Pharmacy Residencies

Milwaukee Veterans Affairs Medical Center Post Graduate Year One (PGY-1) Pharmacy Residency

The PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program conducted by the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center is accredited by the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists (ASHP). The program offers a well-balanced pharmacy experience in both ambulatory and acute care settings which prepares residents for all aspects of pharmacy practice. The program is flexible to meet the career goals of each resident.

The PGY1 Program has a strong commitment to the ensuring that the PGY1 experience is customized to meet the future career goals of the resident. To demonstrate that commitment, PGY1 residents are allowed to tailor the length of their rotations, required and elective, to best match the interests of the resident and what needs the resident has to achieve those future career goals. Each rotation has a defined number of weeks in the experience from which the resident may choose. A minimum number of weeks reflects what the Program believes to be adequate to understand the practice setting and achieve related rotation goals and objectives. A maximum number of weeks provides an expanded breadth and scope of the experience.

For example, a resident interested in pursuing a PGY2 or career in ambulatory care may choose to maximize the amount of weeks spent in Primary Care, choose to do electives in Endocrine and Neurology, while doing a minimal number of weeks in Critical Care. A co-resident may choose to spend more time in General Medicine, Critical Care, and an Elective in Nutrition, while spending fewer weeks in ambulatory rotations. Some residents will maximize the amount of time spent in required rotations, doing minimal electives, while others will choose to have more rotations that are shorter in length.  No two residents will have the same rotation schedule; no two residents will have the same residency experience. The ZVAMC experience is about meeting the needs of the resident and their future path in Pharmacy.

Consideration is also given to timing and scheduling of rotations in which residents have the most interest. It is important that residents have that exposure to areas of PGY2 interest early in the residency year in order to inform PGY2 decisions including potential early commitment.   Residents’ interests may be fluid throughout the residency year, and at times changes are made to the residency schedule during the year based on newfound interests. This is an advantage of the smaller PGY1 class size. Having a smaller class allows for more flexibility in rotation scheduling, ensuring that the resident gets the rotations he or she desires, when most imperative to have them.

During the residency year, residents will learn skills to effectively outline and perform medication use evaluations. Throughout the course of this one-year program, residents will further develop drug information, administrative, time management and organizational skills to aid in the practice of pharmacy. Verbal and written communication skills will be enhanced. In addition, residents will be required to design, conduct, and complete a  project throughout their residency year. This project should be suitable for publishing. Project proposals are reviewed by the Medical Center’s Research department and deemed research (which requires Investigational Review Board (IRB) approval) or process improvement (which is exempt from IRB). Final results are then presented at the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin (PSW) Educational Conference in April.

Program Goal
To foster development of knowledge, skills, and values in preparation for patient-oriented pharmacy practice.

Clinical Training
Required Rotations

• Internal Medicine (inpatient medicine)
• Oncology (inpatient / outpatient combined)
• Orientation
• Infectious Disease (inpatient medicine)
• Mental Health (inpatient) – unless completed as APPE
• Primary care (ambulatory care)
• Critical Care/ICU
• Cardiology (inpatient)
• Recruitment (one week)
• Weekend and Weeknight Staffing

 Elective Rotations

Elective rotations may be completed in various specialty areas. Residents have the option to repeat a prior required rotation at an advanced level or choose from a variety of new experiences (see list below).

Opportunities include advanced experiences in any of the required rotations or:

• Academia
• Administration
• Emergency Department
• Endocrinology
• Geriatrics (inpatient and outpatient) and/or Home Based Primary Care
• Heart Failure Clinic
• Medication Safety
• Neurology
• Spinal Cord Injury

Additional Staffing

Longitudinal Responsibilities

Residents have several longitudinal responsibilities throughout the residency year. Some of these responsibilities shift among the residents on a monthly basis while others are continuous responsibilities for all residents throughout the residency year. Training for each activity takes place with a clinical pharmacist during the orientation period.

