Pharmacy residency program at PVH

The Poudre Valley Hospital residency program began in 2011 and currently offers two Post-Graduate Year 1 (PGY1) positions. We are accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

Residency information

• Duration: 12 months
• Number of Positions: 2
• Application Deadline: 1/3/2020
• Starting Date: ~July 1
• Estimated Stipend: $56,000
• Interview Required: Yes

Residency special features

Poudre Valley Hospital offers a well-rounded training program via multidisciplinary, 4-6 week experiences in Critical Care, Inpatient Family Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Infectious Diseases/Antimicrobial Stewardship, NICU/Pediatrics, Oncology and Trauma. Many longitudinal experiences occur over the 12-month period. Two elective experiences of 3-4 weeks each are to be selected by the resident. A major residency project is required and also may be chosen by the resident. Various presentations include patient cases and journal clubs. Teaching opportunities are available through the University of Wyoming, School of Pharmacy. A teaching certificate is available through the University of Colorado.

Fringe benefits: Health, dental, disability and life insurance; ~21 days off for vacation, sick time, interviews, holidays; travel allowance.

• Training Site Type: Hospital
• Owner Affiliate: UCHealth
• Model Type(s): Community Hospital
• Tax Status: Non-profit
• Professional Staff: 25
• Non-Professional Staff: 17
• Number of Medical Centers: 5 in the northern Colorado region, 12 total in UCHealth
• Total Beds: 270
• Average Daily Census: 190

Site special features: Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins specializes in orthopedic surgery, neuroscience, oncology, bariatric weight-loss surgery, and women and family services for residents of northern Colorado, southern Wyoming and western Nebraska. Only an hour north of Denver, the area is rich with year-round outdoor activities, the beauty of four seasons and a generally mild climate.

Contact the Residency Program Director, Gina Harper, Pharm.D., BCPS for additional information: Gina.Harper@uchealth.org

All applications must be submitted through Phorcas and include the following:

• General Phorcas requirements
• Letter of Intent
  • Provide specific reason(s) you want to complete residency training
  • Include why you want to be a resident at PVH
  • Include your clinical interests and short/long term goals
• Curriculum vitae: be sure to include the following in your CV:
  • Length of 4th-year APPE clinical rotations (e.g. 4 weeks, 6 weeks)
  • Future APPEs to be completed in your 4th year
  • Description of APPE rotation activities
• Official pharmacy school transcript
• Three letters of recommendation
  • One recommendation must be from a current pharmacy faculty instructor
  • Two recommendations must be from pharmacist-preceptors or pharmacist-employers

Following the deadline, applications will be reviewed for on-site interviews. Candidates will be contacted as soon as the review process is complete. If you are offered an interview, they are typically held during certain days in the month of February.

Activities during the half-day interview include formal one-on-one discussions with our preceptors and residency director, a tour of the facility with our current resident and lunch with select members of our interview team. Presentations are also required, utilizing a provided patient case on the day of your interview.

You will be given 30 minutes to work up your case using basic pharmacy references (provided) and identify medical and/or medication therapy problems. The clinical issues and recommendations will then be presented by you over 15 minutes to a group of pharmacists.

The Residency Program manual includes an overview of the requirements, expectations and responsibilities of pharmacy residents at PVH.

Rotations

Learning experiences are completed at Poudre Valley Hospital, with the exceptions of Trauma at Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland and Ambulatory Care at the Family Medicine Center, located across the street from the hospital.

Orientation (5 weeks)

Required learning experiences (4-6 weeks each)

• Critical Care
• Family Medicine
• Emergency Medicine
• Infectious Diseases/Antimicrobial Stewardship
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit/Pediatrics
• Oncology
• Trauma, at Medical Center of the Rockies

Optional learning experiences, two-three to be completed (2-4 weeks each)

• Ambulatory Care
• In-depth version of a required rotation
• Rotations offered at other UCHealth hospitals (e.g. University of Colorado Hospital), as scheduling allows

Longitudinal learning experiences (throughout)

• Ambulatory Care: weekly half-day clinics
• Formulary Management: monthly meetings, Medication Use Evaluation, P&T monograph, newsletter article
• Major Residency project
• Medication safety: adverse drug reactions and medication errors
• Staffing: every other weekend (8.5 hours per day), varying day shift times; one summer and one winter holiday
• Presentations: patient cases or journal club with each rotation
• ACLS and Code Blue response