PGY1 Pharmacy Residency

The PGY1 Pharmacy Residency at St. Elizabeth Healthcare is an ASHP-accredited 12-month structured training program designed to develop skills and competence in providing pharmaceutical care. The PGY1 residency is composed of four major elements:

St. Elizabeth Healthcare offers pharmacy residents a unique opportunity to train across both academic and community hospital settings within our integrated health system. Our program’s structure is designed to develop well-rounded practitioners through personalized training, close mentorship, and exposure to a wide range of patient populations and disease states in a rich educational environment.

The primary practice site for the residency program is St. Elizabeth Healthcare Edgewood in Kentucky, but residents can participate in patient care at the Dearborn, Florence, and Ft. Thomas facilities as well. All facilities are located within 15-35 minutes of each other and follow the same organizational policies and procedures. While most PGY1 Residents spend ~75% of their time at our Edgewood campus (primary practice site), our residents can customize their residency year through the selection of their “staffing site”. The staffing site is where residents complete their Longitudinal Pharmacy Staffing. In general, residents train in a 500-bed, academic-community hybrid hospital during the week and may staff at a smaller community hospital on weekends, with sizes ranging from 60 to 150 beds. Each resident provides preference to the Residency Program Director on their “staffing site”. Options include: the Dearborn (DBN) campus which supports one resident, the Edgewood (EDG) campus which supports four residents, the Florence (FLO) campus which supports one resident, or the Fort Thomas (FTT) campus which supports one resident. The remainder of the residency year is spent rotating through the various sites dependent upon on the rotation being completed.

Since St. Elizabeth Healthcare’s hospitals operate in two states, our program offers two unique match numbers. The first match number (labeled Kentucky Pharmacist License Requirement Only) is assigned to the six Kentucky (EDG, FLO, FTT) staffing residency positions. The second match number (labeled Kentucky and Indiana Pharmacist License Requirement) is assigned to the single Indiana (DBN) staffing residency position. Kentucky staffing residents must be licensed pharmacists in the State of Kentucky. The Indiana staffing resident must be a licensed pharmacist in the State of Indiana and Kentucky. Interested candidates should apply to only the Kentucky Match Number (to avoid extra fees). Only one interview will be conducted for the entire program. Candidates can then rank (or not rank) both the Kentucky and Indiana match numbers according to their own personal preference of St. Elizabeth Healthcare staffing site.

Team-based precepting is an innovative learning model based on the premise of collaborative mentoring. In this model, a primary preceptor works together with several other qualified pharmacists to provide quality rotation experiences for PGY1 residents. These interactions provide opportunities for coaching and facilitating personal and professional growth for residents.

The structure of the residency program at St. Elizabeth is based around monthly learning experiences (rotations). Staffing experiences will occur on the weekends and one evening shift every other week. Residency specific activities occur Monday through Friday. The typical resident schedule is Monday through Friday and every other weekend.

The SEH PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program offers a wide range of patient care rotations, providing residents with the flexibility to pursue their individual professional goals. Our program fosters the development of clinical practice across diverse care settings, supported by robust learning experiences and hands-on training. Throughout each rotation, residents are encouraged to work independently, demonstrating progressive proficiency in pharmacy practice and honing critical thinking skills through active patient monitoring and medication management. Research projects are presented at regional conferences and prepared for publication, further enriching the academic experience. With dedicated preceptors, collaborative multidisciplinary teams, and a diverse patient population, St. Elizabeth Healthcare offers an exceptional environment to build a strong foundation for a lifelong career in pharmacy.

Completion of a research project is a required component of the residency programs. The purpose of this requirement is to introduce the resident to the principles of scientific method including the design, preparation, performance and interpretation of a medical project. The resident also gains experience in the preparation of a manuscript for publication and improves his/her public speaking skills through formal presentation.

The PGY1 Pharmacy Resident is required to serve on a hospital multidisciplinary committee as a non-voting member. The purpose of this activity is to provide the resident with the opportunity to gain experience in the decision-making process encountered with committee work as well as multi-disciplinary interactions in a setting outside of clinical practice. Residents are also required to attend at least one Pharmacy & Therapeutics / Infection Control Committee Meeting (PTIC), one Medication Management Committee meeting, and one Pharmacy Clinical Practice Council Meeting.

Though not a program requirement, residents have the opportunity to participate in the Teaching Certificate Program (TCP) affiliated with the James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy (University of Cincinnati). The Teaching Certificate Program (TCP) will provide the resident a broad understanding of issues in pharmacy education and opportunities to enhance his/her teaching skills. It has been designed for residents to obtain knowledge in educational theory, gain experience in teaching in various instructional settings, and document and reflect upon their teaching activities. If a resident chooses to participate in this program, it should be incorporated into the resident development plan. He/she is expected to commit to the entire program which culminates in receiving a certificate of accomplishment. The TCP has two unique tracks–Preceptor and Academia. The preceptor track is aimed for residents who want to gain a basic understanding of pharmacy education with a focus on precepting students, both in the classroom and experiential setting. The academia track is for residents who have an interest in a potential career in academic pharmacy. Residents in this track will obtain a broader understanding of academia with regards to foundations of teaching and learning and have additional teaching opportunities such as course design and delivery, course coordination, didactic lecture development and delivery, small group facilitation and more.