• Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree from an American Council of Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE) accredited school of pharmacy.
• Minimum pharmacy school GPA or 3.2 or equivalent.
  • Applicants from pass/fail curriculums may apply as well.
• Hold an active pharmacist license or be eligible for licensure in at least one U.S. state or territory or District of Columbia.
• U.S. citizenship
• Applicants to any PGY2 residency must have completed a PGY1 residency. 
• For consideration required documents uploaded must include: three (3) clinical letters of reference (2 of which must be from clinical preceptors), a letter of intent, curriculum vitae (CV), and an official copy of pharmacy school transcripts.
• Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, resident interviews for 2021-2022 application cycle will be conducted virtually.
• Candidates will be ranked, and positions filled by submission through National Matching Service (NMS). NMS codes are as follows: PGY2 ambulatory care (581965).

The 12-month program is designed to lead the resident through a variety of longitudinal practice experiences. By the end of the program, the resident should feel competent practicing within a variety of outpatient settings involving Ambulatory Care pharmacotherapy. The residency includes core rotations that are chosen to establish a strong base in Ambulatory Care. Core Ambulatory Care disease states within this residency include diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and hyperlipidemia. The resident may choose electives based on his/her career goals. Although the residency is designed around these core and elective longitudinal rotations, the focus of the training will be to master each of the disease states established within the ASHP Practice Standards for a Specialized Residency in Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Practice.

Clinical

• Establish yourself as an integral member of a health care team
• Promote expertise in managing medication therapies in Ambulatory Care pharmacotherapy
• Develop solid patient care skills in the ambulatory chronic care settings
• Develop a sound understanding of pharmacy practice management
• Augment understanding of practice management in the institutional, regional, and national levels

Academic

• Interpret and disseminate knowledge in Ambulatory Care Pharmacotherapy
• Foster innovative and rewarding precepting strategies
• Provide teaching experiences in small group learning environments
• Generate new knowledge in Ambulatory Care Pharmacotherapy

Professional

• Cultivate techniques for self-assessment, goal setting, and career planning
• Demonstrate exemplary verbal and written communication skills
• Establish a personalized system for balancing multiple work/life responsibilities
• Recognize the importance of professional development though participation in pharmacy organization activities

For additional information, please refer to the ASHP PGY2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency Educational Goals and Objectives.

The residency experiences are divided into half-day blocks (total of 10 half-days per week). All rotations are offered as longitudinal experiences with each rotation offered in quarterly blocks. The resident is required to take all of the Required Rotations in each of the quarters. However, the Elective Rotations only run for the specific quarter the resident is assigned (but these may be repeated in subsequent quarters if more experience in that specific area is desired). All longitudinal experiences are completed at the Dallas/Fort Worth VA Medical Center (VAMC) unless otherwise noted below. Required and Elective Rotations may change based on preceptor availability and program needs.  

Required Rotations (50-70% of time the entire year unless otherwise stated)

• Pharmacotherapy Clinics - Dallas and Fort Worth (2 to 3 - ½ days a week, 12 months)
• Management/Clinical Enhancement (1/2 day per week, 12 months)
• UT Southwestern – Family Medicine (1/2 day per week, 3 months)
• Heart Failure clinic (1/2 day per week,  6 months)
• Academic: research project development/administrative time (1 to 2 ½ days a week, 12 months)
• Clinical Staffing (12 months) – residents will rotate covering weekend staffing shifts

Elective Rotations

• Anticoagulation Clinic (pharmacist precepted)
• Diabetes Clinic: Adult (multidisciplinary clinic, physician precepted)
• Endocrinology (multidisciplinary, physician precepted)
• Hematology/Oncology Outpatient Clinic (multidisciplinary clinic, pharmacist precepted)
• Lipid Clinic (multidisciplinary, physician precepted)
• Mental Health Clinic (pharmacist precepted)
• Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (physician precepted)
• PrEP/OPAT (pharmacist precepted)
• Renal Clinic (multidisciplinary clinic, physician precepted)

Residency Project

Residents will complete one research project per year. Residents will also complete additional projects as needed by the facility. Residents may be asked to present their project(s) at a local, regional, or national event.  Residents may choose any type of research project, provided that the project includes generation of original data, is suitable for publication or presentation at a national pharmacy meeting, and can reasonably be completed within the residency year.

