- What is the ASHP PGY2 Residency in Critical Care Pharmacy Practice?
- What are the goals of residency training at St. Luke’s?
- What is the history of the residency programs at St. Luke’s?
- How is the critical care residency offered at St. Luke’s?
- Tell me more about “staffing experiences.”
- What is our phramacist pratice model?
- What is the stipend, and what benefits are included?
- What other opportunities are available with the St. Luke’s residency?
- What about the Department of Pharmacy?
- What is desired in an applicant for the St. Luke’s residency?
- How does one apply and what about interviews?
- More information and materials?
1. What is the ASHP PGY2 Residency in Critical Care Pharmacy Practice?
A specialized residency in critical care pharmacy practice is defined by ASHP as an organized, directed postgraduate program that centers on developing a mastery of knowledge and an expert level of competency in critical care pharmacy practice. The residency is organized and conducted to develop expert skills and competency in providing pharmaceutical care services to patients who are critically ill. It should be a minimum of 12 months in length and is designed to build on those competencies developed by a Residency In Pharmacy Practice.
2. What are the goals of residency training at St. Luke’s?
The overall goal of the St. Luke’s residencies is to provide to the resident the practical training and experience that provides the opportunity and stimulus to develop, to the highest degree attainable, professional expertise and competence as a health-system pharmacy practitioner. Other goals are to provide a foundation for, and stimulate an interest in, the achievement of a leadership role in the profession; to support the attainment of professional self-realization; to prepare the resident for more advanced training or experiences, if that is the career objective; and, for the critical care specialty residency, to prepare the resident to be a competent practitioner in this challenging, exciting, and professionally rewarding practice.
3. What is the history of the residency programs at St. Luke’s?
An ASHP-accredited residency in hospital pharmacy was first initiated at St. Luke’s in 1973. It continued for some ten years, producing many graduates who have assumed significant positions in all areas of the country. The current pharmacy practice program has re-established our original tradition of excellence in residency training, brought up to date with the revised program standards under a completely new team of preceptors and staff. Full accreditation for the pharmacy practice program at St. Luke’s was awarded by the ASHP Commission on Credentialing in September, 1992, with full-cycle re-accreditation in 2004. As of Fall 2006 we have twenty-eight graduates of this program and two in training.
In 1996 a decision was made to expand pharmacy residency training at St. Luke’s to
include specialty training. Recognizing the international reputation of St. Luke’s in the areas of cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, and transplantation, the first specialty residency selected was critical care. The critical care program was awarded full ASHP accreditation in 1998 and full-cycle re-accreditation in 2004. As of Fall 2006 we have nine graduates of this program and one in training.
4. How is the critical care residency offered at St. Luke’s?
The residency is a full-time 52-week program which requires a commitment of 40-48 hours per week. The residency is conducted through the accomplishment of formal learning objectives, consistent with the accreditation standards of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). The program is custom tailored to each resident’s background, experiences, and personal goals for the program.
The start date of the residency is between July 1st and July 15th. Earlier or later start dates may be arranged based on individual circumstances. Ample time is given off to take the licensure exam if that is an issue. Pharmacist care staffing experiences generally do not exceed 16 hours in a 3-week period (e.g. every third weekend). Residents can expect to cover half of the designated holidays during the year. Two weeks of paid vacation are available during the year, and are given as additional pay if not used.
5. Tell me more about “staffing experiences.”
We knew you’d ask. Staffing experiences means working as a decentralized critical care pharmacist here at St. Luke’s on an every third weekend basis. The staffing is structured in that the experiences are discussed and assessed against learning objectives, assignments are made based on skill and experience needs of the resident, and many targeted drug monitoring and related DUE projects can be performed concurrently.
It is our belief that meaningful staffing experiences are absolutely necessary in the critical care residency. We are, after all, focused on training competent practitioners who will provide pharmaceutical care to critically ill patients. Staffing experiences give the resident the opportunity to function independently as a practitioner by conceptualizing and integrating accumulated experience and knowledge and transforming it into improved pharmaceutical care for patients who are critically ill. The absence of such experiences diminishes the resident’s growth and practice maturity in the program.
6. What is our pharmacist practice model?
Since 1987 we have had an integrated decentralized model that we have called PCAP (Patient Care Area Pharmacist). This model integrated clinical and drug distribution responsibilities. In 2002 we began the transition to a pure clinical practice model in the patient care areas, with all drug distribution activities centralized. The latter has been accomplished through the implementation of automated systems. It is also being facilitated by the implementation of a computerized prescriber order entry (CPOE) system in 2005. This new practice model will offer our residents the opportunity to experience the most contemporary of practice models.
7. What is the stipend, and what benefits are included?
The current stipend per year is $47,760 and this is paid in two-week intervals and is unfortunately taxed as salary.
Benefits are the same as for the pharmacist staff. St. Luke’s has a “choice plan” for insurance benefits, with many options available to fit the individual or family situation. St. Luke’s allocates “benefit dollars” to employees, who then can spend them on the benefits of their choice. The allocation covers well the needs of the individual employee, with payroll deduction for increased individual coverages or family/dependent plans. Accrued benefits (such as paid time off) are based on hours paid in coverage. Parking is provided at a low monthly fee at a remote lot or garage with free, safe, air-conditioned shuttle service at all hours.
