About the Program: Staffing
Consistent with ASHP guidelines, each resident is required to complete a pharmacy practice component of the residency program. Often referred to as "staffing," the practice component is crucial to the development of professional practice skills and of pharmacy practice distribution skills.
With this experience, 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 acute care facilities. The guidelines for the Pharmacy Practice Component are:
Each resident is expected to practice as a pharmacist in a designated area throughout the residency year.- Pharmacy Practice residents are required to staff every other weekend for the first six months of the residency. If a resident is declared proficient, they will staff every third weekend for the last six months of the residency. Staffing requirements for Specialty Residents vary, and depend upon the resident's experience. Residents, within the framework of a salaried position, have flexibility to meet their personal needs.
- The weekend practice experience options include oncology, pediatrics, medicine, and surgery-medicine.
- Residents are assigned to an area, attempting to match the area and the resident's interests.
- Residents, as members of the professional staff of the Pharmacy Department, are expected to assist with holiday coverage during the residency year. Residents are expected to cover one winter holiday shift (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day) and two summer holiday shifts (Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day) during the residency year. Every effort will be made to accommodate a resident's preference for the specific holiday assignment. The final day and shift for major or minor holidays will be mutually agreed upon with the area manager.
Residents may choose to cover additional pharmacist shifts and will be compensated at the standard pharmacist rate, including shift differential. 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.- Residents are scheduled to participate in the Department of Pharmacy Administrative Staff Meeting on a rotating basis. This rotation 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.
