Residency Showcase Program Listings

RESIDENCY PROGRAM PURPOSE

The Wellstar Kennestone PGY1 residency program builds upon the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) education and outcomes to develop pharmacist practitioners with knowledge, skills, and abilities as defined in the ASHP educational competency areas, goals, and objectives (CAGOs). Residents who successfully complete the PGY1 residency program will be skilled in diverse patient care, practice management, leadership, and education and be prepared to provide patient care, seek board certification in pharmacotherapy (i.e., BCPS), and pursue advanced education and training opportunities including postgraduate year two (PGY2) residencies.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND GOALS

This PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program will provide educational and training experiences for pharmacists at an acute care community teaching medical center in an organized healthcare system. Residents will complete various required, elective, and longitudinal learning experiences throughout the year to meet the ASHP CAGOs outlined in the ASHP Accreditation Standard (The Standard) as well as their personal and professional goals. The major job responsibilities of this position are clinical intervention, continuing education and teaching, drug distribution, leadership and management, patient care and education, and research. The program is designed to create confident, well-rounded, competent clinical pharmacist leaders able to function and practice in a variety of practice settings.

The PGY1 residency program will utilize the collective assets of Wellstar Health System (WHS) to accomplish the assigned goals and objectives. The Traditional PGY1 residency program is designed to allow the resident to complete the program within a minimum of 52 weeks.  The Nontraditional (NT) residency program is designed to allow the resident to complete the traditional 52-week program over 24-months by participating in the residency program every other month and continuing in a staff position every other month.

LEARNING EXPERIENCES (LEs)

Baseline data collected from each resident, identifying their interests, personal/professional goals, and self-assessment of skills are used to formulate an initial Development Plan (DP). The Residency Program Director (RPD) will utilize each resident's experience and preferences to design the residency LE schedule. 

The residents will spend 5-7 weeks in June-July in orientation. Required patient care LEs are generally 4-6 weeks in length. Each LE has its own goals, objectives, and schedule. Learning experiences often vary regarding daily start and end times, presentation requirements, rounding responsibilities, and other duties. 

All PGY1 pharmacy residents must complete the following required LEs and may choose five elective LEs from the list below which are then scheduled based on order of preference and preceptor availability.

Required LEs (duration in weeks)

Elective LEs (duration in weeks)

*longitudinal

Other electives may be available based on resident interest and preceptor availability

PHARMACY DEPARTMENT

The Wellstar Kennestone Pharmacy Department team consists of centralized, unit-based, clinical, and operating room pharmacists. The inpatient pharmacy and ED are open 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. Among the services performed are medication order verification, IV preparation, medication dispensing, compounding of various dosage forms, packaging of bulk medications, and many clinical services. The Pharmacy Department utilizes automated drug delivery units throughout the hospital. The pharmacy team operates out of a central pharmacy, Operating Room (OR) satellite and workstations on patient care units. We also have an Outpatient Infusion Center (OPIC) satellite on our campus.

Pharmacists play an integral role on the healthcare team through participation in physician-led interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary rounds. Clinical consult services provided by pharmacists include but are not limited to anticoagulation therapy management, nutrition support, pain management, and pharmacokinetic dosing. The clinical pharmacy team includes a clinical dietitian and clinical pharmacists specializing in medical areas such as ambulatory care, cardiology, critical care, emergency medicine, infectious diseases, internal medicine, pain management, and pediatrics.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

By the end of the residency training year, the resident is expected to have successfully completed the following program requirements to receive the residency certificate:

• Complete a minimum of 2/3 of the residency year as a licensed Georgia pharmacist.
• Fulfill pharmacist staffing requirements:
  • Traditional PGY1
    • Provide an average of 20 hours per four weeks of pharmacy staffing.
      • The resident will work every 4^th weekend. The resident must work a minimum of 12 weekends.
      • The resident will staff for 3 hours one evening per week. The resident must work a minimum of 35 three-hour evening staffing shifts
  • Nontraditional PGY1
    • Provide a minimum of 8-hours per four weeks of pharmacy staffing plus staffing months off residency
      • One resident will staff 16 hours every 3^rd weekend and one resident will work 18 hours (staffing 8 hours/consult service 10 hours) every 4^th weekend during year one. The weekend schedule will flip in year two.
      • The resident must work a minimum of 212 weekends each year.
• Complete all required learning experiences (LEs).
• The resident is required to achieve for residency (ACHR) at least 80% (25 of 31) of the assigned LE objectives. All remaining objectives must be rated at least satisfactory progress (SP) by June 15^th at the end of the residency program.
• Successfully complete and maintain the following certifications:
  • Basic Life Support (BLS)
  • Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
  • Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program)
• Complete one (1) major research project and one (1) second project (medication use evaluation) designed to improve pharmacy department services and/or patient outcomes and:
  • Present a poster at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting
  • Present the research project at the Southeastern Residency Conference (SERC)
  • Complete a manuscript suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal
• Minimum of one (1) formulary management task(s) (i.e., annual formulary review, drug monograph, order set, therapeutic interchange, formulary restriction modification) to develop an understanding of the medication use process.
• Required presentation and teaching activities:
  
  • Prepare and present one Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)-accredited continuing pharmacy education (CPE) grand rounds.
  • Minimum of one (1) journal club presentation with written handout to an audience
  • Minimum of one (1) patient case presentation to an audience
  • Precept a minimum of one (1) Doctor of Pharmacy student on an experiential training rotation

APPLICATION PROCESS

Detailed application instructions are available at: wellstar.org/kennestonePGY1rx

Register with the Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PhORCAS^™) and the ASHP Resident Matching Program through the National Matching Service (NMS).

The Wellstar Kennestone PGY1 traditional pharmacy residency match code is 133413.

The Wellstar Kennestone PGY1 nontraditional pharmacy residency match code is 133421.

Candidate should submit required documents in the PhORCAS^™ System.  See wellstar.org/kennestonePGY1rx for details.

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

All application materials are due by 11:59pm on January 3^rd for participation in Phase 1 of the match.

The residency program begins mid-June every year. Residency applicants must possess a Doctor of Pharmacy degree and be a licensed pharmacist in the State of Georgia within 60 days of the the start of the program. A completed application, curriculum vitae (CV), pharmacy school transcripts, references, and a formal interview are required.

Non-U.S. citizens must have a "green card" (permanent resident status) or a current visa valid through the entire duration of the residency program. Wellstar PGY1 and PGY2 residency programs are unable to sponsor visas for pharmacy residents.

About Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center

Wellstar Health System, one of the largest health systems in Georgia, is known nationally for its innovative care models, focused on improving quality and access to healthcare. Located just north of Atlanta, Wellstar Kennestone is a 633-bed facility (including more than 85 critical care beds) and the largest hospital in Wellstar Health System's network. As one of the Top 100 hospitals, Wellstar Kennestone offers the most advanced care available for all your surgical, medical, rehabilitative and emergency care needs. The Level I Trauma Center features a new, state-of-the-art emergency department, comprehensive stroke center, and certified comprehensive cardiac center. For more information, visit wellstar.org/locations/hospital/kennestone-regional-medical-center.

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