Residency Showcase Program Listings

Pharmacy Residency Program at Forbes Hospital

Program Director: Nikki Verkleeren, PharmD, BCCCP
Email: Nikki.verkleeren@ahn.org

Program Coordinator: Michael Corpman, PharmD, BCPS
Email: Michael.corpman@ahn.org

Forbes Hospital is a 315-bed comprehensive medical center, and the only full-service hospital in the eastern Pittsburgh suburb of Monroeville. With over 700 physicians on staff and over 1600 employees, Forbes Hospital offers graduate pharmacist practitioners a wide variety of educational opportunities yet still allows for personal contact with patients and other staff members in a friendly community atmosphere. Forbes Hospital boasts a variety of specialized medical services, is a primary stroke center certified by The Joint Commission, and is the only level-2 trauma center in the eastern suburbs. Additionally, the hospital has a medical residency in family medicine, and hosts medical and surgical residents on rotation from across the Allegheny Health Network.

All FH residents complete a standard orientation during the first 4 weeks of their program.  The program director or designee will orient residents to the program’s purpose, applicable accreditation standards, designated learning experiences, and evaluation strategy. In addition, residents will be introduced to the various operational areas of the pharmacy department and gain experience under the guidance of a staff pharmacist. Residents will also attend a general network and hospital orientation training.

The 52-week postgraduate training experience is composed of a variety of required and elective rotations, as follows:

Required: (each 6 weeks in duration, unless otherwise noted)

• Orientation – Part I (1 week)
• Orientation – Part II (3 weeks)
• Inpatient family medicine
• Critical care
• Infectious diseases
• Emergency medicine
• Clinical staffing I (4 weeks)
• Clinical staffing II (longitudinal)
• Management (longitudinal)
• Inpatient pharmacy staffing (longitudinal)
• Clinical research project (longitudinal)
• Medication use evaluation (longitudinal)
• ACPE-accredited continuing education presentation (concentrated)
• Journal club and controversial case presentations (concentrated)

Elective: (4 elective blocks available, each 4 weeks in duration)

• Trauma/surgical
• Transitions of care (heart failure/AMI)
• Emergency medicine/infectious diseases
• Medical oncology
• Clinical management
• Critical care II
• Emergency medicine II
• Infectious diseases II
• Inpatient family medicine II
• Other elective learning experiences may be available or developed based on resident interest and preceptor availability, including rotations at other AHN hospital sites

Our program prides itself on creating a learning experience that is tailored to the resident’s career goals. Each resident is encouraged to explore multiple facets of inpatient pharmacy practice, and given the opportunity to complete a second rotation in an area of their choice during the last quarter of the year in order to solidify their confidence and independence as a clinical practitioner.