Extended Care/Spinal Cord Anticoagulation Service: Pharmacy residents play a key role in this service. Residents and staff clinical pharmacists monitor patients on the extended care and spinal cord services for complete anticoagulation care. This includes adjusting anticoagulation medications, ordering labs, providing education to patients, and arranging follow-up appointments upon discharge.

Pharmacoeconomics (i.e. Prior Authorization Drug Requests  review): Pharmacy residents are involved in the process of reviewing prior authorization drug requests (PADR) entered by providers. The resident will assigned PADRs on a weekly basis.  They will receive the request, determine if the request meets criteria for use of the medication, discuss decision with preceptor, approve or deny the request, and communicate the decision to the provider. Participation in this process enhances residents' decision making, communication and negotiation skills.

Project, drug safety subcommittee and staffing are additional longitudinal experiences.  Each PGY1 resident will attend two Drug Safety subcommittee meetings and will be responsible for taking meeting minutes an following up on select action items from the meeting.

Teaching Responsibilities

University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy Responsibilities: The Milwaukee VA is the coordination site for all University of Wisconsin (UW) pharmacy students assigned to clerkships in the Milwaukee area and pharmacy residents play a key role in their training. Resident responsibilities throughout the year include organizing a seminar series (occurs once per block), independently grading drug inquiries and project presentations and leading pharmacy student orientation sessions. Residents also coordinate  and grade case presentations along with other clinical pharmacy staff. Residents receive training by UW and VA staff on all aspects of these UW responsibilities. Residents are appointed to adjunct faculty positions at UW in addition to receiving an additional stipend for their extensive involvement with these students. In addition to working with UW pharmacy students, residents also have opportunities to interact with student from other colleges of pharmacy.

Medical College of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy Responsibilities: Residents are required to help coordinate four labs (six if they are completing the teaching certificate).

Teaching Certificate: Residents have the opportunity to participate in programs at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Concordia University of Wisconsin or the VA where they can gain additional experience in teaching and earn a specialized teaching certificate.

During the later part of the residency year, residents have opportunities to help precept students while on clinical rotations.  Additionally, PGY1 resident provide orientation to new students starting IPPE and APPEs. 

Staffing

Weeknight staffing

PGY1 residents will be scheduled for one weeknight staffing shift per week. The hours for this experience will be 1630 to 2000. The day of the week assigned will rotate throughout the year as equitably as possible. This experience will start in September.  Some staffing responsibilities require the resident to be licensed. The responsibilities during the staffing experience will evolve over the course of the year. Residents will start with outpatient staffing experiences which will include filling, checking prescriptions, processing prescriptions, counseling patients and answering phones. Inpatient experiences will occur later in the year which will include preparation, processing and checking of unit dose and IV medications, troubleshooting phone calls to the IV room, and performing PK and anticoagulation monitoring. Residents will end the year in the emergency department (ED) where they will assist ED staff with questions, provide patient education, perform medication reconciliation and discharge consultation.   The goal is that the resident will progress over the course of the year in order to function as a central pharmacist in either outpatient or inpatient pharmacy in an independent manner by the end of the year. Quarterly feedback will be provided to residents and pharmacy staff for this experience. Residents must report to the lead pharmacist during each shift and if leave is needed this must be communicated with the lead pharmacists (if day-of leave is needed) and the inpatient pharmacy supervisor and the RPD.

Weekend staffing

PGY1 residents are expected to work a minimum of 10 weekend days throughout the residency year.  Pharmacist licensure, confirmation of dual appointment, and completion of pharmacokinetic and anticoagulation training is required before this experience commences.  The resident  the responsible for the clinical monitoring and oversight of the pharmacokinetic and anticoagulation pharmacy monitoring services for all inpatients at the Milwaukee VA during these weekend shifts.  A precepting pharmacist will be available for questions, cosigning of progress notes and writing of prescription orders.  Although pharmacists in the VA system can be granted prescriptive privileges, pharmacy residents are not granted these privileges and thus prescription orders must be entered under preceptor’s name and all progress notes must be cosigned by a preceptor.   

