As a site with a single resident, we can be flexible on the start date for the program. We understand that PGY1 programs have variable start/end dates and coordinating a move to Alaska can be a long process. Our only requirement is that a resident must start at the beginning of a 2-week pay period. Most of our residents start during the middle to end of July.
Our oncology team has close relationships with our providers and nurses. We are considered a valued member of the healthcare team. Being the largest hospital in Alaska, we see a wide variety of disease states and patient presentations that one may not experience outside of a larger academic medical center in the lower 48. Additionally, our program takes care of adult and pediatric patients, which provides our learners a unique opportunity to train with both populations at a single site. While our site does not perform bone marrow transplants locally, our resident typically completes their hands-on bone marrow transplant training through the Fred Hutch Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance/University of Washington—which is not only the first transplantation program globally, but also one of the most respected. Our program does an excellent job at preparing pharmacists for the challenges of oncology pharmacy today with 100% BCOP first time pass rate for graduating residents.
We are flexible in scheduling resident’s elective rotations to match their clinical interests. Rotations can also be moved around to best accommodate career goals and other scheduling conflicts. Being part of a large healthcare system, we can provide outside rotations at our affiliated facilities in the Pacific Northwest, as long as off-site rotations do not exceed 25% of the total residency learning experiences. If residents choose to do out-of-state rotations, we will attempt to coordinate around their scheduled bone marrow transplant training (typically at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance/University of Washington in Seattle) to minimize travel costs for the resident.
An Alaska intern license is required by the first day of orientation (this means the process must be started early after receiving your acceptance letter) if you do not already have an AK pharmacist license by then. You may not start without it. Delays sometimes occur in the process for the intern license and the pharmacist license, so start ASAP!
The State Board recommends that applications be submitted a minimum three months in advance of the need for licensure. The resident must become licensed as a pharmacist in the state of Alaska by August 31 of the residency year and for a minimum of 2/3 of the residency one-year program. The Board requires 1500 intern hours for licensure. Questions regarding licensing should be directed to BoardofPharmacy@Alaska.gov
In order for the resident to adequately gain the understanding and confidence necessary to provide pharmaceutical care, it is necessary that the resident spend time performing pharmacist staffing. The staffing requirement is every other Saturday in the Outpatient Infusion Center, and a total of eight cumulative weeks staffing a variety of clinical services including inpatient adult oncology (2 weeks), outpatient infusion (3 weeks) and pediatric oncology (3 weeks). Staffing may be as a continuous week (final week of rotation), one day weekly staffing during rotation, or a combination, based on department needs.
