Located in an eastern suburb of Cleveland, Hillcrest Hospital is a Cleveland Clinic hospital and Level II trauma center with a Level III neonatal intensive care unit. Other medical specialties include cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, critical care, high risk obstetrics, oncology, orthopedics, pediatrics, infectious disease and emergency medicine. Residents will assist in the precepting of Doctor of Pharmacy Candidates from several schools of Pharmacy in the United States.

Required Rotations: All rotations are 4 weeks in length except longitudinal rotations which are a minimum of 6 months.

  • Orientation/Training
  • Research Month
  • Cardiology
  • Internal Medicine
  • Critical Care or Neonatology
  • Infectious Disease
  • Administration
  • Drug Information
  • Pharmacy Practice
  • Ambulatory: Primary Care or Oncology
  • Longitudinal Research
  • Longitudinal Drug Distribution
  • Longitudinal Medication Use Evaluation

Elective Rotations:

  • Emergency Medicine
  • Neonatology/Pediatrics (If not done as requirement)
  • Critical Care (If not done as requirement)
  • Oncology (If not done as requirement)
  • Ambulatory Care (If not done as requirement)

Purpose/Intended Outcomes

Intended Outcomes of Residency Training

  • Manage and improve the medication-use process
  • Provide evidence based, patient centered medication therapy management with interdisciplinary teams
  • Exercise leadership and practice management skills
  • Demonstrate project management skills
  • Provide medication and practice related education and training
  • Utilize medical informatics

Elective outcomes

  • Contribute to the formulary decisions
  • Provide drug information to health care professionals and or the public
  • Demonstrates additional competencies that contribute to working successfully in the health care environment

Purpose Statement

The Hillcrest PGY1 Pharmacy residency program will build on the Doctor of Pharmacy education and outcomes to contribute to the development of clinical pharmacists responsible for medication related care of patients with a wide range of health conditions, eligible for board certification and eligible for post graduate year two (PGY2) pharmacy residency training.

Meetings and Conferences

Travel to pharmacy professional meetings is an important component of the Hillcrest Pharmacy Residency. All residents are required to attend the ASHP Midyear meeting, during which residency recruitment occurs. Networking opportunities are numerous at this annual meeting. In the spring, residents formally present their projects at the Ohio Residency Conference. Residents are required to attend and participate in the Fall and Spring Ohio College of Clinical Pharmacy meetings. Additionally, residents will attend the Fall Ohio Society of Health System Pharmacists Residency Showcase. Accommodations, travel and expenses will be reimbursed for local, state and national meetings.

Medication Usage Evaluation

Residents will complete a medication use evaluation (MUE) in the early part of the residency year with the intent of preparing a poster for presentation at the ASHP Midyear. The goal is to help you learn how to develop a systematic process designed to determine and maintain the appropriate and effective use of medications. A mentor will be assigned to help you with the MUE project. Residents will present their MUE at the Hillcrest P&T.

Residents will complete a P&T formulary review and present findings to the Hillcrest P&T meeting. Residents will also have the opportunity to present the formulary evaluation at the regional Cleveland Clinic P&T meeting.

Staffing Requirements

ASHP guidelines recommend that each PGY1 resident complete a pharmacy practice component of the residency program. The staffing component is crucial to the development of professional practice skills and of pharmacy practice distribution skills.

Residents will gain proficiency in distribution skills, incorporation of clinical services and development of personnel management skills. They also will develop insight into the operations, policies and procedures of an acute care facility.

  • PGY1 residents are required to staff every third weekend in the pharmacy. Residents will also staff during the following holidays: Labor Day, Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving and Memorial Day.
  • Residents may choose to cover additional pharmacist shifts and will be compensated at the standard time and a half pharmacist rate. Residents are reminded that the primary objective of the residency year relates to the residency program objectives. Achievement of these objectives should not be hindered by other activities, including extra staffing. All request to work extra shifts must be submitted in writing to the RPD. RPD will approve based upon the progress of the resident after consulting with current preceptors.
  • Residents are scheduled to participate in the Department of Pharmacy Administrative Staff Meeting on a monthly basis. This experience serves to support the development of an understanding of global issues, while supporting the activities of the group.
  • Pharmacy managers for the assigned practice areas serve as preceptors for the practice (staffing) rotation. Evaluations of residents' performance in this component of the program are completed three times during the residency year. Residents are expected to complete an evaluation of the staffing component and offer suggestions for improvement of operational procedures.

Evaluations

During the year, residents will be evaluated by rotation preceptors, the Program Director, and themselves.

Prior to the start of each new rotation, the resident will meet with the rotation preceptor to discuss and customize the rotation's goals and objectives in order to meet the specific needs of the resident. During the rotation, residents meet with preceptors on a regular basis, as determined by the preceptor and resident. Preceptors will complete a snapshot evaluation after two weeks of the rotation are complete and the pharmacy resident will complete a self-evaluation. Within two-three days of completing the rotation, residents meet with their preceptors for evaluation purposes: preceptors evaluate the residents; residents evaluate preceptors and the rotation; and they conduct a self-assessment. Any modifications to the rotation or its goals and objectives may be discussed. All resident and rotation evaluations must be in written form and included in Pharmacademic. Residents and preceptors will complete the evaluations separately and then meet to discuss the evaluations. Each resident will keep copies of the rotation evaluations and quarterly evaluations electronically in the Pharmacademic system as well as in the resident binder. Evaluations in Pharmacademic are available to the preceptors, and all members of the Resident Steering Committee. All evaluations must be completed as discussed in the resident policy and procedure for documentation.