VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System

We offer the following:

• PGY1 Pharmacy Residency (10 positions)
  • Optional Area of Focus in:
    • Acute Care
    • Ambulatory Care
    • Geriatrics
    • Neurology
• PGY2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency (2 positions)
• PGY2 Neurology Pharmacy Residency (2 positions)

Download Program Information:

The most updated versions of the VAGLAHS Pharmacy Residency PGY1 and PGY2 Program Booklets, and Residency Showcases and Open House Information are available for download at the following link:

• https://tinyurl.com/VAGLA-PharmacyResidency

Program Description:

This specialty residency offers a comprehensive experience in ambulatory care with an opportunity in providing care to the underserved. VAGLA’s HPACT program is a nationally designated Homeless PACT, focused on delivering “whole health care.”  Established in July 2014, HPACT’s four interprofessional teams are among the country’s most highly concentrated groups of integrated mental health and primary care teams.

VAGLA has established an Interprofessional Academic PACT within our HPACT program (iA-HPACT). The iA-HPACT was created as a learning lab to promote the transformation of VA into interprofessional learning experiences to prepare trainees to practice, lead, and thrive in team-based health-systems.

The resident will participate in HPACT and PACT activities as integral members of the interprofessional team approximately seven half-days per week.  An equivalent of approximately one day per week will be devoted to experiences in select subspecialty clinics, in blocks of six weeks, depending upon the rotation and the interest of the resident. Practice experiences primarily take place at the West Los Angeles (WLA) Medical Center location.

Ambulatory care preceptors may include skilled physician providers, ambulatory care pharmacists, providers from other disciplines, and research faculty members experienced in their respective specialty, as well as in research and academia.

Residents will be involved in teaching, with possible appointment as Adjunct Clinical Instructor of Pharmacy Practice at the USC School of Pharmacy.  Teaching opportunities include didactic and small group facilitations, as well as precepting pharmacy students and PGY1 pharmacy practice residents.

Research project is required for successful completion of this program.  Residents are required to complete an ambulatory care related research project suitable for presentation and publication.

Practice Experience

HPACT/PACT Experiences

• Up to Four Days per Week: The resident will be involved with providing clinical pharmacy services to HPACT patients on the iA-HPACT team with trainees from other disciplines (Primary Care Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, Nurse Practitioner, and Psychology) and/or PACT.  The resident will also work with other healthcare staff, such as RN Care Managers, licensed vocational nurses (LVN), and social workers.  The resident will participate in morning team huddles, patient-team huddles for complex patients, team meetings, continuous quality improvement and workflow meetings, and learning seminars.  Program learning goals emphasize complex care of homeless Veterans and interprofessional (IP) team collaboration.  The curriculum will address IP competencies in five domains:  complex care of homeless Veterans, IP collaboration; sustained relationships; shared decision making; performance improvement.  This component of the residency is longitudinal.
• The resident will be involved with providing clinical pharmacy services to HPACT and PACT patients. Responsibilities include complex medication management of patients referred to pharmacy for chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia as well as prescription processing, medication counseling, provision of drug information, patient/provider education.  Residents may also be involved in shared medical appointments (SMA), as well as in innovation and implementation of new services.  This component of the residency is longitudinal.

Specialty Experiences

• Up to One-Two Days per Week:  The resident will practice in various subspecialty clinics, in blocks of six weeks or twelve weeks throughout the year. This may include experiences in specialties such as, women’s health, transgender care, gastroenterology/hepatology, MOVE! Weight management clinic, geriatrics and Women’s Health, neurology, Infectious Disease (HIVPrEP), pain management, and cardiology. Depending upon the practice of pharmacy within each of the specialized clinics, responsibilities may include activities such as complex medication management of patients referred to pharmacy, clinical video telehealth (CVT), VA Video Connect (VVC), electronic consults (e-consults), shared medical appointments (SMA), and patient education.

Program Structure

ROTATIONS

PGY2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residents must successfully complete all required longitudinal and block rotations. 

*Each resident may select up to 3 electives. If an elective is desired in another specialty area, consideration will be given to the development of such if clinic space, preceptor availability, and support of the medical providers in such clinic allows. A separate learning experience will be developed for the learning experience with the assistance of the resident. If the elective is to be in the same area of a required learning experience, the learning experience will be conducted at a more advanced level under a different learning experience description (that the resident will be expected to assist in developing) and with different objectives and additional activities than the required learning experience that the resident completed. Residents will have the opportunity to extend a required or elective rotation depending on resident interest/goals and availability of the preceptor.

As required by ASHP, residents must have direct patient care experiences in at least 8 of the 15 areas identified in the appendix of Required Competency Areas, Goals, and Objective for Postgraduate Year Two (PGY2) Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residencies (https://www.ashp.org/-/media/assets/professional-development/residencies/docs/pgy2-ambulatory-care-residency-competency-areas-goals-objectives.ashx), two of which may be covered by case-based application through didactic discussion, reading assignments, case presentations, and/or written assignments. 

