PGY2: Ambulatory Care Shadyside

The PGY2 Ambulatory Care Program at UPMC Shadyside emphasizes primary care family medicine, including care of pediatrics, geriatrics, and patients of childbearing potential. The main site of patient care is UPMC Shadyside Family Health Center, a family medicine residency practice. Required specialty clinic experiences include a block rotation in HIV primary/specialty care at the Pittsburgh AIDS Center for Treatment and a 6-month longitudinal experience in primary/specialty Precision Medicine Clinic, which is a hybrid of genomics and family medicine. In addition to patient care activities, residents will conduct a research/quality improvement project with participation in the Resident Research Series and experience a variety of teaching experiences, including opportunities to focus on medical resident education. Residents may also participate in the Teaching Mastery Program.

PGY2 pharmacy residency programs build on Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) education and PGY1 pharmacy residency programs to contribute to the development of clinical pharmacists in specialized areas of practice. PGY2 residencies provide residents with opportunities to function independently as practitioners by conceptualizing and integrating accumulated experience and knowledge and incorporating both into the provision of patient care or other advanced practice settings. Residents who successfully complete an accredited PGY2 pharmacy residency are prepared for advanced patient care, academic, or other specialized positions, along with board certification, if available.

The PGY2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency Program at UPMC Shadyside develops independent ambulatory care pharmacists that are leaders in collaborative practice models with physicians and interprofessional teams. Program graduates will be well prepared to manage the diverse medication and health related needs of patients in the primary care setting; be highly skilled to design and deliver educational programs to students and practicing health care professionals; and be prepared to perform practice-based research. All program graduates will be competitive in obtaining a position within an ambulatory clinic, institutional-based physician practice, or community-based physician’s office, as well as teaching positions including clinical faculty at a school of pharmacy or medicine or core faculty in a medical residency. Program graduates will be eligible and well-prepared to obtain Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties board certification. The program provides residents with learning experiences in a variety of patient populations, emphasizing continuity and depth of experience. This provides the resident opportunities to develop deep practice ownership and longer-term caring relationships in primary care populations, including some specialty subpopulations cared for within primary care settings. The patient care and practice management skills developed are directly applicable to many primary care, specialty outpatient and transitional care settings.

Appointment Period: July 1 – June 30
Number Positions:
1 – Ambulatory Care (NMS Code 643365) 
Starting Date: July 1
Salary: $51,037
Vacation:20 paid time off days (includes vacation, sickness, personal time, conference and interviews)
Insurance: Health, dental, eye care, life, and disability available.

Eligible candidates will have:

• Doctor of Pharmacy degree from an accredited school of pharmacy
• Current enrollment in or completion of a PGY1 residency in pharmacy practice or community pharmacy practice
• Licensure or eligibility for licensure within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
• References
  • We request a minimum of 3 references and ask that at least two of the three references come from preceptors with whom the applicant has worked in a direct patient care setting. The preceptor should be able to comment on the applicant’s responsibilities, patient workload, clinical problem-solving abilities, and time management skills. All reference writers must use the standard PhORCAS reference template and provide comments on a minimum of 7 of the 15 characteristics in the spaces provided.

• Registered for the ASHP Residency Matching Program
• Submitted a completed application via PhORCAS by December 31st to UPMC Shadyside PGY2 Ambulatory Care (23964)

The residency site agrees that no person at the site will solicit, accept, or use any ranking related informing from any residency candidate.

The program also collaborates with the other Presbyterian/Shadyside based Ambulatory Care Programs for shared experiences and discussion sessions to foster resident and preceptor collaboration.

UPMC Shadyside Family Health Center:

Longitudinal learning activities are based in the UPMC Shadyside Family Health Center (SHYFHC), conveniently located across the street from UPMC Shadyside hospital. SHYFHC is certified by the National Committee for Quality Assurance as a Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Home and provides outpatient care to a wide range of patients in the East End communities of Pittsburgh. As a family medicine practice, the SHYFHC patient population spans all ages and indications, including pediatric, geriatric and obstetrical care. SHYFHC patient care is provided by a multidisciplinary team including attending primary care physicians, PGY1-PGY3 resident physicians, multiple levels of nursing, a behavioral health specialist, social worker, care manager, an outpatient primary care clinical pharmacist and specialists in sports medicine, community psychiatry, and pulmonology. The FHC also has on-site phlebotomy and radiology services. SHYFHC is a learning site for APPE pharmacy students, PGY1 pharmacy residents, medical students in 3rd and 4th year, and nursing students.