Since we feel that participation at regional, national, and specialty practice meetings is very important, our objective is to fund at least three per year for the resident. Funded meetings can include both the Southwest and Midwest regional residency conferences; the ASHP Midyear meeting; the Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists Annual Seminar; and the Society of Critical Care Medicine Clinical Congress meetings. Presentations or posters are generally required to be submitted for each meeting attended. The resident has dedicated desk space with access to a personal computer with all contemporary software. Full internet access is provided, with e-mail services.
8. What other opportunities are available with the St. Luke’s residency?
A major advantage in taking the residency program at St. Luke’s is its location in the Texas Medical Center. This Center is the largest of its kind in the world, and is more than twice as large as the second largest (the NIH campus in Bethesda). It is a home for two colleges of medicine, two colleges of pharmacy, several colleges of nursing, dentistry, and other medical disciplines, nine academic institutions, a large central medical library complex, and twelve major hospitals representing over five thousand beds. It occupies over 500 acres, and is adjacent to the Rice University campus and the Hermann Park/Museum complex of the City of Houston. Immediately to the south is the large Reliant Park complex, featuring Reliant Stadium. The beaches and attractions of Galveston Island are less than an hour away. Thus, opportunities abound for educational, cultural, extramural and extracurricular activities.
St. Luke’s itself is home to the world-renowned Texas Heart Institute. The first human heart transplant in the US was performed at here at St. Luke’s. More open heart surgical procedures have been performed here than anywhere else in the world. St. Luke’s has the largest cardiac catheterization facility in the world as well. Dr. Denton Cooley heads a large team of cardiovascular physicians and surgeons, drawing patients from all over the globe. We recently became the primary adult teaching hospital for Baylor College of Medicine.
9. What about the Department of Pharmacy?
The Department of Pharmacy at St. Luke’s consists of 150 FTE’s, of which 80 are pharmacists. All contemporary services are provided. We emphasize being a “pharmacist-centered pharmacy in a patient-centered hospital.”
The hospital itself has 640 available beds, of which 143 are intensive care. It has forty-eight operating rooms and ten cardiac catheterization labs. The main patient tower is 26 stories, and across the street is the O’Quinn Medical Tower, a 27-story medical office building which has received numerous architectural awards.
The program director for the critical care residency is Greg Laine, MS, RPh, practitioner in pulmonary/cardiovascular critical care and clinical coordinator. He is assisted by Katheleen Pinto, PharmD, RPh, critical care practitioner in transplant cardiology and clinical coordinator, Jaye Weston, MS, RPh, critical care practitioner in infectious diseases and clinical coordinator, Thuy Nguyen, PharmD, RPh, critical care practitioner in neurology/neurosurgery and clinical coordinator, Stephen Michaud, RPh, critical care practitioner in cardiovascular surgery and clinical coordinator, Doug Pitre, MS, RPh, critical care practitioner in nephrology/nutritional support and clinical coordinator, Rebecca Bensler, PharmD, RPh, critical care practitioner in liver/renal transplantation and clinical coordinator and Kim Putney, PharmD, RPh, critical care practitioner in internal medicine and clinical pharmacy manager. Oversight of the program is provided by Joyce Tipton, RPh, MBA, Director of Pharmacy.
Other preceptors include clinical faculty from the University of Houston College of Pharmacy (infectious disease), a number of critical care pharmacists at St. Luke’s, several physician intensivists and sub-specialists, and clinical specialists in critical care at elective extramural sites.
10. What is desired in an applicant for the St. Luke’s residency?
We are looking for mature individuals who have made a career decision to become a leader in health-system or institutional pharmacy. The candidate must be prepared to make a serious commitment to satisfactorily complete all requirements of the program, as planned in advance. This commitment includes attendance at required meetings, programs, presentations and trips, and the availability and willingness to participate in any function of the Department of Pharmacy on a 24-hour basis. The residency is tailored to each individual, and regular evaluations of accomplishment must be satisfactory. This is a mature program for mature individuals who are serious about the profession as a lifelong career, and critical care as a specialty practice. Applicants should hold the PharmD degree and complete an ASHP-Accredited PGY1 Residency in Pharmacy Practice prior to starting the critical care residency. Texas licensure is required as well.
11. How does one apply and what about interviews?
Our application procedures, described on a separate document, include a hospital application form, professional resume, college transcripts (if less than five years post-graduation), letters of recommendation, and completion of a professional and career assessment cover letter. A previous pharmacy practice residency, or comparable career experiences, is a prerequisite for the program. Application deadline is January 15th, and the last date for interviews is normally one week before the ASHP match list submission date.
An on-site interview is considered very important and is normally required for a complete application. The on-site interview is normally a half day, and will include your presenting a twenty-minute inservice on a pharmacy/pharmaceutical topic of your choice to a group of pharmacists. Financial assistance for the on-site interview is not available, but we will work with you in any way we can to reduce expenses.
12. More information and materials?
Contact the Program Director, Greg Laine, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital,
6720 Bertner Avenue (MC 2-230), Houston, Texas, 77030. The telephone number is (832) 355-3074 and the FAX number is (832) 355-4794. You can e-mail questions to glaine@sleh.com.
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