School  creates new residencies for pharmacy graduates

Pharmacy resident Meagan Minor checks the blood pressure of a patient served by the Delta Pharmacy Patient Care Management Project.

n response to the growing number of pharmacy graduates seeking opportunities to further develop their practice skills, the School of Pharmacy created a Community Pharmacy Residency Program. The first resident was accepted in July 2009.

The residency is a one-year training program focused on advancing skills in providing direct patient care, patient care service development and practice management. An additional residency position was added in 2010.

The program is supported by a larger project in the School of Pharmacy, the Delta Pharmacy Patient Care Management Project, which is enabling pharmacists and faculty to provide medication therapy management and other innovative patient services in community pharmacies in Yazoo City, Clarksdale, Batesville, Indianola, Durant, Belzoni, Hollandale, Hernando, Olive Branch and Charleston. Through this project, residents provide services in Webb’s Pharmacy and in the G.A. Carmichael Family Health Center in Yazoo City.

Additional training sites include Walgreens in Brandon and Clinton, and the Cardiometabolic and Family Medicine clinics at the UM Medical Center in Jackson. The UMMC clinics combat chronic diseases, and residents work with clinical pharmacists and physicians to improve patient outcomes.

“Our program offers unique opportunities for conducting research, precepting Doctor of Pharmacy students, educating patients with chronic diseases and providing individualized medication therapy management in a community pharmacy setting,” said Leigh Ann Ross, associate dean for clinical affairs and chair of pharmacy practice.

“Through this program, residents develop and refine their skills, positioning them to practice in ambulatory care clinics or community pharmacy settings, or even to establish their own innovative pharmacy practice. Teaching and scholarship are emphasized in the program, and we hope that this will prepare residents interested in careers  as faculty members in an academic setting.”

Residents greatly appreciate the training opportunity.

“I expect to come out of this residency with an increased confidence, knowledge base and the skills to manage patients in outpatient and community settings,” said Courtney Davis of Clinton, a new resident in the program.

“With lots of focus in the clinical and academic world, I know I will be well prepared for a job in any field, whether it be hospital, academia or clinical community pharmacy,” said Meagan Minor of Baton Rouge, another new resident.

The pharmacy school’s Department of Pharmacy Practice administers the residency program, with many of its faculty serving as preceptors. The program is directed by Ross and coordinated by Justin J. Sherman, associate professor of pharmacy practice, with support from the Delta Pharmacy Patient Care Management Project and Walgreens.  In the first year, the school partnered with Biggs Drug Store in Crystal Springs.

The Delta Pharmacy Patient Care Management Project is funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration through the nonprofit Delta Health Alliance.  DHA funds a number of projects aimed at coordinating health efforts in the Delta.

For more information about the Community Pharmacy Residency Program, visit http://www.pharmd.org/residency or call Ross at 601-984-2620.