Skip to Content

PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program

VA Health Care – Defining EXCELLENCE in the 21st Century. The Pharmacy Residency Program at the Kansas City VA has been defining excellence in pharmacy practice since 1988. We are proud to be a part of the largest program for advanced clinical pharmacy training in the country. Nationally, the VA trains over 600 residents annually in over 200 American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacy (ASHP) accredited residencies.

Kansas City VA Clinical Pharmacy Services

Patient care is provided by a staff of approximately 60 pharmacists and 35 pharmacy technicians. In addition to distributive functions, a wide variety of clinical services are maintained to ensure our Veterans receive optimal care.  Clinical Pharmacy Practitioners play an integral role by enhancing care to patients in all settings at the KCVA including primary and specialty care, both at the medical center and in community based clinics.  These pharmacists function as licensed independent practitioners and work under a scope of practice to provide medication therapy management services.

Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Services

Clinical pharmacy services for primary care are provided by 22 pharmacists at the main campus, outlying CBOCs and in Home Based Primary Care.  15 clinical pharmacy practitioners practice in multiple other specialty areas including geriatrics, behavioral health, cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, infectious diseases, oncology, pulmonary, pain management, substance use disorders, and anticoagulation. 4 clinical technicians offer support to pharmacy practitioners in anticoagulation, pain, primary care and surgery.

Acute Care Pharmacy Services

In addition to centralized pharmacists supporting the 24 hour operational hospital pharmacy, 6 pharmacists provide care in the emergency room and 13 clinical pharmacists are aligned with inpatient care teams including internal medicine, psychiatry, critical care, cardiology, surgery, and infectious diseases/antimicrobial stewardship. 

Additionally, our pharmacists promote the pharmacy profession through involvement in multidisciplinary committees and work groups throughout the medical center.

Purpose

PGY1 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.

Program Overview

 This 52-week residency in Pharmacy has been conducted for over 30 years.  The ASHP Accredited PGY1 Pharmacy Residency program at the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center offers training opportunities for the individual desiring to develop clinical competency in both acute and ambulatory clinic settings. This Pharmacy practice training program offers a variety learning experiences designed to build the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to provide personalized pharmaceutical care services and enhance patient outcomes in all care settings.

Residency Structure

After a 6 week Orientation period, the residency is divided into 8 block rotations along with condensed and longitudinal experiences.  The rotations are arranged to combine required experiences along with electives in the resident’s identified area of interest to allow for growth of skills throughout the year.  Simultaneously, the resident is expected to prioritize and work on ongoing requirements in longitudinal clinical, didactic, management and residency project rotations.

In each experience, the resident works closely with the residency director and the rotation preceptor to develop goals and objectives that will assist the resident in expanding skills for current and future practice.  Regular meetings with the residency director ensure that long-term goals are met.

Position Details:

Duration: 52 weeks
Position(s): 4
Starting Date: June 30, 2025
Estimated Stipend: $48,687 plus compensation for staffing
Application Deadline: January 2, 2025
Interview Required: Yes

Benefits:

Benefits include health insurance, annual leave (vacation), time off for illness/appointments/family care and paid federal holidays.

Residency Program Director

Lauri Witt

Lauri Witt PharmD, BCACP

PGY1/PGY2 Residency Program Director, Pulmonary Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner

VA Kansas City health care

Phone:

Email: lauri.witt@va.gov

Current Residents

Brianna Caravella

Brianna Caravella PharmD

University of Missouri-Kansas City

VA Kansas City health care

Email: brianna.caravella@va.gov

Cassandra Hoover

Cassandra Hoover PharmD

University of Missouri-Kansas City

VA Kansas City health care

Email: cassandra.hoover@va.gov

Taylor Lueder

Taylor Lueder PharmD

University of Wisonsin-Madison

VA Kansas City health care

Email: taylor.lueder@va.gov

Alexa Spargo

Alexa (Reynders) Spargo PharmD

University of Kansas

VA Kansas City health care

Email: alexa.spargo@va.gov

How to Apply

KCVA Pharmacy Residency Programs participate in the Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PhORCAS).  To apply,  the following must be submitted through PhORCAS by the deadline to be considered for an on-site interview:

  • Letter of Intent
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Pharmacy school transcripts
  • Three completed references in PhORCAS
  • Supplemental question: In 3-5 sentences, explain why you are specifically interested in completing your PGY1 residency at KCVA?

Past Residents

Residency Projects

  • The program is designed to provide the resident with advanced competencies in a complex, Veteran-centric health care environment leading to specialized clinical and leadership skills. Specifically, the program provides training in culturally sensitive, patient-centered care using empirically based best practices and interprofessional collaboration.

  • The KCVA Ocular Disease Residency with an emphasis on Glaucoma and Low Vision is looking for enthusiastic individuals who enjoy learning in an exciting medical center environment. Three residents are selected each year. The program is affiliated with the UMSL College of Optometry and was the first COE approved residency program in the United States. As of July 2021, the program has graduated 115 residents.

  • 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.

  • The ASHP Accredited PGY2 Infectious Diseases residency program at the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center offers training opportunities for the individual desiring to develop clinical competency in the specialized area of infectious diseases pharmacotherapy. This 12-month training program offers a variety of inpatient and outpatient learning experiences designed to build the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for the delivery of pharmaceutical care to patients.

  • Welcome to Psychology Training at Kansas City VA Medical Center. We provide psychology training across all levels, including practicum, internship, and psychology residency training.

Last updated: