PGY1 pharmacy residency program
The PGY1 pharmacy residency is a 1-year postgraduate program that provides training and experience in pharmacy practice and education.
Points of contact
Tania Chopra PharmD, BCPS, FCSHP
PGY1 Residency Program Director
VA Palo Alto health care
Email: Tania.Chopra@va.gov
Pharmacy service
VA Palo Alto health care consists of 3 inpatient facilities located at Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Livermore, in addition to 4 Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in San Jose, Capitola, Monterey, and Fremont, as well as 2 residential homes for Veterans in the Compensated Work Therapy program. VA Palo Alto health care operates over 600 beds, including 3 nursing homes and a 100-bed homeless domiciliary - all to serve more than 67,000 unique Veterans.
Learn more about VA Palo Alto health care
The health care system is affiliated with Stanford School of Medicine, and the pharmacy service is affiliated with University of the Pacific (UOP) School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California (USC) School of Pharmacy, and Touro University California School of Pharmacy.
The VA Palo Alto pharmacy service provides 24-hour coverage, 7 days a week. Patient care is provided by a staff of more than 200 pharmacists, residents, students, and technicians practicing in the inpatient and ambulatory care setting. The pharmacy also provides a Pharmacoeconomics Center, and staff to participate in local, regional, and national committees.
About our program
The PGY1 pharmacy residency is a 1-year postgraduate program that provides training and experience in pharmacy practice and education. Patient care responsibilities are foremost; residents also receive instruction and experience in management, managed care, and research. Residents are provided with ample opportunities to teach in clinical clerkship and didactic settings. The residency offers an optional teaching certificate program through the University of the Pacific. A residency project is required and a focus on economics, outcomes analysis, or health care policy is encouraged.
Learning experiences
Core rotations
- Orientation (4 weeks)
- Ambulatory Care I (6 weeks)
- Geriatrics (6 weeks)
- Internal Medicine (6 weeks)
- Formulary Management (4 weeks)
- Medication Safety Management (4 weeks)
Longitudinal rotations
- Quality Improvement (QI) Project
- Service Commitment: Ambulatory Care and In-Patient
- Pharmacy Leadership and Management
- Grand Rounds Presentation
Elective rotations (4 weeks)*
- Academic Detailing
- Ambulatory Care II
- Critical Care
- Emergency Medicine
- Harm Reduction/Substance Use Disorder
- Hematology/Oncology
- Infectious Disease: Inpatient and Outpatient
- Oncology Operations
- Pain Management
- Pharmacogenomics
- Psychiatry: Inpatient and Outpatient
- Spinal Cord Injury/Disorder
*Other elective learning experiences may be developed based on resident interest and preceptor availability.
Benefits
- Free parking
- Medical insurance
- Paid educational leave*
- Sick leave – 13 days/year
- Uniform/laundry service
- Vacation – 13 days/year
*Residents are paid for their time to attend conferences, although funding to support travel and conference registration may be limited.
How to apply
Our program participates in the ASHP PhORCAS system and National Matching Service. This residency site agrees that no person at this site will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any residency applicant.
NMS Number: 191213
Eligibility requirements
Prior to match:
1. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen.
After the match:
2. Return signed resident appointment letter by the stated deadline.
3. Successfully pass a pre-employment physical exam.
4. Pharmacist licensure in at least one state secured within 120 days of starting residency.
Candidates wishing to apply are required to submit the following via PhORCAS:
- A “letter of intent” stating why you are pursuing a residency position in our program (max. 1 page)
- A current curriculum vitae
- VA form 10-2850D - Application for health professions trainees
- A current official School of Pharmacy transcript
- Three letters of recommendation. One of the reference writers must be a clinical rotation preceptor. All 3 reference writers should use the standard PhORCAS template to submit their recommendation.
PHORCAS applications are due January 2 unless it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, then applications are due the next business day.
Frequently asked questions and answers
Below is a list of frequently asked questions and answers regarding the PGY1 pharmacy residency program at VA Palo Alto.
How long are your learning experiences for each rotation?
Core block rotations will vary between 4 to 6 weeks in length depending on the experience, while elective block rotations are 4 weeks long.
There are 5 core block rotations. Ambulatory care, geriatrics and internal medicine are 6 week experiences. Medication safety and formulary management are 4 week experiences. Residents get a total of 16 weeks of electives, approximately, 4 elective block rotations during the year.
Each longitudinal rotation is approximately 11 months long.
Longitudinal rotations include: Service commitments in ambulatory care and inpatient operations, quality improvement project, and pharmacy leadership & management.
Can you describe the longitudinal pharmacy leadership and management rotation?
The rotation consists of three distinct activities:
- Meetings to discuss topics related to pharmacy leadership and practice management.
- Workshops focused on building self-assessment and leadership skills, and applying them to pharmacy-related situations, and
- Gaining leadership experience in pharmacy department responsibilities, committees, and committee contribution.
These activities will be rotated in 3-4 month blocks.
How flexible is the program with electives?
During orientation, residents will be asked to rank electives based on interest and plans for applying to PGY2 programs.
On a quarterly basis and at any time during the program year, residents have the opportunity to discuss their schedule with the residency program director if interests change.
Does your program offer a teaching certificate program?
Yes, VA Palo Alto residency program offers a teaching certificate program through the University of the Pacific School of Pharmacy, and it's optional.
VA Palo Alto is the regional APPE site of UOP for the Palo Alto/South Bay region. There are many opportunities to teach and precept APPE students throughout the year.
What are the staffing requirements?
Staffing requirements include ambulatory and inpatient service commitments. Both are longitudinal experiences and will be scheduled and adjusted to meet the needs of the pharmacy department.
Ambulatory care responsibilities include using population health tools to improve health outcomes for patients with chronic conditions.
Inpatient pharmacy responsibilities include unit dose and IV order verification, checking unit doses and IVs, and answering drug information or pharmacy-related questions from other health care providers.