Pharmacy Residency Program at CHI Health Lakeside

CHI Health Lakeside first opened in 2004 and is the only full-service hospital in west Omaha. The hospital offers a variety of clinical services, including maternity, NICU, robotic surgery, cardiology, orthopedics, cancer care, wellness, 24/7 emergency care, diagnostics and multiple inpatient and outpatient services. CHI Health Lakeside has 157 licensed beds, including a 20-bed cancer unit, 16-bed intensive care unit, Level III NICU, and an Accredited Breast Center of Excellence. Additionally, CHI Health Lakeside is a Primary Stroke Center and home to numerous ambulatory care clinics and outpatient services.

PGY1 pharmacy residency programs build on Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) education and outcomes to contribute to the development of clinical pharmacists responsible for medication-related care of patients with a wide range of conditions, eligible for board certification, and eligible for postgraduate year two (PGY2) pharmacy residency training. This program will center on developing a core skill set in medication therapy management, teaching, team functioning, communication, clinical research, literature evaluation, time management, presentation development and delivery, and direct patient interaction in a community hospital setting. This program offers the resident the opportunity and stimulus to develop, to the highest degree obtainable, his/her professional expertise as a practitioner. Graduates of this program will be highly qualified to practice as pharmacist clinicians in patient care positions, adjunct faculty positions, or for PGY2 training in their area of choice.

PGY1 residents will receive a salary of $50,000/year with comprehensive medical, dental and vision care coverage. Life insurance, short and long term disability coverage are also available.

CHI Health Lakeside residency is a one-year program consisting of 12 one-month blocks. The schedule offers rotations in core areas of patient care while allowing the resident up to four months of elective rotations. The program is structured to provide the resident with diverse experiences in the provision of direct patient care and achievement of residency goals including medication therapy management. There are seven required month long rotations and four required longitudinal rotations as listed in the below. The remaining months of the residency may be completed with elective rotations selected from the specialty practices listed below, or a practice area consistent with the goals of the residency program and the resident, approved by the RPD. A minimum of two-thirds of the time spent within the residency program must be in direct clinical care activities.

Required Rotations:

• Orientation
• Internal Medicine 1
• Internal Medicine 2
• Ambulatory Care
• Infectious Diseases
• Critical Care
• Pharmacy Management
• Required Longitudinal Rotations:
• Drug Information and Policy
• Inpatient Pharmacy Staffing
• Research
• Teaching

Elective Rotations Offered:

• Adult Psychiatry (off-site)*
• Antimicrobial Stewardship
• Emergency Medicine
• Informatics
• Neonatal Intensive Care
• Nephrology
• Patient Safety
• Transitions of Care

*Off-site rotations are subject to preceptor and facility availability. 

All residents are strongly encouraged to pursue licensure in Nebraska prior to beginning the residency training program. The process must be initiated with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and continued with the Profession and Occupational Licensure Division, Nebraska Department of Health.

It is expected that the resident will be licensed by August 1st so as to start the requirements for the longitudinal staffing component and be able to work on direct patient care activities independently while on rotations also. If the resident fails to obtain licensure prior to August 1st, the resident will be expected to obtain licensure as soon as capable and be required to make up their missed staffing hours after licensure is procured to keep the number of hours staffed consistent between all residents.

As a minimum requirement for employment the resident must obtain licensure as a pharmacist with the state of Nebraska within 90 days from the start of the residency. Failure to obtain licensure within 90 days from the start date will result in termination from the program.

The goal of the operational pharmacy practice experience is to ensure that each resident can function independently as a pharmacist. Each resident will train with a preceptor(s) as assigned. Orientation and training will take place during the first month of the residency. Once the resident is deemed competent, he/she will be assigned to patient care units or central pharmacy for the remainder of the residency. Residents will be evaluated on their staffing experiences on a quarterly basis.

Required Staffing Commitment: Each resident will be expected to staff in the pharmacy every other weekend during the year as a patient care pharmacist. Weekend staffing will be scheduled for Saturday and Sunday from 0800 to 1630 for clinical shifts or 0630 to 1500 for central shifts.

