Annual Program Structure [PDF].

At the start of the residency year, the resident will undergo orientation and training for University Health (UH), the PGY1 Residency program, and University of Texas College of Pharmacy (UTCOP). Departmental and residency training will include orientation to policies and procedures, electronic medical record and computer systems, inpatient pharmacy operations (including sterile compounding), and select decentralized areas.

All items on the Inpatient Training List will be covered during this training period, and the completed checklist should be submitted to the residency program director (RPD) at the end of the training period. The resident will also be oriented to the ASHP Residency Accreditation Standards, Program Design and Conduct, and the required Competency Areas, Goals, and Objectives for PGY1 residency training. In addition, the resident will be oriented to the evaluation process and the PharmAcademic online evaluation system. Residents who are not already certified will also be scheduled for training in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) early in the residency.

The resident is required to participate in the UTCOP residents’ weekly didactics, including Pharmacotherapy Seminar and Pharmacotherapy Rounds, on Friday afternoons. The resident will lead at least one assigned Pharmacotherapy Seminar and present one formal ACPE-approved CE program to UH pharmacy staff and at Pharmacotherapy Rounds.

Throughout the residency year, each resident is required to facilitate pharmacy student labs for UT and UIW. Number and assignments will be determined annually based upon school’s needs.

The UTCOP Teaching and Leadership Fellows Program (TLFP) is a learning experience provided to residents participating in UTCOP-affiliated residency programs. The program provides the opportunity for pharmacy residents to gain fundamental knowledge and skills in teaching, learning, and leadership. The skills obtained can be utilized when providing medication and practice-related education to patients, caregivers, health care professionals, students, and the public in an experiential or didactic role. Residents will be required to document growth in teaching skills as well as leadership development throughout the program. There are two tracks for participation - the clinical educator track, and the academia/faculty track. The resident will receive a certificate at the completion of the program.

The resident should become licensed by the Texas State Board of Pharmacy as a Registered Pharmacist by August 1. As part of this longitudinal learning experience, the resident will staff inpatient operations throughout the year. Scheduling to be determined annually based on the number of residents and staffing needs, not to exceed an average of sixteen hours per two-week pay period over ten months.

The resident may also be required to staff in extenuating circumstances, limited to no more than three days per residency year. While there are no specific criteria defining extenuating circumstances, the individual situation is evaluated and efforts are made to minimize time away from the resident’s current rotation. Approval to require a resident to staff must be obtained from the residency leadership.

Successful completion of a research project is required. The resident must adhere to the established timeline for the project to assure successful completion during the one-year residency. The major project topic may be an idea of the resident, from a suggested list, or individually assigned. The project will be directly supervised by the preceptors who have expertise in the topic.

The research project must be approved the UT Health San Antonio Investigational Review Board and the UH Research Committee. Research results will be presented as a platform presentation at a regional residency conference, as determined by the Residency Advisory Committee (RAC), and as a poster presentation at UT’s “Celebrating Pharmacy Research Excellence Day” in the spring.

The major project must also be submitted in final manuscript form to the RAC in order to receive a residency certificate. The resident is strongly encouraged to publish the results of the major project in a peer-reviewed journal.

This longitudinal rotation is structured to provide the resident experience in self-evaluation of his or her strengths, progress throughout the residency, areas for improvement and goals. Self-evaluations will be completed and discussed between the resident and residency leadership on a quarterly basis then incorporated into each resident’s personal development plan.

Each resident will complete a core set of required rotations plus additional elective rotations throughout the residency year. The standard rotation length is four weeks, but may be flexible depending on the needs and interests of the individual resident.

Required experiences:

1. Orientation
2. Internal Medicine
3. Critical Care (Medical ICU, Neuroscience ICU, Surgical/Trauma ICU or CV Transplant ICU)
4. Ambulatory Care (extensive variety including primary care, specialty clinics, transitions of care, etc)
5. Pediatrics (Pediatric ICU, Neonatal ICU, Pediatric Congenital Cardiac Unit, or General Pediatrics)
6. Practice Management
7. Advanced Clinical Practice

Additional elective experiences include:

1. Cardiology
2. Emergency Medicine
3. Infectious Diseases
4. Solid Organ Transplant
5. Oncology
6. Maternal-Fetal Medicine
7. Anticoagulation Stewardship
8. Palliative Care

A resident may not complete more than two off-site (i.e., outside University Health facilities) rotations per residency year.

During patient care rotations throughout the course of the residency year, each resident is required to present a minimum of two patient cases and two journal clubs.