2 programs associated with our site in Psychiatric Pharmacy, Geriatrics, and Healthcare Outcomes and Analytics

Summary:
• Residency Program: Full-time
• Duration of Program: 12 months
• Number of Positions: 4 general; 2 rural/amb care focused
• Residency Start Date: July 1

Benefits:

• Current resident salary is $41,533 per year
• Eligible for medical insurance as a VA employee – multiple plans available
• Thirteen (13) days of annual leave
• Thirteen (13) days of sick leave
• 11 Federal holidays (some of which will be staffed)
• Support with tuition and travel to ASHP Midyear Meeting and Western States Residency Conference.

Application Qualifications:

• Graduate of an accredited school of pharmacy with a Pharm.D. degree
• United States citizenship
• Licensed or eligible for licensure as a pharmacist (licensure must be obtained within the first month of residency)
• Successfully pass pre-employment physical exam
• Application submitted via PhORCAS

Application Requirements:

• Letter of intent and curriculum vitae
• Three letters of recommendation; at least one letter should come from a preceptor from a clinical rotation
• Official transcript

Phase 1 application deadline: December 31, 2022

NMS Match Code: 170013 (general residency); 170021 (rural health)

Interview:

• Telephone interview is required and takes place mid to late January
• A virtual interview is required and takes place in mid-February

This residency site agrees that no person at this site will solicit, accept or use any ranking-related information from any residency applicant.

About VA Sierra Nevada Healthcare System

The VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System (VASNHCS) provides a wide array of inpatient and outpatient services in medicine, surgery, women's health, mental health, alcohol and drug treatment, interventional cardiology and radiology, neurology, as well as clinical pharmacy services. Our care extends beyond the Reno metropolitan area with community based outpatient clinics (CBOCs)/outreach clinics in Fallon, Minden, and Winnemucca, Nevada, as well as Susanville, California. The Ioannis A. Lougaris Medical Center in Reno, Nevada is the primary facility where residents train. This 60 bed primary care hospital is affiliated with the University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine, the Idaho State University School of Pharmacy, and the Roseman University of Health Sciences. The medical center provides care to approximately 35,000 patients in Northern Nevada, Southern Oregon and Northeast California. There is also an on-site 60-bed long term skilled nursing facility. The hospital is located minutes from Lake Tahoe, the Sierra Nevada mountains, and world-class skiing. Reno offers an ideal climate for outdoor activities, many entertainment opportunities, and the Bay Area, Napa Valley, a...nd Yosemite are within a four-hour drive. The progressive Pharmacy Service consists of 100+ full-time employees. Formal educational programs are offered for pharmacy residents and Pharm.D. students as well as residents and students from Internal Medicine, Family Practice, Surgery, Psychiatry, Psychology, Social Worker, and Nursing Programs. Inpatient pharmacists are actively involved in rounds, patient drug therapy design, implementation, and monitoring, inpatient anticoagulation adjustment, pharmacokinetics, TPN formulation, antimicrobial stewardship, geriatrics, discharge counseling, drug information, DUE/ADR reporting, and many other patient care functions. Outpatient Pharmacy distribution is accomplished by state-of-the-art robotics. Clinical Pharmacy Specialists work collaboratively under an expanded scope of practice in many areas of the facility, such as Ambulatory Care, Mental Health, Specialty, Pain, Anticoagulation, Home Based Primary Care, Infectious Disease and Oncology. Pharmacy services is considered an integral part of VASNHCS.

Show more

Show less

Connections working at VA Sierra Nevada Healthcare System