Holidays: Residents are expected to work on two designated holidays. Recognized holidays include: Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years Day, and Memorial Day. Holiday assignments will be determined at the beginning of the residency year. It is the responsibility of the resident to arrange for a trade for a different holiday assignment if needed. Residents will not be assigned to work on Independence Day.

Each PGY1 resident will be provided up to approximately $1500 for professional development funds. Residents are encouraged to use these funds to cover registration fee/airfare/hotel to attend the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting, registration fee for Midwest Pharmacy Residents Conference (MPRC), and any other educational endeavors the resident may wish to pursue (i.e. ACLS, PALS, other professional meeting, professional reference book(s), lab coats, etc.).

Paid Time Off

Each resident will have 14 days of paid vacation, sick, and/or interview leave available for the residency year. 

• Professional leave: In addition to the 14 days of general PTO, the residents will be allowed professional leave for attendance at professional meetings.  This includes a maximum of four work days for ASHP Midyear and two work days for Midwest Pharmacy Residents Conference (MPRC). 
• Educational Leave: Residents are allowed and encouraged to partake in educational opportunities throughout the residency year.  If the educational opportunity requires time off from the residency rotation, unless a preceptor requires attendance as part of their current rotation – the resident will be required to use PTO/vacation time to attend as this will fall outside of the days already provided for professional leave.
• Interview days: The resident can use any of their 14 PTO days for pursuing future employment opportunities in the spring of the residency year.  If more than 5 days will be missed during a single rotation month due to interviews, the resident is required to meet with the rotation preceptor and Residency Director to coordinate a plan for making up the missed rotation time. 

The primary emphasis of the residency program is to develop the resident’s practitioner expertise. An integral part in the development of the resident is an appreciation of research methodology. Provisions will be made for the resident’s participation in a clinical research project activity or a self-directed investigation in an appropriate pharmacotherapeutic area. The project undertaken, by mutual agreement of the resident, primary preceptor, residency director, and participating co-investigators, will be of suitable quality for publication in a peer-reviewed journal and presentation at a major scientific meeting and the MPRC.

The residency research project should provide an experience and/or appreciation of clinically oriented research. This will include the following:

• IRB training
• Study design and protocol development
• IRB submission of protocol
• Data collection and organization
• Statistical analysis
• Summary of results
• Conclusions
• Project written in manuscript format
• Formal presentation of work

The resident will participate in the educational activities of the Creighton Department of Pharmacy Practice. The purpose of such activities is to foster development and refinement of the resident’s communication skills and effectiveness as a teacher and to provide the students with a resident role model.

Rotation teaching responsibilities will be at the discretion of individual preceptors and based on whether students have been assigned during the resident’s rotation month. Primarily, these responsibilities will include pharmacy practice modeling, patient care discussions, evaluating patient case presentations, and examining drug information reviews. Rotation teaching responsibilities will be designated by the preceptor, but will not interfere with the resident’s rotational experiences. These responsibilities may include acting as instructor in the preceptor’s absence. The resident will always be under close supervision by their preceptor. The resident will be asked to participate in the evaluation of Pharm.D. students.

All teaching obligations must be approved by the residency program director (RPD) prior to committing (e.g. if a faculty member requests the resident’s assistance in teaching a class, such as developing a new lecture, revising an existing lecture, or grading active learning activities). Clear expectations are then to be forwarded to the RPD for approval. The faculty member from another university must also contact the RPD to request permission to utilize the resident.

The resident will be responsible for presenting two formal pharmacy Grand Rounds presentations. These presentations will be 60 minute continuing education (CE) drug therapy talks that will be broadcast to pharmacists throughout the CHI Health System. Presentations may be in the categories of case report, literature review/current controversy topic, or therapeutic update. A handout and the use of audio-visual equipment [slides], and assessment questions are required. Grand Rounds will be held most commonly on the 3rd/4th/5th Thursdays of each month at 12 PM remotely on Zoom and in-person in the Siemens Theater on Lakeside’s campus.