Teaching activities for residents are designed to complement practice activities while allowing the resident to experience a variety of teaching methods. Residents will be required to demonstrate skills necessary to function in an academic setting by completing the following activities:

Teaching Certificate Program

The Clinician Educator Training Program is a program to provide training for PGY1 and PGY2 residents who are interested in developing their academic skills. The major goal of the training program is to supplement a strong clinical background with the skills needed to become a successful educator. The learning objectives for this program are to develop a personalized teaching philosophy, create evaluable learning objectives and corresponding exam questions for a formal lecture, evaluate students fairly, and to discuss effective teaching methodologies for a given scenario. The program includes didactic and web-based teaching models, mentored facilitator training for small group problem-based learning, and precepting of third and/or fourth-year Doctor of Pharmacy students. Residents also receive instruction in statistical and clinical trial design; submit a project proposal to the institutional review board; and collect, interpret, and publish their results. Additional activities are provided to enhance discovery, integration, and writing skills. The program also includes innovative discussion topics based

on needs previously identified by new faculty members. While the program targets residents with an interest in academia, the skill sets gained through Teaching Certificate Program are applicable to a broad range of career opportunities.

Didactic Teaching

One to two hours of formal didactic lectures within the school of pharmacy programs may be required. The courses that are to be taught will be based on availability and resident interest.

Team-Based Learning/ Laboratory Based Learning

Based on resident preference, residents may facilitate one semester equivalent of either a laboratory-based course (Immunizations or Patient Assessment Lab) in the P1 year or Clinical Correlations, a team-based learning course in the P2 or P3 year. Clinical Correlations series consist of interactive activities, including but not limited to case-based exercises. Students will utilize team-based learning to complete activities each session. It is designed to be a team-based learning experience and the facilitator’s role is not to teach the students, but rather to facilitate their discussion.

Experiential Teaching

Clerkship teaching (involving both P3 and/or P4 Pharm.D. students) is integrated into the resident practice model. Early in the program, the resident will observe faculty clerkship preceptors and become integrated into various aspects of clerkship teaching. During the residency program, residents will independently precept clerkship students for two rotations.

Other Teaching/Educational Opportunities

Residents will be required to provide in-services and/or topic discussions for pharmacy, nursing and medical services as required by preceptors. Residency topic discussions will be held on individual rotations as required and/or requested.

Resident Rounds Seminar Series

Residents will present a formal 45-minute presentation with 15 minutes for question and answer to VANTHCS pharmacy staff in the fall. Residents must choose topics that are of sufficient controversy or debate that are candidates for further publication in the medical literature. These presentations are accredited for 1 hour of CE credit for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

PGY2 Ambulatory Care Topic Discussions

Residents will participate in the resident driven topic discussions which can include literature review, case application, clinical pearls, etc. Residents will complete at least 2 journal clubs throughout the year which will be assessed in PharmAcademic.

Manuscript Preparation

Residents are required to submit one manuscript per year for publication in a peer reviewed journal.

Southwestern Leadership Conference (ALCALDE)

Residents participate in this regional residency meeting, also known as ALCALDE, in the spring. Residents have the opportunity to present their project results for evaluation in a podium presentation. It is also a great opportunity to interact with residents from other programs throughout the region.

Poster Presentation

Residents are required to present a poster of their research project at a national (preferred) or state professional meeting. In addition, a presentation towards the end of the residency year at our local facility may also be required.

Resident Interviews

Residents may be asked to participate in the interview process for the PGY2 Ambulatory Care residency program.