The Milo C. Huempfner Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care Center (HCC) is located in Green Bay, Wisconsin, approximately 120 miles north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program conducted by the Milo C. Huempfner VA Medical Center is accredited by the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists (ASHP).  There are about 250,000 residents of Green Bay and its surrounding areas in Brown County.  There are many activities and events throughout the year in this "small-town" setting.  In the fall and winter, NFL fans are happy to have the champion Green Bay Packers in their backyard. There is also the Green Bay Gamblers hockey team in the USHL, and UW-Green Bay men's and women's basketball.  In the spring and summer, there are robust farmers markets to enjoy, outdoor activities, Green Bay Rockers baseball in the independent Northwoods League, as well as the Packers' training camps, which are open to the public. Throughout the year, there are shows at the Weidner Center on the UW-Green Bay campus and a variety of restaurants, parks, trails and museums. 

The Green Bay VA HCC is a regional outpatient clinic associated with the Clement J. Zablocki VA in Milwaukee.  The Zablocki VA is part of VA Integrated Services Network 12 (VISN 12), which includes facilities in Iron Mountain, Michigan; Tomah and Madison, Wisconsin; and Danville, North Chicago and two in Chicago, Illinois. The Green Bay HCC is the largest of several outpatient clinics associated with the Milwaukee VA system. 

The Milo C. Huempfner VA Health Care Center offers an accredited postgraduate year one (PGY1) pharmacy residency by the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists (ASHP). The program offers a well-balanced pharmacy experience in primary care and specialty clinic settings which prepares residents for many aspects of ambulatory pharmacy practice. The program is flexible to meet the career goals of each resident.

During the residency year, residents will learn skills to effectively outline and perform medication use evaluations. Residents will also further develop drug information, administrative, time management and organizational skills to aid in the practice of pharmacy. Verbal and written communication skills will be enhanced. In addition, residents will be required to design, conduct, and complete a research project throughout their residency year. This research project should be suitable for publishing. Residents present their preliminary results at a poster session at the ASHP midyear clinical meeting in December. Final results are then presented at regional pharmacy resident conference in the spring.

The Green Bay VA Health Care Center opened in 2013 and offers a wide variety of ambulatory care services.  In addition to primary care, clinics are established in behavioral health, orthopedics, rheumatology, cardiology, nephrology/dialysis, oncology/ambulatory infusion, same day surgery, GI, podiatry, audiology, and optometry/ophthalmology. The clinic has the capacity to serve up to 20,000 veterans.

The VA is a pioneer in telemedicine. Patients from long distances may be seen by physician specialists via videoconferencing equipment. Specialty clinics that utilize telemedicine provide care to patients who may not otherwise be able to travel to Milwaukee.

The Home Based Primary Care Program also utilizes telemedicine to allow health care professionals to virtually visit patients in their homes. Other patients use technology to log symptoms of specific disease states daily. These responses are then transmitted to the Medical Center and based on the responses, patients will receive triage or additional interventions.

Program Goal

To foster development of knowledge, skills and values in preparation for patient-oriented pharmacy practice.

Philosophy

The philosophy of the Green Bay VA HCC Residency Program is to meet the personal and professional goals of the residents while providing pharmaceutical care to the patients.

Clinical Training
Required Rotations

• Primary Care
• Home Based Primary Care
• Rural Health and Special Populations
• Hematology / Oncology
• Pharmacy Practice
• Formulary Management / Community Care
• Administration
• Mental Health

Elective Rotations

As the VA Health Care Center expands, elective rotations can be tailored to resident interests and site availability. Currently scheduling allows for required block rotations for the first half of the year, and an individualized longitudinal experience for the second half of the year. Training for each activity takes place with a clinical pharmacist during the orientation period.

Longitudinal Responsibilities

• Pharmacy Administration: Throughout the residency program, the resident will be exposed to pharmacy administration and drug use policy issues.  These are incorporated into the residency throughout the year along with leadership training and discussion.
• Community Living Center (CLC) chart reviews: Residents will review the charts of one to two patients monthly residing in the CLC.  Chart reviews are completed to assure appropriate medication therapy based on indication and evidenced-based medicine. 
• Drug information: Throughout the year residents are resources for drug information for providers, pharmacists and other staff.

