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Pharmacy Residency Program

MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center provides dedicated and quality care in northeast Iowa. Our care is based on our mission and values, which emphasize the respect and dignity all of the patients we serve. We also strive to be an integral part of bettering our community, providing over $20 million annually in charity medical care, volunteer service and education. Our Pharmacy Residency Program focuses on developing residents into competent, confident and compassionate caregivers with emphasis in providing optimal pharmaceutical care to a wide variety of patients.

Program overview

The PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency Program at MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center builds on doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) educational outcomes to contribute the development of clinical pharmacists responsible for medication-related care of patients with a wide variety of conditions, eligible for board certification, and eligible for PGY-1 residency training.

The MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center pharmacy department is open 24 hours daily. Distributive and order entry functions are based out of the central pharmacy with clinical functions being handled by unit and clinic-based pharmacists. Our pharmacy staffs 28 pharmacists and 25 technicians and boasts the second hospital in the state to implement a Technician Product Verification program.

Decentralized care units

  • Ambulatory care
  • Emergency department
  • ICU–Adult
  • Infectious disease
  • Medical/surgical (hospitalists)
  • Oncology
  • Transition of care 

Clinical Pharmacy Services

  • Antibiotic stewardship
  • Collaborative practice with hospitalists and emergency department
  • Pharmacist-driven renal and weight-based dosing adjustments
  • Therapeutic drug dosing and monitoring
  • Transitions of care facilitation

 

Requirements for Successful Completion of Residency Program

The residency certificate will be awarded upon successful completion of the residency program requirements. \

The resident must:

  • Abide by the policies and procedures of department and hospital
  • Achieve a State of Iowa Pharmacy License
  • Achieve a minimum of 85% of current ASHP Residency Objectives at Achieved Level
  • Achieve PEPPR Teaching Program Certification
  • Achieve ACLS Certification
  • Fulfill meeting attendance requirements as outlined in the manual
  • Participate in IPPE and APPE teaching activities
  • Present a project poster at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exhibition
  • Present their project at the Midwest Pharmacy Residents Conference
  • Record duty hours including any moonlighting
  • Fulfill evening, weekend and holiday staffing responsibilities

 

Pharmacy Licensure

It's expected that all pharmacy residents will become licensed as pharmacists in the State of Iowa within 90 days of their start date. Failure to obtain a license within the allotted time frame is considered a breach of contract and disciplinary action of immediate termination from the program will be decided by the Residency Advisory Council (RAC) and Residency Program Director (RPD) with human resources and legal representation as needed. Extenuating circumstances will be handled by the RAC and RPD on a case-by-case basis but may result in termination from the program or extending the residency experience to meet current ASHP expectations.

REQUIRED LEARNING EXPERIENCES

  • Orientation to pharmacy practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .six weeks
  • Transitions of care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .five weeks
  • Adult infectious diseases and antibiotic stewardship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .five weeks
  • Internal medicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  five weeks
  • Pharmacy administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .four weeks (divided in two blocks)
  • Drug policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .four weeks (divided in two blocks)

REQUIRED LONGITUDINAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES 

  • Academia
  • Pharmacy practice (Longitudinal Staffing)
  • Research project
  • Code blue/trauma

ELECTIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCES 

  • Virology  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . two weeks
  • Pediatrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . four weeks
  • Retail experience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . two weeks

The resident may choose to retake a required learning experience as an elective experience. The length of elective learning experiences will be determined based on the interest of the resident and scheduling availability.

Sequence of learning experiences will depend upon resident and preceptor schedules. All residents will start with six weeks of orientation to pharmacy practice, usually followed by required rotations. Electives are generally completed near the end of the year when required rotations have been completed.

Residency Training Sites 

  • MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center
  • MercyOne Waterloo Cancer Center
  • University of Iowa College of Pharmacy 

STIPEND 

  • Approximately $49,000–$50,000