PGY1 pharmacy residency program

Program Goals and Objectives

The objective of the PGY1 pharmacy residency program is to develop each individual learner into a well-rounded pharmacist practitioner with the clinical knowledge and skills to provide comprehensive pharmacotherapeutic care, work within a multidisciplinary team to optimize clinical outcomes, mentor and precept learners, and pursue advanced training opportunities, including postgraduate year two (PGY2) residencies.

Residents who successfully complete this PGY1 pharmacy residency program will be skilled in:

• Comprehensive medication management for diverse acute and chronic disease states
• Effective clinical communication and documentation
• Practice management and understanding of performance metrics
• Effective precepting strategies for pharmacy students
• Self-assessment and goal setting 

Program Activities

Residency Rotations and Experiences

The residency experiences consist of 10 rotations lasting 4 to 6 weeks in duration.  The resident schedule is comprised of 7 required rotations and 3 elective rotations (one required off-site rotation;  location at the residency leadership’s discretion).  All rotation experiences are completed at the Dallas/Fort Worth/Bonham VA Medical Center (VAMC) and corresponding Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) unless otherwise noted below.

Required Block Rotations

• Orientation
• Ambulatory Care
• Internal Medicine I (fall)
• Internal Medicine II (spring)
• Drug Information
• Geriatrics
• Anticoagulation
• Pharmacy Management

Longitudinal Learning Experiences 

• Research/Quality Improvement
• VA Adverse Drug Event Reporting System
• Clinical Staffing

Elective Block Rotations 

• Cardiopulmonary Intensive Care Unit
• Hematology/Oncology
• Infectious Disease
• Mental Health
• Rural Health
• Surgical/Thoracic Intensive Care
• Acute Care Surgery
• Spinal Cord Injury
• Nutrition
• Heart Failure Clinic
• Cardiology (virtual)
• Endocrine and Specialty Care
• Inpatient Anticoagulation
• Pain Management
• Emergency Medicine

Residency Projects

Residents will participate in one research project and one quality improvement project. 

Teaching Activities

Teaching activities for residents are designed to complement clinical practice activities and allow the resident to experience a variety of teaching methods.  Residents will be required to demonstrate the skills to function proficiently in an academic setting through the following activities:

Teaching and Learning Curriculum Program (optional) offered by Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is designed to introduce educational pedagogy to pharmacy residents that are interested in a career path that involves teaching, precepting, and scholarship. The major goal of the training program is to supplement a strong clinical background with the skills needed to become a successful educator. 

Experiential Teaching (required) will be incorporated into the residency year as residents independently precept third and/or fourth year pharmacy students.

Other Teaching/Educational Opportunities will be required through delivery of in services, topic discussions, presentations, etc. 

Additional activites

Resident Rounds Seminar Series  

Residents will present a formal ACPE accredited CE presentation to VANTHCS pharmacy staff. 

Regional Conference

Residents will participate in a regional residency research conference to present their project results.

Poster Presentation

Residents are required to present a poster of their research/quality improvement project prior to graduation

Residency leadership

Information for PGY1 applicants

Qualifications: 

Residency applicants must be U.S. citizens, have a Pharm.D. degree from an ACPE- accredited school of pharmacy, and be a licensed pharmacist or be eligible for licensure in at least one U.S. state, territory, or the District of Columbia. Applicants must have a minimum pharmacy school GPA of 3.2 or equivalent. Applicants from pass/fail curriculums may also apply.

Applications are only accepted through the Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PhORCAS). Candidates will be ranked and positions filled by submission through National Matching Service (NMS).

NMS code: 182313

Interested applicants should submit a letter of interest*, 3 letters of recommendation (2 of which must be from clinical preceptors)**, curriculum vitae, official pharmacy school transcripts, and a completed application form on PhORCAS by Friday, January 2, 2026, at 11:59pm EST. 

*Letter of interest should address these questions in a bulleted fashion:

1. Why do you want to do your PGY1 residency at the VA North Texas Health Care System? 

2. Name something you are proud of where you took a leadership role, initiative, or planned an event. How did you accomplish this and how did it turn out?

3. From these characteristics/qualities: adaptability, time management, ability to take and apply constructive criticism, and ability to work under pressure/stress, pick 2 characteristics that you feel you excel at and provide specific examples.

4. From these characteristics/qualities: adaptability, time management, ability to take and apply constructive criticism, and ability to work under pressure/stress, pick 2 characteristics that you feel you need to improve on and provide specific examples.

5. For the ones you chose that you need to improve on, how do you feel a residency at VA North Texas specifically will help you to improve in these areas?

**Letters of recommendation should address all of the following characteristics:

1. Your ability to organize and manage your time 

2. Your independence and resourcefulness

3. Your emotional stability and maturity

4. Your ability to accept constructive criticism

Contact Information

NTX119PharmacyResidencyPrograms@va.gov