Hospital Committee Involvement

Residents routinely participate in a variety of Medical Center councils and committees. A sampling of these groups provides a wide overview of activities while participating in other groups all year, such as the Pharmacy, Nutrition, and Therapeutics (PNT) Council, and allows residents to observe the process from start to finish. The resident will also participate in the Drug Safety Subcommittee and will participate in patient safety initiatives throughout the year.

Teaching Responsibilities

University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy Opportunities:  Appleton, WI is a regional hub for the University of Wisconsin (UW) pharmacy clerkship students.  Milo C. Huempfner VA HCC has coordinated with this hub to assist with the grading of drug inquiries, project presentations, and assisting with the facilitation of seminar sessions for a defined student block of six weeks.  During the latter part of the residency year, residents have opportunities to help precept students. Residents receive training by UW and VA staff on all aspects of these UW responsibilities.  An optional teaching certificate program is available. In addition to working with UW pharmacy students, residents also have opportunities to interact with students from other schools of pharmacy.

Milwaukee Veterans Affairs Medical Center Post Graduate Year Two (PGY2) Infectious Diseases Pharmacy Residency

The Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center offers a one-year PGY2 residency in Infectious Diseases Pharmacy Practice for pharmacists desiring advanced clinical training in infectious diseases pharmacotherapy. The PGY2 Infectious Disease pharmacy residency program conducted by the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center is accredited by the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists (ASHP).  The Milwaukee VA PGY2 ID pharmacy practice residency builds on experiences gained through a PGY1 program and is designed to offer both didactic and clinical experiences leading to the development of a practitioner with expert knowledge and skills in the area of infectious diseases pharmacotherapy.

The goals of the PGY2 ID residency are to:

• Develop expertise in clinical infectious diseases pharmacotherapeutics and antimicrobial stewardship
• Optimize understanding of anti-infective pharmacology, pharmacotherapy and pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of antimicrobials
• Enhance teaching skills by precepting students on ID clinical rotations
• Contribute to an interdisciplinary healthcare team
• Contribute to a pharmacist-run antimicrobial stewardship program by offering patient specific recommendations to optimize treatment of infectious diseases
• Strengthen communication skills by presenting formal and informal lectures and in-services as well as interacting with other healthcare providers
• Enhance clinical research and/or quality improvement skills by completing a major project
• Develop skills to become an independent ID clinical pharmacy specialist

CLINICAL TRAINING

Required Rotations:

• Orientation: (~ 4 weeks; customized based on the resident's knowledge, skills, and abilities)
  • Hospital orientation, including personnel procedures, safety, sexual harassment, ethics training.
  • Overview of Pharmacy Program (inpatient satellite, IV room, outpatient pharmacy)
  • Service policies and procedures
  • Computer systems
  • Practice experience in a major area(s) (IV room, de-central inpatient)
  • Identification of a project
  • Assessment of personal goals and needs
• Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (4-8 weeks)
• Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP)/ID Consults Combined – Part 1 (2-3 months)
• Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP)/ID Consults Combined – Part 2 (2-3 months)
• Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP)/ID Consults Combined – Part 3 (2-3 months)
• ID Consult Service (4-8 weeks)
• Infectious Diseases Administration (longitudinal)
  • Antimicrobial drug information, antimicrobial stewardship intervention and antimicrobial use reporting (Annual Antimicrobial Stewardship Report), antimicrobial drug use policy, formulary management, and order set development (longitudinal)
• Microbiology lab (semi-longitudinal 1-3 months)
  • 1-2 sessions/week for a total of ~15 sessions over 1-3 months; depending on microbiology supervisor’s schedule
• Outpatient ID Clinic/OPAT Clinic (longitudinal)
  • Assist with ID provider and fellow clinics depending on coinciding block rotation
• Outpatient Infectious Diseases – BLOCK Rotation (4-8 weeks)
  • includes Hepatitis C clinic, OPAT program management, and HIV/ID clinics
• PGY2 Research Project (longitudinal)
• Other longitudinal responsibilities built into core rotations: Biannual OPAT and ASP reports, microbiology projects, educational in-services, fecal microbiota transplant monitoring, quality improvement projects/initiatives, and multidisciplinary meetings

