Program Mission/Purpose
PGY2 pharmacy residency programs build on Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) education and PGY1 pharmacy residency programs to contribute to the development of clinical pharmacists in specialized areas of practice. PGY2 residencies provide residents with opportunities to function independently as practitioners by conceptualizing and integrating accumulated experience and knowledge and incorporating both into the provision of patient care or other advanced practice settings. Residents who successfully complete an accredited PGY2 pharmacy residency are prepared for advanced patient care, academic, or other specialized positions, along with board certification, if available.
Program Description
The oncology residency program at Providence Alaska Medical Center (PAMC) is an intensive twelve-month clinical training program with our cancer center team. PAMC is a Commission on Cancer accredited hospital for oncology and a Children’s Oncology Group affiliated hospital for pediatric and young adult cancer care. Our facility has interdisciplinary teams which take care of patients within our inpatient medical oncology floor, inpatient pediatric oncology unit, adult and pediatric infusion suites, and investigational drug service. PAMC is the largest referral cancer center for the state of Alaska and serves a geographical area approximately one fifth the size of the Lower 48 contiguous states. Given the large area served by the cancer center, pharmacists play an integral and unique role within our care teams. The resident will develop an extensive knowledge base and problem-solving skills through a variety of clinical experience in the acute and ambulatory care settings. The resident will be involved in maintaining and improving oncology practices by providing pharmacy services in various clinical settings, including both adult and pediatric patients. Upon completion of the residency, the resident will be prepared to practice in many different oncology care areas. This program is accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
Program Aims
The PGY2 Oncology pharmacy residency seeks to prepare pharmacists to practice as an oncology specialist pharmacist in the inpatient and outpatient ambulatory clinic settings for adult and pediatric oncology patients.
Goals for residents within the program include:
Rotation Experiences Overview
Required experiences for this program include inpatient adult oncology,
ambulatory oncology, pediatric hematology/oncology, and hematopoietic
bone marrow transplant (usually conducted off-site in Seattle at the University
of Washington). Several selective/abbreviated experiences are available
to supplement training such as general pediatrics, home infusion, hazardous
compounding, classical hematology etc. Elective experiences include pain
and palliative care, infectious disease, investigational drug services,
private oncology practice (typically split up among adult private clinics,
pediatric clinic, and the bleeding disorder clinic), and others pending
resident interest.
Teaching and Learning Opportunities
The resident will typically prepare several topic discussions on required disease states during each of the core rotations. Depending on the types of malignancies assigned, this could range from 1 – 3 topic discussions per week. The intent of these topic discussions is to review pathology, standard of care treatment, and future directions for therapy. The resident will also prepare and present 10 continuing education lectures throughout the year as part of our Oncology Lecture Series within the cancer center. Additional teaching opportunities are available through student and PGY1 resident precepting, journal club presentations, an optional teaching certificate program, and an optional didactic lecture through the Idaho State University/ University of Alaska School of Pharmacy.
Service/ Staffing Commitment
Residents will function in a staff oncology pharmacist capacity both in the infusion center and on our clinical services. Once fully trained, residents will staff every other Saturday in our infusion center and then a cumulative of eight weeks during the weekday on a variety of clinical services (typically the last week of core rotations). The PGY2 oncology resident is currently not required to staff any observed holidays. Participation in various community or departmental events is encouraged, but not required.
Professional Meetings
All Providence Alaska Medical Center residents are anticipated to attend the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting in December and the Alaska Pharmacist Association Annual Meeting in February. The oncology PGY2 typically also attends the HOPA annual Meeting in March/April.
Residency Project
The resident will choose a project idea either of their own reaction or from list of projects drafted by the oncology pharmacy team. The project must align with our institutional strategic plan and departmental goals or improve patient care, by either answering a clinical question or developing a new pharmacy service. All research ideas must be vetted through Research Support Services. Each project will be presented in poster form at the Midyear Clinical Meeting and the HOPA Annual Meeting. Resident all encourage to submit their project for a platform presentation at the HOPA Annual Meeting. The resident will present their project findings as a platform presentation either at the Alaska Pharmacy Residency Grand Rounds or a cancer center symposium.
