Our comprehensive residency program is designed to develop practitioners who
Provide cost-effective pharmacotherapy to adults and geriatrics patients with common medical disorders in acute and ambulatory care settings.
Proficient in communicating with and educating pharmacist trainees, pharmacists, other health care providers and the community on drug related topics.
Eligible (and competitive) for additional post-graduate training.
Program Structure:
2-week Orientation at beginning of academic year.
10 rotation blocks which are 4 weeks in duration. May extend to 5 or 6 weeks due to anticipated time away from residency training including but not limited to holidays, meeting attendance, personal time off and interviews. These consist of 5 required, 2 selected and 3 elective rotation blocks.
Longitudinal Experiences run concurrently during the year in addition to the above described rotation blocks
Rotation Scheduling Sequence:
A specific sequence is not pre-determined but an initial rotation schedule is created with the following general rules:
First rotation following Orientation is in an area that the resident self-identified as an area of “medium or greater” comfort either by knowledge or prior experience. This information is collected in our initial assessment.
Learning experiences that include a staffing component are delayed until the resident is expected to be licensed to practice as a pharmacist at our facility. The date is estimated based on when a resident is scheduled to sit for pharmacist licensure exams.
Areas of expressed PGY2 interest are scheduled to occur prior to the end of November whenever possible.
Learning Experiences:
Required – Block Rotations
Duration
Pharmacy and Residency Orientation
2 weeks
Administration
2 weeks
Ambulatory Care
· Patient Aligned Care Team (2 days per week)
· Other Clinics (1 day per week)
· Staffing / Outpatient Pharmacy (1.5 days per week)
8 weeks
Formulary Consults
2 weeks
Medicine Staffing & Rounding
8 weeks
Selected - Block Rotations
Duration
Cardiology or Critical Care
4 weeks
Pain or Psychiatry
4 weeks
Required – Longitudinal Rotations
Duration
Formulary Project
12 weeks
Pharmacy Practice Management
11 months
Service Enhancement Project
12 weeks
Research
11 months
Teaching
9 months
Elective – Block Rotations (Select 3 from the following)
Duration
Academia
4 weeks
Academic Detailing
4 weeks
Cardiology (if not taken as a required rotation)
4 weeks
Emergency Department
4 weeks
Geriatrics
4 weeks
Infectious Diseases
4 weeks
Informatics
4 weeks
Nephrology
4 weeks
Oncology
4 weeks
Pain Management (if not taken as a required rotation)
4 weeks
Pharmacoeconomics (VISN 22)
4 weeks
Psychiatry (if not taken as a required rotation)
4 weeks
Spinal Cord Injury
4 weeks
Surgery
4 weeks
Non-VA elective rotations are extremely limited and based on availability
4 weeks
UNIQUE FEATURE – PGY2 Early Commitment:
Our site offers PGY2 specialty residency programs in Ambulatory Care, Critical Care, Infectious Diseases, Internal Medicine, Oncology, Pain Management and Palliative Care, Pharmacy Administration & Leadership, Pharmacy Informatics and Psychiatric Pharmacy. All programs will consider our PGY1 residents for PGY2 early commitment.
Participation in the ASHP Resident Matching Program
United States citizenship with proof of naturalization if naturalized
Possess (or in the process of obtaining) a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from an ACPE accredited School or College of Pharmacy
Eligible for licensure to practice as a pharmacist at VA San Diego within 120 days from the beginning of the residency program
Initial set of licensing exams must be taken within 45 days from the beginning of the residency program
Must be able to show documented proof for each requirement and must maintain eligibility for the duration of the VA appointment via the Am I Eligible? Checklist for Health Professional Trainees (HPTs) Training at VA Facilities: Am I Eligible? Checklist for VA Health Professional Trainees
APPLICATION PROCESS
All application materials must be submitted through Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application (PhORCAS):
PHASE I DEADLINE is January 2, 2025 at 11:59PM EST
PHASE II DEADLINE if positions available is March 24th, 2025 at 11:59PM EST
Submitted Materials must include:
Basic Demographics
Verified Transcripts for Schools or Colleges of Pharmacy Only
Personal Statement/Letter of Intent
Curriculum Vitae
Three letters of recommendation using the standardized reference template in PhORCAS
Extracurricular Information
Selected applicants will be invited to a personal virtual or on-site interview. Candidates who are not invited for an on-site interview will be notified via e-mail.
VA San Diego Healthcare System
KEY FACTS
Provided high quality health care to 116,500+ Veterans in the San Diego and Imperial Valley counties in Fiscal Year 2022
Offers a wide range of inpatient and outpatient health services at the medical center in La Jolla, seven community-based outpatient clinics located in Chula Vista, Escondido, Imperial Valley, Kearny Mesa, Rio, Oceanside, and Sorrento Valley and a residential rehabilitation treatment program
Provides medical, surgical, mental health, geriatric, spinal cord injury, and advanced rehabilitation services
Training site for 1,441 medical interns, residents and fellows, as well as 368 other health professionals from pharmacy, nursing, dental, and dietetics
PROVISION OF CARE – PHARMACY SERVICE
Pharmacy services provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Decentralized unit-dose service with Barcode Medication Administration, IV Additive Service, Automated Dispensing Systems, Physician Order Entry and Automated Prescription Filling
Our Ambulatory Care Clinical Pharmacists, Inpatient Clinical Pharmacists, and Clinical Specialists provide a wide range of pharmaceutical care services to veterans in the inpatient a...nd outpatient settings.
OUR STAFF AND PRECEPTORS
75 pharmacists serve as preceptors to our resident trainees
Most have greater than 5 years of experience with serving as a preceptor to residents
Many are Board Certified as Pharmacotherapy Specialists (BCPS), Oncology Pharmacists (BCOP), Psychiatric Pharmacists (BCPP), Ambulatory Care Pharmacists (BCACP), Critical Care Pharmacists (BCCCP), Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (BCIDP) and Geriatric Pharmacists (BCGP)
More than half possess Scopes of Practices which allow for prescriptive authority
OUR TEACHING PROGRAM
Multiple PGY1 and PGY2 residency training programs
Have academic relationships with two Schools of Pharmacy – University of the Pacific (UOP) and University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
Annually provide APPEs to approximately 30 students
