PGY1 pharmacy residency program
The PGY1 pharmacy residency is a 1-year postgraduate program that provides training and experience in pharmacy practice and education.
Points of contact
Tania Chopra PharmD, BCPS, FCSHP
Pharmacy Training Program Manager, PGY1 Residency Program Director
VA Palo Alto health care
Email: Tania.Chopra@va.gov
Pharmacy service
VA Palo Alto health care consists of 3 inpatient facilities located at Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Livermore, in addition to 4 Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in San Jose, Capitola, Monterey, and Fremont, as well as 2 residential homes for Veterans in the Compensated Work Therapy program. VA Palo Alto health care operates over 600 beds, including 3 nursing homes and a 100-bed homeless domiciliary - all to serve more than 67,000 unique Veterans.
Learn more about VA Palo Alto health care
The health care system is affiliated with Stanford School of Medicine, and the pharmacy service is affiliated with University of the Pacific (UOP).
The VA Palo Alto pharmacy service provides 24-hour coverage, 7 days a week. Patient care is provided by a staff of more than 200 pharmacists, residents, students, and technicians practicing in the inpatient and ambulatory care setting. The pharmacy also provides a Pharmacoeconomics Center, and staff to participate in local, regional, and national committees.
About our program
The pharmacy residency is a 1-year postgraduate program that provides training and experience in pharmacy practice and education. Patient care responsibilities are foremost; residents also receive instruction and experience in management, managed care, and research. Residents are provided with ample opportunities to teach in clinical clerkship and didactic settings. The residency offers an optional teaching certificate program through the University of the Pacific. A residency project is required and a focus on economics, outcomes analysis, or health care policy is encouraged.
Learning experiences
Below is a list of required and elective learning experiences. Most elective rotations are 6 weeks long, and at least one elective rotation must be in the inpatient setting.
Ambulatory care I - required
This is a 6-week rotation where the resident will be responsible for managing patient health care needs in the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) and Anticoagulation clinics.
The resident will gain proficiency in comprehensive medication management and chronic disease state management through direct patient care experiences. Activities include evaluating drug regimens for efficacy, adherence, and adverse effects, making appropriate adjustments in the medication regimen, and ordering necessary laboratory tests.
Formulary management/ medication safety - required
This is a 6-week rotation consisting of concurrent formulary management and medication safety experiences.
In formulary management, the resident will participate in adjudicating prior authorization drug requests (PADR), completing a formulary tool-related project, and completing a medication use evaluation. The goal of these projects is to facilitate improvements to the health care system medication use process.
In medication safety, the resident will learn the medication-use system and the administrative roles of a medication safety officer. Residents will review external literature to identify improvement opportunities for the medication-use system and present recommendations. Residents may also facilitate improvements and assist with medication safety performance measurement.
Geriatrics - required
This is a 6-week rotation where the resident will be assigned to one of the three Community Living Centers (CLC). There is also an outpatient clinic component with the Palo Alto Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC).
Each CLC and GRECC utilizes an interdisciplinary team approach to the care of its Veterans. Depending on the location, the CLC accommodates long-term care, short stay/rehabilitation, palliative care, hospice care, or respite patients.
Residents will learn to conduct monthly medication reviews and attend weekly geriatric seminars.
Grand Rounds - required
The resident will create one Grand Rounds presentation during residency on a topic related to pharmacotherapy or pharmacy practice.
The resident will have an opportunity to sharpen their ability to critically analyze the literature and reach conclusions based on the available literature, presenting their findings, analysis, and conclusions in an audio-visual presentation.
Internal medicine - required
This is a 6-week rotation, and the resident will play an active role in managing patients admitted to the medicine service.
The resident will provide the medicine team with drug information and patient-specific medication recommendations with the goal of improving patient outcomes.
Other activities include participating in daily medical team rounds, monitoring, and performing patient admission interviews and medication reconciliation, re-designing patient medication therapy, reporting adverse drug reactions, pharmacokinetic and anticoagulation monitoring, and discharge medication reconciliation and counseling.
Leadership and management - required
This is a longitudinal rotation throughout the year consisting of two distinct activities.
The residents will participate in bimonthly (every two month) leadership discussions regarding pharmacy management. Leadership topics may include leadership philosophy, LEAN, staff management, effective communication, pharmacy budget, accreditations, and more.
Residents will also be assigned a committee and actively participate in meetings. Residents will independently complete project/tasks for their committees which may include preparing records and reports, presenting oral and written reports, and developing and completing pharmacy administration projects.
Research/quality improvement - required
This is a longitudinal rotation where residents work under the direct supervision of preceptor(s) on a Pharmacy Service year-long quality improvement project. The resident is responsible for the development, execution, and timely completion of the quality improvement project as well as the completion of deliverables including a presentation, poster, and manuscript.
Residents will present their projects at Western States Conference and GRECC Allied Health Scholars Symposium.
