Postgraduate Year 1 (PGY1) Pharmacy Residency Program

About Fargo & Fargo Veteran Health Care System:

The Fargo VA is in Fargo, North Dakota, and is situated on the Red River of the North which divides North Dakota and Minnesota. The Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo metro is a growing community that is home to approximately 250,000 people.

The Fargo VA is part of the VISN 23 Healthcare Network. The facility is a Joint Commission accredited hospital providing services across acute care, in the Community Living Center, Primary Care and Specialty Medicine Clinics, 10 Community Based Outpatient Clinics, and one Community Resource Referral Center. Our staff provide health care to more than 34,000 Veterans living in North Dakota and portions of northwest Minnesota and northeast South Dakota. This program offers the resident opportunities to extensively practice in both ambulatory and acute care settings. The program provides opportunity to develop knowledge, skills, and philosophy of pharmacy practice.

Program Purpose:

PGY1 pharmacy residency programs build upon Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) education and outcomes to develop pharmacist practitioners with knowledge, skills, and abilities as defined in the educational competency areas, goals, and objectives. Residents who successfully complete PGY1 residency programs will be skilled in diverse patient care, practice management, leadership, and education, and be prepared to provide patient care, seek board certification in pharmacotherapy (i.e., BCPS), and pursue advanced education and training opportunities including postgraduate year two (PGY2) residencies.

About the Program:

The Fargo VA’s Pharmacy Residency Program has been accredited by ASHP since 1993. The program offers two PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program positions each year. Residency is 52-weeks in duration and begins approximately July 1 each year. Our program offers a balance of inpatient and outpatient rotational experiences as well as flexibility in elective rotations to customize the resident’s year.

Each resident will have the opportunity for 3 months of elective experiences to allow flexibility of the resident learning experience. Elective experience is specifically intended to tailor the residency experience to the resident’s needs. It is possible to elect to work in one area for more time to gain more confidence and skills (e.g., primary care or internal medicine). Any required learning experience can be repeated for an elective learning experience. Potential elective learning experiences are as follows but are subject to change depending on provider availability: infectious disease, CLC/palliative care, geriatric PACT (home-based primary care), emergency medicine, pain management, and Oncology and Infusion. Other elective learning experiences may be developed based on resident interest and preceptor availability.

Requirements for successful completion of the PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program:

• Obtain pharmacist licensure within 90 days of start of residency program.
• Satisfactory completion of at least 85% of the objectives in “Achieved” status with no objectives rated at “1 – functioning at the level of a pharmacy student (fundamental awareness)” at the end of the year.
• Satisfactory completion of all rotations. If a rotation is not satisfactorily completed, appropriate remedial work must be completed as determined by the preceptors and program director.
• Completion of all evaluations (summative self, learning experience, preceptor, and residency) within the designated timeframe.
• Completion of a residency project with a manuscript submitted to the residency program director and for publication if desired.
• Completion of all assignments, presentations and projects requested by the preceptors and residency program director. At a minimum, this includes:

                    -2 in-services to professional staff

                    -4 journal club presentations

                     -Formal project presentation

                     -Create a drug monograph, drug class review, or create or update a drug use protocol or guideline as requested by the hospital or P&T Committee.

                     -Complete a medication use evaluation.

                      -Write 2 pharmacy newsletters.

• Review and report, when appropriate, all adverse drug events.
• Accomplish all tasks and duties in a timely manner.
• Precept pharmacy students who are on introductory or advanced rotations as directed and provide feedback to the overseeing preceptor.
• Completed resident electronic portfolio turned in to the residency program director.
• Receive clearance as appropriate.

Teaching certificate:

Residents may optionally participate in a teaching certificate through North Dakota State University.

Staffing:

Residents work every 3rd weekend during the year, 0730-1600 on both Saturdays and Sundays. On the Monday following the weekend worked, residents have the first 4 hours of their tour of duty off; the last 4 hours are worked in the outpatient centralized pharmacy to maintain skills in this area.

Benefits:

• Stipend: $47,995 (subject to change annually)
• 4 hours of annual leave and 4 hours of sick leave per pay period (26 pay periods per year) for those without prior government service.*
• 11 Federal Holidays off*
• Health and life insurance – information can be found at http://www.opm.gov

*Leave used during the residency year is not to exceed 37 days over the 52-week training period, inclusive of holidays off, per ASHP accreditation standards.

Applicant Requirements:

The Department of Veterans Affairs adheres to all federal Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action policies. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA)/Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA) oversees all clinical health professions training programs. To participate in training at a VA you will receive a Federal Appointment. However, to be appointed you must be eligible. Please review this checklist to confirm eligibility.

Additionally, applicants must be:

• United States Citizens by the application deadline
• Graduates or (or will graduate from) an ACPE-accredited School or College of Pharmacy
• Licensed or eligible for licensure in a US state or territory prior to beginning the residency program
• Registered with the ASHP Resident Matching Program
• Application materials must be submitted through PhORCAS and include:

            -Official academic transcript(s)

           - Curriculum Vitae

           - Letter of intent

           - 3 letters of recommendation using the standardized template in PhORCAS

Licensure requirements:

PGY1 Pharmacy Residents at the Fargo VA must obtain pharmacist licensure in a US state or territory within 90 days of the start of the program.