General Information
Can you tell me about your program, including how many candidates will be accepted into next year’s residency class?
What clinical and specialized services does your department offer?
How do I apply for the program?
When are applications due?
What happens after I submit my application?

Program specific information
How is the program designed?
What experiences are required to complete the program?
What elective rotation opportunities are available?
How are residents evaluated?
What teaching opportunities exist?
Is research required?
Is staffing required? Must I be licensed in Oregon?

Compensation and benefits
What is the salary?
Do residents receive vacation time?
What are the other benefits of being a pharmacy resident at OHSU?

General information

Can you tell me about your program, including how many candidates will be accepted into next year’s residency class?

The OHSU Hospitals and Clinics Department of Pharmacy Services Pharmacy Practice Residency Program is a full-time, 12-month program that provides residents with extensive training opportunities in acute care, ambulatory care, drug information and drug use policy development, as well as clinical services and practice management. Four pharmacy practice candidates are accepted into each residency class that begins on July 1 and ends June 30. Our residency program was established in 1988, accredited by ASHP the following year, and has been an integral part of the Department of Pharmacy Services ever since.

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What clinical and specialized services does your department offer?

Patient evaluation, including identifying potential and actual medication-related problems and preventing and resolving medication-related problems, is provided by OHSU decentralized clinical pharmacist specialists and College of Pharmacy faculty. Clinical specialties include: solid organ transplantation, pediatrics/neonatology, general medicine, family medicine/cardiology, infectious diseases, geriatric assessment clinic, nutritional support, outpatient DVT service, outpatient parenteral treatment unit, and oncology/bone marrow transplantation. The department also operates a drug information service, research pharmacy service, and a drug policy program.

A centralized distribution model serves the medical/surgical population and medical/surgical specialties. Pharmacists in these areas provide medication profile review and front-line drug information services. Redesign plans for the department include providing more clinical services decentrally. Automated dispensing and order scanning technology is used throughout the hospital.

The Department of Pharmacy Services moved into a new facility in October 1997. A Class 100,000 clean room and the majority of inpatient pharmacy operations and offices are now located in the Hatfield Research Center building. A satellite pharmacy in the operating rooms provides service to peri-op patients.

Outpatient prescriptions and patient care are provided from three on-site and two offsite pharmacies serving adult outpatients, pediatric outpatients/discharge patients, and ophthalmology patients. Automated dispensing technology is used in the main retail pharmacies. A Medications Assistance Program is available to help medically indigent patients obtain their medications.

OHSU pharmacists serve as preceptors to in-state and out-of-state pharmacy students, technicians in training programs, and pharmacy residents in the Portland Metro area.

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How do I apply for the program?

Candidates for residency should have completed an academic program in pharmacy and must be eligible for full licensure in Oregon within four months of starting the program (for licensure information, visit www.pharmacy.state.or.us). Candidates must provide official transcripts from all professional pharmacy education, a completed application form, a personal statement, and they must coordinate the submission of recommendations from three references. OHSU participates in the ASHP Residency Matching Program; applicants are required to be registered in the match before they will be invited for interview. In the event of a non-matched position, OHSU will open its application process to qualified candidates still seeking residency training.

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When are applications due?

Our application deadline is January 10th. We understand that items such as your pharmacy school transcripts and letters of reference may arrive later than the application deadline since you are relying on other people to complete those tasks for you. Please make sure you request them as early as possible; we do not begin reviewing applicant’s files until they are complete or nearly complete. You may send documents electronically and then follow up with hard copies if it will help you meet the deadline for submission.

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What happens after I submit my application?

After we receive completed files, we use a series of pre-determined criteria to evaluate each applicant before deciding who will be invited for interview. Multiple preceptors review the files to make sure we give each applicant a fair assessment. We generally receive about 100 initial contacts for information regarding our program, but that number usually drops to 45 applicants that complete the full application process. We do not have a set number of applicants that we invite for interview, but time restraints usually limit the number that interview to 20-25. Our interviews are primarily scheduled in February. We do our best to accommodate applicant’s requests for certain dates if they will already be in the Portland metro area.

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Program specific information

How is the program designed?

OHSU offers a structured training program in pharmacy practice with ample opportunity for specialization through elective experiences. The resident’s knowledge base, past experience, and interests dictate the choice and length of experiences. The resident and the preceptors develop the residency schedule jointly.

See a sample schedule for this year's class of residents.

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What experiences are required to complete the program?

The resident’s schedule includes required experiences in the Portland area Citywide Residency Conference, general medicine or general pediatrics, general inpatient practice, drug information/drug policy, longitudinal practice management, longitudinal staffing experience, project management and professional meetings.

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What elective rotation opportunities are available?