Service commitment: Ambulatory care and inpatient operations - required
This is a longitudinal rotation consisting of concurrent ambulatory care and inpatient operations service commitments.
Ambulatory care is a weekly, one half-day longitudinal clinic rotation. The resident will be provided with training in comprehensive medication management for patients with conditions including diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, congestive heart failure, and anticoagulation within a Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) clinic. Residents are precepted by Clinical Pharmacist Practitioners and will gain experience working under their preceptor’s scope of practice.
Inpatient operation is a longitudinal rotation occurring at least once weekly in the evening after rotation and may adjust hours to meet the needs of the service. Inpatient pharmacy staffing responsibilities include verifying inpatient orders, checking unit dose packages and sterile compounded medications, and answering drug information or pharmacy-related questions from other health care providers.
Elective rotations
- Academic detailing
- Ambulatory care II
- Critical care
- Emergency medicine
- Hematology/oncology
- Infectious diseases: inpatient and outpatient
- Oncology operations
- Pain management
- Pharmacoeconomics
- Outpatient mental health
*Other elective learning experiences may be developed based on resident interest and preceptor availability.
Benefits
- Medical insurance
- Vacation - 13 days/year
- Sick leave - 13 days/year
- Paid educational leave*
- Free parking
*Residents are paid for their time to attend meetings. Funding to support travel and meeting registration is limited.
How to apply
Our program participates in the ASHP PhORCAS system and National Matching Service. This residency site agrees that no person at this site will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any residency applicant.
NMS Number: 191213
Eligibility requirements
Prior to match:
1. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen.
After the match:
2. Return signed resident appointment letter by the stated deadline.
3. Successfully pass a pre-employment physical exam.
4. Pharmacist licensure in at least one state secured within 120 days of starting residency.
Candidates wishing to apply are required to submit the following via PhORCAS:
- A “letter of intent” stating why you are pursuing a residency position in our program (max. 1 page)
- A current curriculum vitae
- VA form 10-2850D - Application for health professions trainees
- A current official School of Pharmacy transcript
- Three letters of recommendation. One of the reference writers must be a clinical rotation preceptor. All 3 reference writers should use the standard PhORCAS template to submit their recommendation.
PHORCAS applications are due January 2nd unless it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, then applications are due the next business day.
Frequently asked questions and answers
Below is a list of frequently asked questions and answers regarding the pharmacy residency program at VA Palo Alto.
How long are your learning experiences for each rotation?
Each core and elective block rotation is 6 weeks long.
The 4 core block rotations are: Ambulatory care, geriatrics, internal medicine, and medication safety/formulary management. Residents get a total of 18 weeks of electives, approximately 3 elective block rotations during the year.
Each longitudinal rotation is approximately 11 months long.
Longitudinal rotations include: Service commitments in ambulatory care and inpatient operations, research/QI, leadership).
Can you describe the longitudinal research/quality improvement rotation?
Our projects are quality improvement in nature. Project ideas are reviewed and discussed with preceptors and pharmacy leadership to ensure feasibility, innovation, and quality. The ideas are then presented to the residents during orientation, allowing residents to select a project-based on their interests.
Residents and preceptors meet regularly to discuss the project throughout the year. Residents have many opportunities to present their projects and receive feedback before presenting at the Western States Conference.
Can you describe the longitudinal leadership rotation?
The longitudinal leadership rotation consists of 2 learning activities:
- Monthly leadership conference, and
- Committee participation
Residents meet with the residency program director and a guest speaker from pharmacy leadership on a monthly basis to discuss a leadership topic (e.g., leadership philosophy, embracing change, staff management, communication).
Residents also participate in a committee of their interest as an active member throughout the year. Committees include: Anticoagulation Oversight Team (AOT), Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP), Medication Management Committee (MMC), Mental Health Oversight Team, Oncology Oversight Team (OOT), Pain Management Committee, and Residency Advisory.
How flexible is the program with electives?
During orientation, residents will be asked to rank electives based on interest and plans for applying to PGY2 programs.
On a quarterly basis, residents have the opportunity to discuss their schedule with the residency program director if interests change.
Does your program offer a teaching certificate program?
Yes, VA Palo Alto residency program offers a teaching certificate program through the University of the Pacific School of Pharmacy, and it's optional.
VA Palo Alto is the regional APPE site of UOP for the Palo Alto/South Bay region. There are many opportunities to teach and precept APPE students throughout the year.
What are the staffing requirements?
Staffing requirements include ambulatory and inpatient service commitments. Both are longitudinal experiences occurring at least once weekly for a minimum of a 4-hour shift. Staffing commitments may be adjusted to meet the needs of the pharmacy department.
Ambulatory care responsibilities include the provision of comprehensive medication management for patients with chronic conditions.
Inpatient pharmacy responsibilities include unit dose and IV order verification, checking unit doses and IVs, and answering drug information or pharmacy-related questions from other health care providers.