Required Rotations

Core learning experiences are offered in several specialty areas. The learning experiences that are required or selective vary depending on whether the resident is acute or ambulatory care focused. Some selective learning experiences may be unavailable depending on staff availability.

Orientation to Pharmacy Practice is a six-week learning experience at MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center. This learning experience is the first learning experience for every incoming resident. During this experience, the residents will become more familiar with the hospital, ambulatory clinic (if ambulatory care focused), receive training to become functional in the pharmacy department’s drug distribution services, orient to clinical services offered, and complete sterile compounding training. The residents will also have topic discussions to cover the various pharmacy services offered by the department as well as an overview of policies and procedures.

Drug Policy is a year-long longitudinal learning experience with two additional two-week blocks dedicated to drug policy activities, typically split as two weeks in the fall and two weeks in the spring. During the two-week experiences, the resident will work closely with the pharmacy manager to complete daily drug management tasks. Throughout the year, the residents will also attend meetings and complete various drug policy and quality improvement projects.

Pharmacy Administration is a learning experience with the pharmacy director and is designed to be two weeks in the fall and two weeks in the spring. This learning experience is intended to familiarize the residents with pharmacy leadership and the role of pharmacy management within MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center. The residents will become confident in such aspects of management as pharmacy leadership, personnel management and regulatory compliance. The resident will participate as an active member of the pharmacy leadership team. 

Academia is a year-long longitudinal learning experience required for all residents. This learning experience is completed may require residents to travel to complete teaching responsibilities. Successful completion of an approved teaching certificate program and receipt of the teaching certificate is required for successful completion of the MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center pharmacy residency program. The teaching certificate program helps residents adapt to teaching roles they undertake during their residency program and prepares them for post-residency teaching roles or academic positions.

Adult Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Stewardship is a focused five-week learning experience at MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center. The learning experience is centered on advancing the residents’ understanding of and proficiency in managing patients with wide array of infectious diseases in the acute care setting. The residents will apply current clinical practice guidelines, evidence-based medicine, along with local resistance patterns to develop and adjust patient-specific pharmacotherapy regimens and monitoring plans. As a portion of this learning experience is completed with the infectious disease provider without direct oversite by the preceptor, this learning experience will be completed during the second half of the year.

Critical Care is an intensive, five-week learning experience primarily focused on the 14-bed intensive care unit. The learning experience is concentrated on challenging and strengthening the PGY-1 resident’s knowledge of medical, cardiac, and surgical critical care medicine. The pharmacy resident will become familiarized with the roles and responsibilities of the critical care pharmacist within the critical care team—consisting of physicians, critical care nursing staff, respiratory therapists, clinical dietitian, case managers, social workers, physical therapists and occupational therapists.

Hematology/Oncology is a five-week long learning experience that takes place at MercyOne Waterloo Hematology and Oncology. MercyOne Waterloo Hematology and Oncology is an outpatient clinic with two medical oncologists, two mid-level practitioners, seven oncology nurses, one oncology pharmacist and numerous support staff. The staff works as a team in the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of patients with various cancers and hematologic disorders.

Internal Medicine is a five-week learning experience which encompasses the care of the following patient populations: internal medicine, surgical unit, pediatric unit, inpatient psychiatric unit, inpatient substance abuse treatment unit, labor and delivery, and the neonatal intensive care unit. The residents will be responsible for ensuring safe and effective medication use for all patients on the assigned units, including all pharmacotherapeutic consults, drug monitoring, renal dose adjustments and additional clinical tasks.

Virology is an elective 2-week learning experience at MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center. The learning experience is concentrated on advancing the resident's understanding of and proficiency in managing patients with HIV, Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B. During this learning experience the resident will become knowledgeable about HIV, Hepatitis C, and Hepatitis B viruses, epidemiology, disease progression, treatment options, and monitoring parameters as well as motivational interviewing theory and techniques to counsel this patient population.

Transitions of Care is a five-week learning experience at MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center. The transitions of care office is located on the second floor of the hospital. This position works with a transitions of care pharmacy technician as well as the MercyOne Waterloo Outpatient Pharmacy to provide a variety of services such as the “Meds to Beds” program, responding to any consults from providers regarding patient access to medications upon discharge, facilitating INR monitoring after discharge and completing medication histories.

Emergency Medicine is a 5-week learning experience at MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center. The department is certified by the state of Iowa as Level III Area Trauma Care facility. There are 24 beds in the emergency department with two critical care rooms designed for high acuity cases. Provider staffing includes two medical doctors and three mid-level practitioners per day. The emergency department provides care to approximately 75 to 100 patients each day.

Code Blue and Trauma is a longitudinal learning experience designed to help residents gain proficiency in the management of patients requiring immediate, resuscitative care. This learning experience will primarily take place in the 24-bed, emergency department, though residents will also attend code blue situations throughout MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center. Residents will complete Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support certification and take turns attending all level 1 traumas and code blues when on hospital grounds.

Pediatric Elective is a four-week elective learning experience available to residents in the second half of the year and is intended to familiarize the residents with the basics of treatment of pediatric patients within MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center. The residents will become introduced to aspects of pediatric care in both the inpatient and ambulatory care settings. This elective is available for residents during the second half of the year once they have been deemed independent practitioners by the RAC.