Pharmacist Responsibilities at the practice site and practice environment:

The outpatient pharmacy team at SHYFHC is responsible for a variety of patient care and educational activities ranging from daily to quarterly/annual requirements. Daily clinical tasks include anticoagulation management, supervision of post-discharge medication reconciliations, answering therapeutic consults, patient care follow-up calls, support for prior authorizations and solving office-pharmacy interface issues, and some limited drug inventory management (e.g. restocking the QPharma MedStart sampling machine). Weekly responsibilities include clinic hours in pharmacist-run Pharmacotherapy Clinic 1-3 half days per week, home visits with physicians, and substance use disorder treatment case reviews. Hepatitis C/liver clinic is in transition from weekly to standard clinic practice and patients are seen by the pharmacist as needed, with frequent provider consultations between clinic sessions. Quarterly responsibilities include HIV quality improvement case conferences, controlled substances reviews, ongoing population reviews of patients identified for adherence packaging, and specific QI targets as directed by clinic measures (e.g. statin use in patients with diabetes for star measure.)

Staffing requirements:

Service required every 3rd weekend:
Shadyside Family Health Center Transitions of Care Service

Teaching Experiences:

Teaching experiences are integrated throughout our program, including precepting, lectures, and practica within PittPharmacy. These are the required minimum experiences:

1. Serve as primary preceptor for one APPE student
2. Simulation Evaluation - 2 sessions
3. Small Group Facilitation - 2 sessions
4. Large Group Instruction (excludes PULSE) 
   • 1-30 min session to pharmacy students
   • 1-30 min session to pharmacists/pharmacy staff
   • 2-30 min session to non-pharmacy health care providers/learner
5. Family Medicine Residency –
   • Assigned faculty for 1 family physician evidence-based medicine assignment
   • Experiential teaching during office hours rotation (min. 5 PGY1 FM residents)

Residents may also elect to participate in the PittPharmacy Mastery of Teaching Certificate Program (didactic instruction, mentor groups and teaching portfolio).

Research Experience:

PittPharmacy Research Series: Research seminars, project development including protocol, project execution including data analysis, manuscript and presentation at Resident Research Day.

In addition to Pharmacy Resident Research Day, Shadyside PGY2 Ambulatory Care residents will be expected to present a platform presentation and poster at Family Medicine Scholarly Project Day. Residents may participate in Longitudinal Outpatient Practice Improvement Rotation meetings every other week within the UPMC Shadyside Family Medicine Residency for ongoing support for quality-improvement scholarly activity.

Stephanie Ballard, PharmD, BCPS – Shadyside Family Health Center / UPMC Shadyside

Family Medicine Residency

Lucas Berenbrok, PharmD, MS, BCACP, TTS – UPMC Primary Care Precision Medicine (Family Medicine / Clinical Pharmacogenomics) / University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy

Thomas Glowa, PharmD, BCPS – UPMC Pittsburgh AIDS Center for Treatment (PACT) Clinic

Deanne Hall, PharmD, CDE, BCACP – UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute (Ambulatory Cardiology) / University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy

Michele Hebda, PharmD, BCPS – UPMC Shadyside / UPMC Shadyside Family Medicine Residency (Inpatient Family Medicine)

Trisha Miller, PharmD, BCACP – Shea Medical Center (Primary Care Internal Medicine)

Christine Ruby-Scelsi, PharmD, BCGP – Senior Care Institute (Geriatrics) / University of Pittsburgh Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine

Erin Suhrie, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP

Brenda Shih, PharmD

Program Graduates and First Positions (Since Family Medicine Track availability 2019)

2020-2021

Carly Gabriel, PharmD – PGY2 Ambulatory Care, Family Medicine Track PharmD: University of Pittsburgh
PGY1: University of Pittsburgh PGY1 Community Pharmacy Residency Project: Adherence to a controlled substance policy at an urban academic family health center
First post-residency position:
Clinical Pharmacist - Ambulatory Care and Internal Medicine Residency Teaching Faculty
UPMC Presbyterian-Shadyside and UPMC General Internal Medicine Oakland, Pittsburgh, PA

2019-2020

Marilyn (Schoenle) Sauk, PharmD, AAHIVP, BCGP – PGY2 Ambulatory Care, Family Medicine Track
PharmD: Butler University
PGY1: UPMC Shadyside Pharmacy Residency
Residency Project: HIV antiretroviral therapy monitoring in an urban family health center
First post-residency position: Clinical Pharmacist at Devoted Health, Houston, TX

Best poster – session 2: UPMC Graduate Medical Education Quality and Safety Symposium 2022 (Crossey, Post-discharge medication reconciliation service initiation)

3rd Place in Sustainability: UPMC Presbyterian-Shadyside Quality Improvement Fair 2021 (Gabriel, Opioid use evaluation and policy update)

Katz DS, Gabriel CT, Berenbrok LA. Expansion of pharmacy preceptors’ cannabidiol knowledge and confidence to ensure patient safety. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2021; 61(4): e212-e213 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japh.2021.03.021

Schoenle MK, Ballard SL. Response to "Effect of monacolin K and COQ10 supplementation in hypertensive and hypercholesterolemic subjects with metabolic syndrome". Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy. 2019; 109: 448-449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2018.10.038