Pediatric Pharmacy Residency Program Annual Structure [PDF].

PGY2 Pediatric residents who completed a PGY1 residency at University Health will only undergo orientation specifically for the PGY2 Pediatric residency during the first month of the residency year.

PGY2 Pediatric residents who did not complete a PGY1 residency at University Health will undergo orientation and training for the University of Texas College of Pharmacy, University Health, the PGY2 Pediatric Pharmacy Residency, and the Pharmacy Department during the first month of residency.

Departmental and residency training will include orientation to policies and procedures, University Health computers, the inpatient pharmacy, and decentralized pediatric units. All items on the Pediatric Resident Orientation Checklist should be covered during this training period, and the completed checklist should be submitted to the Residency Program Director (RPD) at the end of the training period. The resident will also be oriented to the ASHP Residency Accreditation Standards, Program Design and Conduct, and the required Competency Areas, Goals, and Objectives for PGY2 residency training.

In addition, the resident will be oriented to the evaluation process and the PharmAcademic™ online evaluation system (if not utilized during PGY1 residency).

Residents who are not previously certified will also be scheduled for training in Basic and Pediatric Advanced Cardiac Life Support (BLS/PALS) early in the residency.

The resident must become licensed in the State of Texas as a Registered Pharmacist by August 1, or the 1st day of the second month of residency.

The resident will provide clinical staffing for the pediatric areas as scheduled by the Residency Program Director (RPD) based on staffing needs, not to exceed 16 hours per 2-week period (minimum of 10 per year). During scheduled clinical staffing, the resident will have the opportunity to attend rounds, verify orders, and address clinical problems for patients in various pediatric units.

The resident will maintain BLS and PALS certifications and participate in the management of pediatric medical emergencies. The resident will respond to pediatric “code blue” emergencies within University Hospital as feasible during scheduled weekday work hours and clinical staffing weekends.

The resident will attend and actively participate in scheduled Residency Advisory Council (RAC) meetings, Pharmacy & Therapeutics (P&T), Pediatric P&T Subcommittee, Pediatric Clinical Team, Drug Utilization Evaluation (DUE) Committee, and Pediatric Clinical Management Team (CMT).

The resident is expected to present pediatric-related topics when needed at these meetings.

Learning opportunities include:

• Organizing, coordinating, and leading a pediatric pharmacy meeting
• Conducting a pediatric-related DUE and presenting the results at DUE, P&T, CMT, and/or other pediatric pharmacy meetings.
• Performing a pediatric drug class review, creating a drug monograph, or modifying/developing a treatment guideline or protocol

Examples of pediatric-related topics that may be addressed include:

• Formulary and fiscal management
• Pharmacy policies and procedures
• Medication-related guidelines/protocols
• Information technology and automation systems
• Medication-use system evaluation
• Adverse drug reaction reporting, trending, and interpretation
• Medication safety and medication error reporting, trending, and prevention
• Pharmacist intervention reporting and trending
• Investigational drugs

The resident will have the opportunity to attend and participate in local, state, and national professional association meetings (required to attend 2 minimum with a formal presentation at 1 minimum), including but not limited to the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting, University of Texas College of Pharmacy Celebrating Pharmacy Research Excellence, and the Pediatric Pharmacy Association Annual Conference (or other conference determined by the RAC).

The resident will participate regularly in a Pediatric Clinical Group for assigned topic discussions (on a bi-weekly basis unless otherwise assigned by the RPD and preceptor). These topic discussions will encompass disease states from the areas of emphasis listed in the ASHP PGY2 Pediatric Appendix. The resident will also have the opportunity to present pediatric-related education activities (i.e., case presentations, and journal clubs) as assigned by the preceptor to the Pediatric Clinical Group (minimum of four per year).

The resident will participate in the University of Texas College of Pharmacy residents’ weekly Pharmacotherapy Seminar (residents’ discussion group) on Friday afternoons. This activity is optional but encouraged if the resident has not yet received board certification. Attendance is encouraged if the topic is pertinent to pediatrics. The resident will be required to lead discussion on at least one Seminar topic, as assigned by the group coordinator.

The resident will also attend weekly Pharmacotherapy Rounds with fellow University of Texas College of Pharmacy residents on Friday afternoons. Attendance is strongly encouraged unless it interferes with urgent, necessary patient care obligations. The resident will also be required to present one formal Pharmacotherapy Rounds (“Resident Rounds”) during the year. The topic may be an idea of the resident, from a suggested list, or individually assigned. Pharmacotherapy Rounds will be directly supervised by the RPD, Residency Program Coordinator (RPC) and/or a preceptor with expertise in the selected topic.

The resident also has the option to present a ACPE-approved continuing education program to the pharmacy staff throughout the residency year.

Other required academic activities include facilitating University of Texas College of Pharmacy and University of Incarnate Word Feik School of Pharmacy labs (minimum number determined annually) for pharmacy students. The resident will assist the pediatric pharmacy preceptors with mentoring and precepting pharmacy students and PGY1 residents assigned to pediatric rotations.

The resident has the option to complete the University of Texas College of Pharmacy Teaching and Leadership Fellows Program (TLFP) if interested. The TLFP requirements will be completed parallel to the UH residency program throughout the year and will include attendance at the UT Academic Training Conference. The resident may choose to participate in one of two tracks for the TLFP program. The Clinical Educator track is encouraged for residents interested in pursuing a clinical educator position at the completion of their residency and have not completed a similar program during PGY1 year. The Academia track is for residents with a goal of obtaining a faculty position with a college or school of pharmacy at the completion of their residency and/or in the future.

Successful completion of at least one pediatric research project is required to fulfill the requirements and to obtain a certificate of graduation from the residency program. Research will focus on the evaluation of a pediatric pharmacotherapy-related issue. The resident must adhere to the established timeline for the project to assure successful completion during the one-year residency. The month of December will be scheduled for research data collection.

The research project topic may be an idea of the resident, from a suggested list, or individually assigned. The project will be directly supervised by the RPD, RPC and/or a preceptor with expertise in the selected discipline. The research project proposal must be approved by the RPD/RPC, and if applicable, must also be approved by the UT Health San Antonio Investigational Review Board and the University Health Research Committee.

The research project will be presented as an abstract and as a platform presentation at the Pediatric Pharmacy Association Annual Conference in the spring (or other meeting selected by the RAC). The research project must also be submitted in manuscript form to the RPD/RPC, and the resident is strongly encouraged to publish results of the project in a peer-reviewed journal.

The length of each rotation is usually one month, but may be flexible, depending on the needs and interests of the individual resident. The following rotations are required:

• General Pediatrics
• General Pediatrics: Specialty Services
• Pediatric Intensive Care I
• Pediatric Congenital Cardiac Care
• Neonatal Intensive Care
• Pediatric Emergency Medicine

The resident will also be required to complete one selective rotation:

• Pediatric Intensive Care II
• Neonatal Intensive Care II
• Pediatric Congenital Cardiac Care II

Other rotations available on an elective basis include, but are not limited to the following (opportunity to complete three elective rotations):

• Pediatric Infectious Disease Consult Service
• Pediatric Solid Organ Transplant
• Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
• Pediatric Academia
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Women's Health
• Information and Technology Services 

A resident may choose to participate in no more than one off-site (i.e., outside University Health facilities) elective rotation per residency year.