PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program

Required

• Orientation (4 weeks)
• Inpatient (4 weeks)
• Outpatient (4 weeks)
• Behavioral Health – Inpatient and Outpatient (6 weeks)
• Internal Medicine (6 weeks)
• Anticoagulation Management (6 weeks)
• Primary Care (PACT) (6 weeks/longitudinal)
• Practice Management (longitudinal)
• Project (longitudinal)
• Staffing (One weekend per month - two 8-hour shifts) *

*Dual appointment may be offered for resident staffing requirement

Elective

At the Montana VA Health Care System, we aim to tailor the resident’s learning experience to their personal and professional goals. A wide variety of elective learning opportunities are offered with this in mind. The program also offers the flexibility to create new learning opportunities based on the resident’s interests. Current elective rotations are as follows:

• Antimicrobial Stewardship (6 weeks)
• Formulary Management/Informatics (6 weeks)
• Home Based Primary Care (6 weeks)
• Oncology (6 weeks)
• Pain Management (6 weeks)
• Primary Care (PACT) II (6 weeks)
• Teaching Certificate (Longitudinal)

Applicants to the Montana VA PGY1 Residency program must meet the following general requirements at the time of entry into the program:

• Doctor of Pharmacy degree from an ACPE-accredited School of Pharmacy
• Active pharmacist license OR eligibility in U.S state
• U.S. citizenship
• Minimum 3.0 GPA or a minimum of 3 years’ experience in pharmacy practice

The Montana VA PGY1 Residency program participates in the ASHP National Residency Matching Program and will comply with all rules associated with this program.  Residents applying must also adhere to the rules of the resident matching program.  Application materials must be submitted through PhORCAS/WebAdmit, and include:

• A letter of interest
• Curriculum vitae
• Official pharmacy school transcripts
• Three professional letters of recommendation

Members of the Residency Advisory Committee (RAC) will screen all application materials and will invite the most qualified applicants to an on-site or virtual interview.  The interview will be performance-based and conducted by several members of the RAC.  Application materials, results of the interview and program alignment with the applicant’s goals and objectives will be considered in the final ranking of applicants submitted to the Matching Program.

The application deadline for the 2024-2025 academic year is Jan. 1, 2024.

Haley Meredith

Haley Meredith

haley.meredith@va.gov

Hometown: Jerome, ID

Pharmacy School: University of Montana

Why did you choose to complete your residency at the Montana VA Health Care System?

After finishing a fourth-year inpatient rotation at Fort Harrison, I knew Montana VA could help me become the practitioner I want to be. Pharmacists in the VA operate at the highest level of clinical practice, and they challenge students and residents to think creatively and independently. Combined with the honor of practicing pharmacy as a public servant, the VA offered everything I was looking for in a residency.

What are your professional interests and goals?

My professional interests are broad, but include women’s health, endocrinology, critical care, informatics, and education. To me, one of the most gratifying aspects of pharmacy is empowering patients to feel in control of their medication regimens. To that end, I hope to have a career working as a clinical pharmacy practitioner in the inpatient or ambulatory setting.

What is your favorite thing about living in Helena?

I love Helena’s arts scene, architecture, coffee shops, and the fact that I can commute to Ft. Harrison from downtown via bicycle; but my favorite thing about Helena are my friends who live here and the fun we get up to – camping especially.

Jenna Schabacker

Jenna Schabacker

jenna.schabacker@va.gov 

Hometown: Billings, MT

Pharmacy School: University of Montana

Why did you choose to complete your residency at the Montana VA Health Care System?

I chose to complete my residency at the Montana VA Health Care System in part because I wanted to work with veterans. Working with the veteran population is both an honor and a deeply meaningful opportunity.

Additionally, the Montana VA offers a collaborative and supportive learning environment where pharmacists are empowered to practice at the top of their license. I especially appreciate the knowledgeable and enthusiastic preceptors here, as well as this program’s commitment to resident growth and development. 

What are your professional interests and goals?

I’m excited to explore the diverse roles pharmacists fill within the VA system—from dispensing and primary care to acute care and beyond. One of my key goals is to develop a strong clinical foundation across these areas so I can better understand where I’d like to focus my career in the future.

I’m also looking forward to opportunities to work with pharmacy students and begin building my skills as a future preceptor. Contributing to the growth and development of future pharmacists is something I hope to be a part of throughout my career.

What is your favorite thing about living in Helena, Montana?

One of my favorite things about living in Helena is the unique balance it offers—there’s a vibrant, welcoming community with great local coffee shops, breweries, and live music; yet it still maintains the charm and close-knit feel of a small Montana town. Surrounded by beautiful mountains, Helena also offers numerous opportunities for outdoor adventures. It’s a great place to live, work, and recharge outside of residency.

Montana VA Health Care System serves approximately 38,000 of the 47,000 enrolled Veterans across Montana. Montana VA Health Care System has 17 sites of care statewide including: a VA Medical Center at Fort Harrison, a Health Care Center in Billings, 14 Community Based Outpatient Clinics, a Primary Care Telehealth Outreach Clinic, a 20-bed Community Living Center in Miles City, and a Sleep Disorders Center. Fort Harrison VAMC has 29 authorized/18 operational acute care medical/surgical beds (including six ICU) offering a broad range of acute, chronic, and specialized inpatient and outpatient services. Fort Harrison operates a 24-bed residential rehabilitation unit for PTSD and Substance Abuse treatment.

Pharmacy Service operates two main dispensing pharmacies at the Fort Harrison and Billings sites, providing more than 766,00 prescriptions to 31,000 unique Veterans in fiscal year 2020. Clinical staff pharmacists rotate through inpatient and outpatient settings at Fort Harrison, with designated clinical pharmacists supporting inpatient programs, formulary management, computer applications, and quality assurance activities. Clinical pharmacist practitioners supporting primary care, home-based primary care, anticoagulation, pain management, and behavioral health programs operate under an approved scope of practice that includes medication prescriptive authority and the ability to order labs and other testing to monitor medication therapy.