Kansas City VA Clinical Pharmacy Services
Patient care is provided by a staff of approximately 60 pharmacists and 35 pharmacy technicians. In addition to distributive functions, a wide variety of clinical services are maintained to ensure our Veterans receive optimal care. Clinical Pharmacy Practitioners play an integral role by enhancing care to patients in all settings at the KCVA including primary and specialty care, both at the medical center and in community based clinics. These pharmacists function as licensed independent practitioners and work under a scope of practice to provide medication therapy management services.
Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Services
Clinical pharmacy services for primary care are provided by 18 pharmacists at the main campus, outlying CBOCs and in Home Based Primary Care. 14 clinical pharmacy practitioners practice in multiple other specialty areas including geriatrics, behavioral health, cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, infectious diseases, oncology/hematology, pulmonary, pain management, and anticoagulation. 3 clinical technicians offer support to pharmacy practitioners in anticoagulation, pain, primary care and surgery.
Acute Care Pharmacy Services
In addition to centralized pharmacists supporting the 24 hour operational hospital pharmacy, 6 pharmacists provide care in the emergency room and 13 clinical pharmacists are aligned with inpatient care teams including internal medicine, psychiatry, critical care, cardiology, surgery, and infectious diseases/antimicrobial stewardship.
Additionally, our pharmacists promote the pharmacy profession through involvement in multidisciplinary committees and work groups throughout the medical center.
Purpose
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.
Program Overview
This 12-month residency in Pharmacy Practice has been conducted for over 30 years. The ASHP Accredited PGY1 Pharmacy Residency program at the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center offers training opportunities for the individual desiring to develop clinical competency in both acute and ambulatory clinic settings. This Pharmacy Practice training program offers a variety learning experiences designed to build the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to provide personalized pharmaceutical care services and enhance patient outcomes in all care settings.
Residency Structure
After a 6 week Orientation period, the residency is divided into 8 rotations of varying length. The rotations are arranged to combine required experiences along with electives in the resident’s identified area of interest to allow for growth of skills throughout the year. Simultaneously, the resident is expected to prioritize and work on ongoing requirements in longitudinal clinical, didactic, management and residency project rotations.
In each experience, the resident works closely with the residency director and the rotation preceptor to develop goals and objectives that will assist the resident in expanding skills for current and future practice. Regular meetings with the residency director ensure that long-term goals are met.