Longitudinal Experiences

VAGLAHS PGY2 Pharmacy Residents are required to successfully complete 2 longitudinal experiences located at the Primary Practice Site.

Residents also have the option to take elective longitudinal experience located at USC Mann.

REQUIRED (12-months long)

1. QI/Research Project

VAGLAHS utilizes the Flipped or Inverted Research Model (IRM) for residency projects. Residents work on 2 projects throughout the year: 1) Project #1 – Complete a pre-existing project started by a previous resident; 2) Project #2 (Flipped Model) – Initiate a new project to be completed by a following resident. Minimum resident requirements for Project #1: Abstract, PowerPoint, Manuscript, Poster, presented at regional conference, electronic Research Binder (for IRB projects only), and physical Research Binder (for IRB projects that require it only). Minimum resident requirements for Project #2: Project Description or Protocol, Abstract, IRB paperwork and submitted application (if applicable), Hand-Off Summary, and electronic Research Binder (for IRB projects only). Dedicated administrative time occurs ½ day every week which can be used for anything residency related including QI/Research projects.

2. Education/Preceptoring

Residents will have the opportunity to precept PGY1 residents, APPE pharmacy students (Level IV), IPPE pharmacy students (Level I/II/III), and possibly pharmacy interns and pre-pharmacy students.

PGY2 Ambulatory Care residents will offer availability as primary preceptor for at least 1 IPPE student. When assigned as primary preceptor of IPPE student, resident is responsible to conduct and organize the student rotation and complete student evaluations in a timely manner. 

PGY2 Neurology residents have the option to be primary preceptor for IPPE students. If opting in on this experience, resident would offer availability as primary preceptor for at least 1 IPPE students. When assigned as primary preceptor of IPPE student, resident is responsible to conduct and organize the student rotation and complete student evaluations in a timely manner. 

ELECTIVE (10-months long)

• USC Teaching Certificate Program

Residents have the option of a joint academic appointment with the USC Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy which offers opportunities to teach and lecture to Level I, II and III Pharm.D. students, and undergraduate pre-pharmacy students. Residents are provided the opportunity to participate in various scheduled coursework and seminars developed to enhance the residency experience. Those residents participating in this affiliation will receive faculty appointment and earn a teaching certificate from the university. This is a 10-month long longitudinal experience that occurs ½ day every Thursday. 

General Program Information:

Application Process

Applications must be complete and meet yearly established deadlines to be considered. Only applications and materials submitted via PhORCAS™ will be accepted. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

VAGLAHS Pharmacy Residency Programs participate in the ASHP Residency Matching Program and follow ASHP Match Rules. This residency agrees that no person at this residency will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any residency applicant.  Download the Application Agreement from www.natmatch.com/ashprmp.

Download Program Information

The most updated versions of the VAGLAHS Pharmacy Residency PGY1 and PGY2 Program Booklets, and Residency Showcases and Open House Information are available for download at the following link:

https://tinyurl.com/VAGLA-PharmacyResidency 

About VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System

The VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (VAGLAHS) is one of the largest health care facilities within the Department of Veterans Affairs. It is one component of the VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network (VISN22) offering services to Veterans residing in Southern California and Southern Nevada. VAGLAHS consists of two ambulatory care centers, a tertiary care facility and 8 community based outpatient clinics. VAGLAHS serves Veterans residing throughout five counties: Los Angeles, Ventura, Kern, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo. There are 1.4 million Veterans in the VAGLAHS service area. VAGLAHS is affiliated with both UCLA School of Medicine and USC School of Medicine, as well as more than 45 colleges, universities and vocational schools in 17 different medical, nursing, paramedical and administrative programs. The West Los Angeles Healthcare Center (WLA) is a tertiary care teaching facility dedicated to providing a wide array of acute and ambulatory patient care services to our nation’s veterans. The comprehensive diagnostic and treatment services provided include a broad range of medical, surgical, and psychiatric care. Internal medicine subspecialties include cardiology, ...infectious diseases, gastroenterology, allergy, pulmonology, nephrology, endocrinology, rheumatology, and hematology/oncology. Major surgical subspecialties include orthopedics, urology, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, plastics, ENT, podiatry, and cardiothoracic surgery. In addition to the main acute care hospital, there is a 180-bed nursing home, a hospice unit, and Home-Based Primary Care. The Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center (SACC) offers a state-of-the-art ambulatory care facility. The center has specialty outpatient programs in spinal cord injury, stroke rehabilitation, women's health, preventative medicine, dentistry, and mental health, and chemical dependency. Extended care activities include a 120-bed Academic Nursing Home and a Home-Based Primary Care Program. The facility hosts extensive clinical and basic science research, including Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) and Field Program for Health Science Research and Development (HSR&D). The HSR&D program evaluates provider practice and patient outcome studies in the delivery of ambulatory health care. The Los Angeles Ambulatory Care Center (LAACC) is located in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles. It serves as a centrally located facility for the diverse veteran population of the city of Los Angeles, focusing on primary care and mental health services. The clinic provides special services in post-traumatic stress disorder, day treatment, medical service, and mental health services.

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