PGY2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency
The Ralph H. Johnson VAMC offers a 12-month, PGY2 ambulatory care pharmacy residency designed to develop the knowledge and clinical skills necessary to practice in a wide array of adult ambulatory care settings. The goal of this residency is to provide experiential training in ambulatory care pharmacy practice to prepare pharmacists to become independent clinical practitioners of direct patient care with the skills necessary for attainment of a clinical pharmacy position and knowledge to obtain board certification as an ambulatory care pharmacist.
Residency Program Specifics
- Duration: 12 months
- Number of Positions: 1
- Application Deadline: December 31
- Estimated Starting Date: July 1
- Estimated Stipend: $44,597
Basic Requirements
- Doctor of Pharmacy Degree (Pharm.D.) from an ACPE-Accredited College of Pharmacy
- Licensure may be through any U.S. State Board of Pharmacy
- U.S. citizenship
- Application, Curriculum Vitae, Academic Transcripts, Letter of Intent and Three Letters of Reference
- On-site interview
- Completion of an accredited PGY1 Residency
Following orientation in July, the residency is made up of core, longitudinal, extended, and elective experiences.
Core Experiences:
- Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) (Primary Care) – extended experience (12 months)
- Anticoagulation – extended experience (6 months)
- Specialty (Neurology) – extended experience (6 months)
- Pharmacy Administration
- Specialty 2 rotation (chosen from elective experiences below)
Longitudinal Experiences:
- Staffing (minimum 16 hours per month)
- Journal Club Coordinator (monthly for PharmD students)
- Non-formulary Drug Management Consult Review Service
- Pharmacy Service Expansion Project
- Clinical Pharmacy Research Project
Elective Experiences
During these months, the resident tailors the residency to his/her interest area(s). Potential electives include:
- Anemia
- Cardiology
- Endocrinology
- Gastroenterology
- Geriatrics/Home Based Primary Care
- Hematology/Oncology
- Infectious Disease
- Mental Health
- Nephrology
- Pain Management
- Pulmonary
- Rheumatology
- Transplant
Some of these clinics are not in operation each day of the week, therefore it may be possible to combine 2 specialty clinics into a month-long ration. The resident also has the opportunity to request to complete additional elective time in a core rotation if desired.
Requirements to receive Residency Certificate
All residents are expected to make satisfactory progress through the residency goals. Using a 3-point scale, the Ambulatory Care resident is required to achieve at least 80% of all required goals/objectives by the end of the residency year.
3: ACHIEVED: The resident has mastered the goals/objective and can perform associated tasks independently across the scope of pharmacy practice.
2: SATISFACTORY: The resident is performing and progressing at a rate that should eventually lead to mastery of the goal/objective during the residency year.
1: NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: The resident is not performing at a level expected of similar residents; significant improvement is needed to meet this goal/objective during the residency year
- Satisfactory completion of all rotational experiences.
- Completion of a service or research project including formal presentation of findings and a manuscript acceptable for publication or presentation.
- Completion of all assignments, presentations and projects as defined by the preceptors and residency program director.
- Active participation in department Medication Use Evaluation, Quality Assurance and Cost Savings initiatives.
- Compliance with all institutional and departmental policies.
- Participation in the teaching activities of the department, which may include clinical and didactic teaching for Pharmacy students, PGY 1 Pharmacy practice residents, medical students and residents, hospital personnel, and departmental staff.
- Completion of staffing commitment of 16 hours per month.
- Active participation in the recruitment efforts of the department.
Optional
Residents have the opportunity to participate in the teaching certificate program at the Medical University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy. The college will award a "certificate of academic preparation" at completion of the program.
Benefits
- Four hours vacation and sick leave earned per pay period (every two weeks)
- Paid administrative leave for educational meetings
- Financial support to help with attendance of ASHP Midyear Meeting and Southeastern States Residency Conference
- Opportunity for continuing education credits
- Pharmacist salary for staffing hours (in addition to/separate from residency stipend)
- Health and Life insurance available
- Free parking
Chief of Pharmacy

Sharon Castle Pharm D., BCPS
Acting, Assistant Director
VA Charleston health care
Phone: 843-789-6190
Program Director
Alison Martin PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist
VA Charleston health care
Phone: 843-577-5011 extension 205428
Email: alison.martin@va.gov