The resident also chooses additional experiences such as Home Infusion/Hospice, Infectious Diseases, Adult Oncology/BMT, Pediatrics, Pharmacokinetics/Renal Replacement Therapies, Outpatient Infusion, NICU, PICU, Pediatric Heme Onc/BMT, Poison Control/Toxicology, Research Pharmacy Services, and Transplant Surgery. Emerging rotations include: Academica with teaching certificate, adult critical care, nutrional support, family medicine/cardiology, and retail pharmacy/DSM. Experiences outside of OHSU may also be scheduled.

See a description of rotations.

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How are residents evaluated?

Residents receive a list of goals and objectives at the beginning of each rotation. During the rotation and at the end of the experience, the resident meets with the preceptor to review their performance. A written report assessing the resident is prepared based on the ASHP Residency Learning System (RLS). On a quarterly basis, the residency program director meets with the resident, providing an evaluation of their progress based on the comments of the preceptors and resident self-evaluation. At this time, the resident and program director adjust the resident’s schedule as necessary.

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What teaching opportunities exist?

OHSU pharmacy residents, in cooperation with the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy or the Pacific University School of Pharmacy may participate in classroom discussions, lectures, or labs, as well as precept clerkship students during final year rotations. Additional opportunities may be made available to residents seeking additional teaching responsibilities. The Citywide Residency group is in discussion with the schools of pharmacy and hopes to offer a teaching certificate for interested residents.

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Is research required?

Residents are required to design, conduct and evaluate a major project related to an aspect of pharmacy practice during the residency year. The residents' major project may be a clinical, research or practice management focus. The residency preceptor team will assist the resident in choosing their project from a provided list or from a resident-generated idea list. Additional experiences with the Research Pharmacy Service or with the Institutional Review Board are available to residents interested in research experience.

See a list of residents' past projects.

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Is staffing required? Must I be licensed in Oregon?

Consistent with the ASHP residency standards, the OHSU residency experience is primarily a practical, rather than didactic or classroom experience. Practice skills are developed throughout the program in all aspects of pharmaceutical care. After completing a training program, residents staff every other weekend during the residency program. Staffing responsibilities include patient care, distribution and drug information.

All residents must be licensed in Oregon within the first four months of the residency program. Visit the Oregon Board of Pharmacy website for additional details.
www.pharmacy.state.or.us

Compensation and Benefits

What is the salary?

Residents receive a stipend of $40,000/yr, paid in equally divided amounts every two weeks. The budgetary cycle for the hospital does not coincide with the resident recruitment cycle. The offered stipend is based on the current residency year. It is customary for the program to review and request upward adjustments to the residents’ stipend to make it commensurate with the prevailing residency marketplace wage before the start of the next residency year. Residents also receive full medical, dental, and vision benefits for immediate family (employee chooses from a variety of offered plans, including co-pay and deductible plans), as well as life and disability insurance (you may elect to add additional coverage).

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Do residents receive vacation time?

Residents receive 80 hours of paid vacation; NTE 96 hours sick leave, plus all major holidays off except Christmas Day. Educational leave is granted at Program Director’s discretion (usually ~ 7 paid days/yr). Coverage of educational expenses is available as the annual budget allows.

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What are the other benefits of being a pharmacy resident at OHSU?

• Secured, on site office space near the drug information center with personal files and cabinet. Computer with network, Internet, and email access. Network access includes: MS Windows 2000 Professional Package (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access), electronic medical record, pharmacy system, and drug information. Remote login possible.
• Alpha-numeric pager.
• Long distance telephone access code for professional business.
• Departmental, library, and campus photocopier access code.
• On- and off-campus access to the electronic and print holdings of the state’s largest medical library and drug information center that are both located on campus.
• An open invitation to any educational event held on the hill. A complete listing is posted on the weekly calendar of events that residents can subscribe to. Opportunities include sessions such as Medical, Surgical, and Pediatric Grand Rounds; M and M Report; subspecialty grand rounds such as the Citywide Infectious Diseases Conference; and career development topics.
• Residents are provided weekly Clinical Moment learning sessions with the preceptor team that focuses on controversies and pharmacy pearls.
• Residents also participate in the Citywide Pharmacy Residency Conference that is held monthly at a different residency site in the Portland Metro area. This forum is a great way to identify professional mentors and network for job opportunities and practice innovation ideas.
• Reduced rate Tri-met PASSPORT (bus and light rail public transportation annual pass, good throughout city for all zones, days, and times)
• Low cost fitness center with gym, pool, and fitness classes included just a tram ride away.
• Health promotion activities and information from the Employee Wellness program, including wellness screening, health coaching, stress busters, and group support.
• Secured, on site office space near the drug information center with personal files and cabinet. Computer with network, internet and email access. Network access includes: MS Windows XP Professional Package

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