Elective Rotations:

• Antimicrobial stewardship with a COVID-19 Focus (4-8 weeks depending on patient load)
• Critical care (4-8 weeks)
• Emergency Department/Outpatient Antimicrobial Stewardship (BLOCK) (4-8 weeks)
• Hematology/oncology (4-8 weeks)
• Internal medicine (4-8 weeks)

Longitudinal Rotations/Activities:
The ID resident has several longitudinal responsibilities throughout the year.

• OPAT Program: Patients discharged home on long-term home IV antibiotics are followed by the clinical ID pharmacist via the Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy (OPAT) program. Patient’s laboratory parameters and clinical progress are monitored weekly. Patients are then followed-up in the outpatient ID clinic by the ID team. The ID resident will support this program by arranging home IV antibiotics in the outpatient setting, performing and evaluating the weekly lab assessments, and provide patient follow up as needed.
• Infectious diseases/HIV clinic: The Zablocki VA Medical Center has several ID clinics in which patients with either HIV/AIDs and/or chronic infections are seen by the ID team. The ID resident will participate in these clinics by providing medication counseling, laboratory monitoring, and assisting with antimicrobial management. 
• Hepatitis C clinic: The ID resident will provide direct patient care in the pharmacy-run Hepatitis C clinic throughout the year. Patient’s laboratory parameters and clinical progress are monitored throughout treatment.
• Infectious Diseases/Antimicrobial Stewardship In-services: The ID resident will provide in-services to providers and/or pharmacy trainees/staff throughout the year.
• ID Pharmacy administration: The ID resident will be assigned various administrative assignments throughout the year, which may include policy writing, stewardship initiatives, and clinical decisions support design.

HOSPITAL COMMITTEE INVOLVEMENT
The ID resident will be involved in the Pharmacy, Nutrition, and Therapeutics Council, Infection Control Council, and the Antimicrobial Subcommittee.

TEACHING RESPONSIBILITIES
The PGY2 ID resident will have extensive involvement with pharmacy students on the infectious diseases clinical clerkship rotation. Responsibilities include providing one-on-one mentoring, presenting seminars and in-services, and assisting with the evaluation process. The resident will also provide at least 2 formal lectures to pharmacy students at Concordia University with additional optional opportunities should the resident be interested. 

Milwaukee Veterans Affairs Medical Center Post Graduate Year Two (PGY2) Medication Safety and Policy Pharmacy Residency

The PGY2 Medication Use Safety and Policy pharmacy residency program conducted by the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center is accredited by the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists (ASHP). 

PGY2 Program Purpose Statement

PGY2 pharmacy residency programs build on Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) education and PGY1 pharmacy residency programs to contribute to the development of clinical pharmacists in specialized areas of practice. PGY2 residencies provide residents with opportunities to function independently as practitioners by conceptualizing and integrating accumulated experience and knowledge and incorporating both into the provision of patient care or other advanced practice settings. Residents who successfully complete an accredited PGY2 pharmacy residency are prepared for advanced patient care, academic, or other specialized positions, along with board certification, if available.

PGY2 Medication Use Safety and Policy Program Objective

This one-year PGY2 Medication Safety and Policy Pharmacy residency program is intended to expose the resident to all aspects of pharmacy practice in this Medical Center with a focus on the medication use system. This program builds on experiences gained through a PGY1 program and is designed to offer both didactic and clinical experiences leading to the development of practitioner with expert knowledge, leadership skills, and expertise in evaluating, designing, and implementing a medication safety program for an institution. Graduates of this program will be well prepared for positions in Medication Safety, Formulary Management, or Medication-Use Policy.

