UK HEALTHCARE Infectious Diseases

The UK HealthCare Infectious Diseases (ID) residency is a one-year ASHP-accredited specialty residency with two tracks to selection from: Traditional (2 positions) and Pediatric (1 position). It offers in-depth experience in a variety of areas including antimicrobial stewardship, ID consults, microbiology lab, infection prevention and control, outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy, and HIV clinic. ID consult experiences include Transplant, Bone and Joint, Endocarditis, Good Samaritan (community hospital), General, and Pediatric. The Ryan White funded Bluegrass Care Clinic (BCC), which is the major HIV/AIDS care center for central and eastern Kentucky, serves as the HIV/ID clinic rotation site. Other areas for infectious diseases electives include solid organ transplantation, bone marrow transplant, hematologic malignancy, medical and surgical critical care, emergency department, academia, PK/PD research, and more based on resident interest. The primary emphasis of the program is to develop clinicians with expertise in the area of infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and antimicrobial stewardship. Residents completing the program are expected to demonstrate competency in the areas of contemporary pharmacy practice, written and oral communication, and infectious diseases research.

The resident will be heavily involved in the antimicrobial stewardship program, promoting its mission to optimize the use of antimicrobials to improve clinical outcomes and decrease the spread of antimicrobial resistance through collaboration, education, research and innovation. Throughout the year, the resident will work with the stewardship team on policies, guidelines, order sets, etc. in order to identify opportunities for antimicrobial optimization and cultivate the skills necessary to develop and implement these initiatives.  The resident will also round with our various ID teams throughout the year and assume responsibility for these patients' antimicrobial management.  He/she will develop therapeutic plans, recognize stewardship opportunities, provide evidence-based recommendations, facilitate communication with primary teams, and develop strong relationships with the ID team.

Research, Teaching & Service

The infectious diseases resident participates in clinical or bench-top research activities, and the results of a research project are expected to be presented at a national meeting and in a professional manuscript.  The resident also has educational responsibilities including precepting Doctor of Pharmacy students, leading case discussions, giving didactic lectures for the College of Pharmacy, and providing in-services for other healthcare providers. Completion of a scholarship of teaching and learning program is required if the resident did not complete a teaching certificate program during their PGY1 pharmacy practice residency. The resident also participates in providing 24-hour clinical pharmacy services for adult and pediatric patients through the in-house on-call program.

UK ID Program Purpose

The PGY2 ID pharmacy residency program is designed to prepare residents for ID specialty pharmacy practice in a variety of settings.  Residents are trained to be proficient in antimicrobial stewardship and infectious diseases management allowing them to be successful in clinical practice, academia, and/or industry.  Our hope as an ID program is that residents leaving UK HealthCare strive to fulfill our antimicrobial stewardship program mission wherever they go as summarized by our tagline: Preserve Antibiotics. Prevent Resistance. Protect Lives.