UK HEALTHCARE Ambulatory Care Residency

PGY2 residency programs build upon Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) education and PGY1 pharmacy residency training to develop pharmacist practitioners with knowledge, skills, and abilities as defined in the educational competency areas, goals, and objectives for advanced practice areas. Residents who successfully complete PGY2 residency programs are prepared for advanced patient care or other specialized positions, and board certification in the advanced practice area, if available.  

Our PGY2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy residents are an integral part of our ambulatory pharmacy team. UK Healthcare has 59 pharmacists practicing in 27 outpatient clinics across the health system.  These clinics include a pharmacist-led anticoagulation clinic, and multiple primary care and specialty clinics. Ambulatory clinic pharmacists are credentialed and privileged by UK Healthcare and serve as key members of interdisciplinary patient care as well as provide pharmacist-led services including medication management, chronic care management, and transitional care management.

The UK HealthCare PGY2 Ambulatory Care Residency is a one year, ASHP accredited specialty residency program. Our program structure consists of longitudinal learning experiences. Longitudinal experiences are structured by quarters of the residency program, allowing the resident to have in-depth experiences as well as provide continuity in care for the ambulatory population. Learning experience structure includes:

Required Learning Experiences                                                    Duration/Schedule*

Orientation                                                                                                Initial 3-4 weeks of residency year

Quarterly Core Practice Experiences

Primary care (Clinic 1)                                                                           2 days per week over 12 weeks

Primary care (Clinic 2)                                                                           2 days per week over 12 weeks

     Primary care experiences may be selected from the following sites:

     Internal Medicine Group, Women’s Health Clinic, Family Community Medicine, Bluegrass Care Clinic, Polk Dalton Clinic

Cardiology                                                                                                    2 days per week over 12 weeks

Diabetes & endocrinology                                                                      2 days per week over 12 weeks

Nephrology                                                                                                   2 days per week over 12 weeks

Ambulatory leadership & administration                                            1/2 day per week over 12 weeks

Transitions of care 1 – Meds-to-Beds                                                   1/2 day per week over 12 weeks (Q1)

Transitions of care 2 – Clinic based transitions of care service   1/2 day per week over 24 weeks (Q3/4)

     Clinic based transitions of care experience may be selected from the following sites:

     Cardiology transitional care clinic, diabetes transition of care clinic, post-ICU clinic, or primary care transition of care programs

Longitudinal for Entire Residency Year Experiences

Teaching                                                                                      Longitudinal depending on resident specific goals

Research                                                                                         1/2 day for research/practice dev in all quarters

Practice management and development                            1/2 day for research/practice dev in all quarters

Meds-to-Beds and Chandler Retail Pharmacy                       Staffing total of 42 shifts over course of year

Elective Experiences

One elective will be done at site of new service development which will align with resident interests.

Elective 1                                                                                                   2 days per week over 12 weeks

Elective 2                                                                                                   2 days per week over 12 weeks

Elective 3                                                                                                   2 days per week over 12 weeks

     Elective opportunities include: academia, behavioral health, anticoagulation, oncology, pulmonology, specialty pharmacy, transplant, outpatient antimicrobial stewardship/infectious diseases. Other elective learning experiences may be developed based on resident interest and preceptor availability.

*All rotation experiences may be adjusted depending on preceptor/clinic schedules or availability during the specific residency year

Research: Our program utilizes a flipped research model, allowing for the resident to be a part of two research projects relevant to ambulatory care pharmacy practice during their residency year.  The resident will be expected to complete a major research project including presentation and manuscript completion for a project, as well as creation and development of an additional project specific to their ambulatory care interests. The resident will have dedicated time for research to support the research requirements and will be supported through a research committee, including a research advisor and associate investigators. 

Teaching: Each resident participates in a longitudinal teaching experience with the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy including being the primary preceptor for at least 2 experiential students, facilitation of the Patient-Centered Care Experience laboratory for at least 16 contact hours, and delivering a minimum of 2 contact hours of lecture. Additional teaching requirements include presenting at pharmacy Grand Rounds, presenting to at least one interprofessional group during the program, and leading at least 3 topic discussions/journal clubs for other ambulatory residents and students. Additional teaching opportunities are available if the resident is interested. The resident is encouraged to complete the UK Teaching and Learning Program.

Practice management and development: Every resident will develop a new ambulatory clinical pharmacy service or enhance a current service. They will work with residency program leadership and department leadership to identify a new service project that fits their interests and health system needs. Examples of past new service projects include creation of a polypharmacy clinic, establishing diabetes management services in a primary care clinic, development of a transitions of care service within a specialty clinic, and justification of a new ambulatory clinic pharmacist positions in clinics that have not previously had this service. Residents will participate in ambulatory practice management topic discussions and create a business plan for their new service.

Staffing: All UK HealthCare pharmacy residents are required to provide support to the department and institution through staffing. Residents in our program provide staffing support through the Meds-to-Beds transitions of care program and 24/7 hospital-based retail pharmacy.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: The University of Kentucky is committed to our core values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and human dignity, and a sense of community. We acknowledge and respect the seen and unseen diverse identities and experiences of all members of our community. We strive to recruit learners and preceptors who work together to support and provide an inclusive professional environment.