As part of this one-year experience the resident has the unique opportunity to participate in the Advanced Fellowship in Patient Safety program sponsored by the VA's National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS). As part of this experience the resident will work as part of an interprofessional fellowship team often consisting of the pharmacy resident, a graduate nurse fellow and a physician. This fellowship team attends an orientation in early fall hosted by the VAs National Center for Patient Safety where they receive training in performance improvement processes including health care failure modes effects analysis, root cause analysis, simulation, LEAN and Six Sigma. In addition to the orientation, the resident will participate in weekly webinars to enhance and build upon the knowledge gained. These principles and tools will be used throughout the year to evaluate and develop solutions to medication safety, patient safety and policy issues identified within the institution.

In addition to working with the interprofessional fellowship team the resident will have the opportunity to interact with the PGY2 Infectious Disease, PGY2 Internal Medicine, PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy and PGY1 Pharmacy Residents throughout the year.

Required Rotations

• Orientation
• Informatics
• Medical College of Wisconsin - Patient Safety & Quality Improvement Course
• Drug Safety Committee I & II
• Formulary Management
• Simulation
• Root Cause Analysis
• Research/Quality Improvement Project
• Pharmacy Administration
• Residency Administration
• Medication Events Committee
• Patient Safety Fellowship
• Procurement
• Internal Medicine (if resident did not complete PGY1 at the Zablocki VA)

Elective Rotations

• Concordia Teaching Experience
• Internal Medicine 

Hospital Committee Involvement

• Drug Safety Committee
• Medication Events Committee
• Clinical Bar Code Multidisciplinary Committee
• Pharmacy, Nutrition, and Therapeutics Council

TEACHING RESPONSIBILITIES
Throughout the residency year, the resident will be involved in pharmacy student, pharmacy resident and all staff education. The resident will also be responsible for assisting in precepting students and residents during the residency year.

Milwaukee Veterans Affairs Medical Center Post Graduate Year Two (PGY2) Internal Medicine Pharmacy Residency

The PGY2 Internal Medicine pharmacy residency program conducted by the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center is accredited by the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists (ASHP). 

The PGY-2 Internal Medicine pharmacy residency program will focus on inpatient medicine. The resident will work with medical teams to maximize the pharmacotherapy for medicine patients and provide education to staff and patients. The resident will also have extensive precepting experiences with pharmacy students completing advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPE). In addition, the resident will have the option to obtain a teaching certificate and become involved in on-campus teaching at Concordia University Wisconsin School of Pharmacy.

The purpose of this PGY2 Internal Medicine pharmacy residency is for the resident to develop expertise in internal medicine pharmacotherapy and foster development of teaching and precepting knowledge and skills. The goal is for the resident to develop into an internal medicine clinical specialist with skills and abilities in teaching and precepting pharmacy students and other health care providers. Incorporation of leadership, administrative, medication safety, academic, and pharmacoeconomic learning opportunities will further assist in comprehensive resident professional development.

Required Rotations:

• Inpatient Internal Medicine
• Inpatient Cardiology
• Inpatient Infectious Diseases
• Inpatient Critical Care

Elective Rotations:

• Nephrology
• Oncology
• Mental Health
• Gastroenterology
• Ambulatory care (primary care or specialty)
• Academia (Concordia University of Wisconsin)
• Academic Detailing
• Administration
• Heart Failure
• Emergency Department
• Neurology
• Palliative care

Longitudinal Rotations:

• Co-precept pharmacy students and PGY1 residents
• Develop and conduct year-long pharmacy research project, poster presentation and final formal presentation
• Formulary Management Activities
• Medication Use Safety Activities
• Administrative Activities

Hospital Committee/Meeting Involvement:

• Pharmacy, Nutrition, and Therapeutics Council
• Drug Safety Subcommittee
• Journal club
• Pharmacy staff meeting

Teaching Responsibilities:

