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Why Choose Providence

An invaluable experience

“After completing my PGY1 Pharmacy Residency with Providence Health and Services at St. Vincent Medical Center, I was fortunate to obtain a full-time cardiology and critical care pharmacist position. My PGY1 journey with Providence prepared me exceptionally well for my current clinical practice areas and provided me with invaluable experience to deliver the highest quality patient care. I now feel incredibly fortunate to be able to work alongside my previous preceptors and to have the opportunity to facilitate the pharmacy education of our residents and students.“
- James Watkins, Past PGY1 Resident, Current Preceptor

Our residents work closely with Providence pharmacy services in a variety of settings:

Acute care. Although residents are based in the Portland, Medford, and Newberg/Milwaukie areas, they benefit from the knowledge of more than 170 full-time pharmacists across eight acute-care facilities in Oregon. Together, residents and pharmacy teams provide a broad scope of progressive pharmacy services, including pharmacist-managed collaborative drug management.

Ambulatory care. Our primary care clinical pharmacy specialists provide disease management and collaborative drug therapy management to Providence Medical Group patients in the medical home setting. The department also supports clinical pharmacy involvement within anticoagulation clinics, medication assistance programs, and population health. Our ElderPlace clinical pharmacy specialists provide care for the frail elderly and collaborate across multiple clinic settings.

Home Services/Infusion. Our home services/infusion pharmacists provide both medication dispensing and clinical management of neonatal, pediatric, adult, and geriatric patients receiving infusion therapies such as antimicrobial therapy, TPN, and specialty medications.

Specialty Pharmacy (Credena Health). Our specialty pharmacists are engaged and proactive in the management of specialty medications across 49 states and serve as drug information specialists for both patients and providers. Pharmacists perform initial and on-going patient assessments to evaluate the appropriateness of drug therapy regimens, assess adherence, and address side effect concerns of patients on specialty drug regimens.

Providence Health Plan. Our pharmacists develop a solid foundation in population-based pharmaceutical care. Primary emphasis is placed on the development and implementation of medication use management initiatives and policies, formulary management, and quality and outcome assessment in collaboration with the health-system and the Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee. In addition, our medication therapy management pharmacists provide direct patient care to ensure safe and efficacious drug therapy for our elderly patients.

Commitment to teaching

“This PGY-1 program provides strong clinical experiences that prepared me to confidently staff a multitude of clinical areas following my residency year. The overwhelming support and mentorship provided by the pharmacy team created a great place to learn and somewhere I aspired to be even after residency. Completing my residency here shaped me to be the clinician I am today, helped me build lasting relationships, and opened up opportunities I never thought were possible. If I were to decide all over again, I would still choose Providence.”
- Linda Huynh, Past PGY1 Resident, Current Preceptor

ASHP Best Practices AwardIn 2015, Providence’s Oregon pharmacy residency programs were recognized with the ASHP Residency Excellence Award. This prestigious award recognizes excellence and leadership in the training and mentoring of pharmacy residents. The awards program honors leading practice facilities and mentors. The program has two goals:

  • Recognize the achievements of residency programs and practitioners who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in the training of pharmacy residents.
  • Widely disseminate the results of these accomplishments in order to foster innovations in pharmacy residency training.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacy (ASHP) has also granted “Best Practices in Health System Pharmacy Awards” to:

  • Providence Medical Group, for its multisite collaborative pharmacotherapy clinics
  • Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, for its antimicrobial stewardship program

Providence Health & Services’ Oregon hospitals have received national awards for overall excellence, patient safety, quality and patient satisfaction. In addition, our specialty programs also have earned recognition for stroke, cardiovascular and orthopedic excellence. According to US News & World Report, Providence Health & Services has two of the top three hospitals in the state: Providence St. Vincent Medical Center and Providence Portland Medical Center. These rankings recognize hospitals that excel in treating the most challenging patients, and they also help guide patients who need a high level of care.

As a pharmacy resident, you’ll be working with medical residents who are also training with our award-winning programs across all of our practice areas and facilities.

Living the Mission

At Providence Health & Services, we’re inspired by the spirit of our founders. Providence caregivers share a deep, personal calling to achieve the highest standards of professional excellence and compassionate care. It’s our Mission that as expressions of God’s healing love, witnessed through the ministry of Jesus, we are steadfast in serving all, especially those who are poor and vulnerable.

Mentorship and leadership

“As one of the largest nonprofit health-system and integrated delivery network in the United States, Providence has given me incredibly unique opportunities to provide and implement recommendations on a local, regional, and system level. The caregivers of Providence have shaped my experience as a new practitioner to provide professional excellence and compassionate care for all patients. I am extremely grateful for the caregivers, opportunities, and experiences I will carry forward in my career to shape our healthcare landscape.”
– Hyesoo Chae, Past PGY1/PGY2 Health-System Administration Pharmacy Resident

Providence pharmacists play an integral role in a variety of practice settings as part of Providence’s patient-centered ambulatory and acute care.

Ambulatory care pharmacists within our 32 primary care clinics provide comprehensive medication management for chronic diseases across all ages. Residents are actively involved in medical home teams at these clinics, and they support Providence Medical Group’s quality and education initiatives.

Ambulatory geriatrics pharmacists are a part of Providence Elder Place and PACE (Program for All-inclusive Care of the Elderly) program which provides comprehensive care to geriatric patients.

Providence Home Services’ specialty pharmacy division cares for patients at home, in our infusion suites, or in long-term care facilities. Services also include reimbursement verification and authorization by our trained insurance specialists.

Professional Networking

The Portland-area CityWide Residency Program allows Providence residents to meet and learn from more than 65 pharmacy residents and residency directors from health systems throughout Oregon and southwest Washington.

The program’s open, collaborative environment allows residents to share knowledge across organizations. Educational sessions enhance what’s learned within individual residency programs. Topics include personal and professional leadership, teaching skills, preceptor development, change management, project justification, and legislative advocacy.

Oregon Pharmacist Teaching Certificate Program

Residents can earn a teaching certificate through the Oregon Pharmacist Teaching Certificate Program, an arrangement between local residency programs, Oregon State University College of Pharmacy, and Pacific University School of Pharmacy.

Participants will attend workshops, provide didactic lectures, facilitate small groups and complete a teaching portfolio. Residents will receive a teaching certificate when they successfully complete all program requirements.

Pharmacy Leadership

Providence Health & Services is one of the largest nonprofit health-systems in the United States. The residency will offer a unique experience to be intimately involved with the Oregon Regional Pharmacy Leadership Team. The resident will be exposed to pharmacy leaders in all divisions of health-system pharmacy administration and lead projects that can affect regional protocols or system-wide formulary improvements.