• Concordia teaching certificate (optional)
• MCW teaching certificate (optional)
• MCW lab facilitation
• Pharmacy student & PGY1 resident precepting & teaching
• Precepting students and PGY1 residents
• Medicine team teaching
• Grand Rounds Presentation or equivalent
• Admission medication reconciliation training

Milwaukee Veterans Affairs Medical Center Post Graduate Year Two (PGY2) Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency

The Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center offers a one-year PGY2 residency in psychiatric pharmacy designed for pharmacists desiring a specialized practice focused on the care of patients with psychiatric and neuropsychiatric disorders. The PGY2 Psychiatric pharmacy residency program conducted by the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center is accredited by the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists (ASHP). The psychiatric pharmacy resident will work as part of an interdisciplinary team focusing on improving patient care in a variety of mental health settings. The PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency builds upon experiences gained through a PGY1 program and is designed to offer both didactic and clinical experiences leading to the development of a practitioner with expert knowledge in the area of psychiatric pharmacotherapy. The resident will also have extensive precepting and teaching responsibilities over the course of the year. Leadership, administrative, medication safety, and pharmacoeconomic skills will further develop the resident into a well-rounded practitioner. Upon completion of the Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency, the resident will be well-equipped to establish and/or expand upon a successful psychiatric pharmacy practice.

The goals of the PGY2 psychiatric pharmacy residency are to:

• Serve as an authoritative resource on the optimal use of medications used to treat individuals with psychiatric and neuropsychiatric disorders.
• Optimize the outcomes of inpatients and outpatients with a variety of psychiatric and neuropsychiatric disorders and a range of complexity of problems by providing evidence-based, patient-centered medication therapy as an integral part of an interdisciplinary team.
• Demonstrate leadership and practice management skills.
• Demonstrate excellence in the provision of training or educational activities for health care professionals, health care professionals in training, and the public.
• Evaluate and improve the medication-use process in psychiatric and neuropsychiatric patient care areas.
• Conduct psychiatric pharmacy practice research
• Demonstrate skills required to function in an academic setting.

CLINICAL TRAINING

Required Rotations

• Orientation
• Inpatient Psychiatry #1
• Inpatient Psychiatry #2
• Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program #1
• Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program #2
• Consult/Liaison Psychiatry
• Outpatient Mental Health
• Substance Use Disorder Clinic
• PTSD Clinic
• Geropsychiatry Clinic
• Immediate Mental Health Access Clinic
• Neurology Clinic

Elective Rotations

• Academic Detailing
• Pain Management
• CUW Mental Health Elective 
• Teaching Certificate 
• Internal Medicine
• Academia at Concordia University Wisconsin

Longitudinal Rotations:

• Primary Care Mental Health Integration team
• Outpatient Mental Health Pharmacy e-consults
• Formulary management activities
• Medication use safety activities
• Research - this includes poster presentations at the Wisconsin Pharmacy Residency Conference and the American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists Annual Meeting.

HOSPITAL COMMITTEE INVOLVEMENT

The PGY2 psychiatric pharmacy resident will be expected to participate in various meetings. These include Primary Care Mental Health Integration team staffing; Gold Clinic protected time; clinical pharmacy meetings; journal club; and other relevant medical conferences.

TEACHING RESPONSIBILITIES

The PGY2 psychiatric pharmacy resident will have extensive teaching involvement over the course of the year, both formal and informal. The resident will help precept pharmacy students and PGY1 residents on the mental health clinical rotation. Responsibilities include providing one-on-one mentoring, presenting seminars and in-services, and assisting with the evaluation process. In addition, the resident may be called upon to provide teaching to the interdisciplinary psychiatric teams as needed.

Formal teaching opportunities include the following: CUW Pharmacotherapy lecture, CUW Mental Health Elective lecture, Medical College of Wisconsin Pharmacotherapy lecture, VISN 12 Continuing Education Presentation, and various journal clubs/topic discussions throughout the year.

PGY1 Pharmacy Practice:
Jen Koch, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP
jennifer.koch@va.gov

Mikki Harms, PharmD, BCPP
michelle.harms@va.gov

PGY2 Infectious Diseases:
Grace Mortrude, PharmD
grace.mortrude@va.gov

PGY2 Internal Medicine:
Jeremy Barnes, PharmD, BCPS
jeremiah.barnes@va.gov

PGY2 Medication Use Safety and Policy:
Lindsey Ladell, PharmD, BCPS
lindsey.ladell@va.gov

PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy:
Matt Haas, PharmD, BCPP, BCPS
matthew.haas@va.gov

• Competitive salary
• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Life insurance
• Free parking
• 11 federal holidays
• Sick leave (days off for illness/medical appointments/family care)
• Annual leave (Vacation)
• Access to the University of Wisconsin and Medical College of Wisconsin resources
• Tuition and travel support for professional conferences
• Opportunity to work for pharmacist wage on off-duty time (some staffing required for PGY1s, optional for PGY2s)

The application requirements are the same for all of our pharmacy residency programs (PGY1 and PGY2).   Applications are due on on or near the first of the year – please see individual programs for due dates.   

Applicant Requirements: 

• Graduate of an American Council of Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE) accredited School of Pharmacy with a Pharm.D. or equivalent degree or a school with candidate status from ACPE.
• U.S. citizenship (requirement to be employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs)
• Register and participate in the ASHP Residency Matching Program

Application Process & Requirements: 

• Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PhORCAS) must be used to submit electronic application.
• Please visit PhORCAS2024 for more information on PhORCAS.
• Information required by PhORCAS includes demographics, curriculum vitae (CV), transcripts (including cumulative GPA), letter of intent and three letters of recommendation. 
• The PhORCAS form should be used for letters of recommendation. An accompanying letter is not necessary.

Selection of Candidates: 

• Criteria considered by the residency selection committee include: PhORCAS application, knowledge of professional practice, communication skills, ability to apply theory to practice, leadership ability, interest in the program, confidence, and maturity.
• Candidates may be asked to participate in a phone interview.
• An interview, if offered, is required.

Directors

PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency Director Jennifer Koch

PGY-2 Infectious Diseases Pharmacy Residency Director Grace Mortrude

PGY-2 Internal Medicine Pharmacy Residency Director Jeremy Barnes

PGY-2 Medication Use Safety and Policy Residency Director Lindsey Ladell

PGY-2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency Director Matthew Haas

Clinical Pharmacy Preceptors

Karen M. Adwan

Wendy Antoine

Alisyn Baciak

Jeremy Barnes

Kimberly Bell

Morgan Berger

William Blaser

Caryn Bremberger

Kristen Charlson

Joe Dutzy

Bradley Endres

Sara Erdahl

Steven Finkenbinder

Christopher Frye

Mike Grunske

Matt Haas

Mohammed Hamdan

Jill Hansen

Mikki Harms

Brian Holtebeck

Mary Jo Jablonski

Nicole Huebner

Anna Husek

Steven Kennedy

Jen Koch

Lindsey Ladell

Michael J. Masse

Erin McAllister

Bryan McGill

Ray Miller

Grace Mortrude

Jen Mulhall

Katie Nichols

Karla Opheim

Shannon Pace

Courtney Pagels

Luke Palmer

Elizabeth Papa

Daisy Peterson

Ryan Prouty

April Rogers

Cassandra Ruoff

Mirella Sabol

Michelle Schafer

Michael Schmidt

Chris Siegler

Erin Stoop

Victoria "Tori" Strong

Ana Tomaich

Lori Uildriks

Jill Underberg

Amy Van Ermen

Megan Vranes

Ben Weitzel

Nicole Zimmerman

PGY1 Resident Milwaukee Louis Austin

PGY1 Resident Milwaukee Bridget Nelson

PGY1 Resident Milwaukee Rylee Tepoel

PGY1 Resident Milwaukee Tim Vogt

PGY2 Psychiatry Lakyn Hanson

PGY2 Medication Safety April Noonan

PGY2 Infectious Diseases Lissa Stein

PGY2 Internal Medicine Zack Weinstein