Skip to main content

Pharmacy Informatics

Pharmacy Informatics

About this PGY2 Pharmacy Residency Program

Purpose

Our PGY2 pharmacy residency programs build on 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 our PGY2 residency programs are prepared for advanced patient care or other specialized positions, and board certification in the advanced practice area, if available.

Description

The pharmacy informatics residency program offers a one-year PGY2 certificate. The resident receives informatics training in a variety of clinical applications that impact patient care. The purpose of the residency is to develop pharmacy practitioners with marketable job skills in clinical informatics and automation. They also develop a working knowledge of medication information systems and their design, development, and integration into clinical practice. The resident will gain first-hand experience building and maintaining an Epic pharmacy system including certification in the Epic Willow Inpatient module.

Program Goals and Resident Outcomes

After successful completion of this pharmacy informatics residency program, the resident will be able to:

  • Train leaders in pharmacy informatics with specialized knowledge in both clinical informatics and automation.
  • Develop expertise in technology assessment, implementation, and workflow integration.
  • Gain a comprehensive understanding of Epic pharmacy systems, both build and maintenance aspects.
  • Develop critical thinking skills as they apply to clinical informatics and anticipate downstream system implications.
  • Effectively communicate informatics-related issues to both clinical and non-clinical personnel.
  • Independently identify pharmacy technology issues and optimization (patient care, safety, etc.), develop an action plan, and communicate with stakeholders.

Highlights

Rotation opportunities are available in a wide variety of clinical areas, IT technical operations, automation experiences, clinical decision support, and more. The resident benefits from the collaborative relationship between pharmacy, nursing, and hospital informatics as well as the flexibility in rotation scheduling. The resident will also complete Epic Willow Certification through on-site training sessions at the Epic campus in Madison, Wisconsin.
 

Rotation Experiences

Required Foundational Experiences

Rotation Preceptor(s) Duration
General Residency Orientation Shantel Mullin 2 weeks
Orientation to Informatics
*Epic Willow Accreditation
Nicholas Link 4 weeks
Pharmacy Orders Integration Bryan Edvalson 4 weeks
Clinical Decision Support David ElHalta 4 weeks
Data Analytics and Reporting Dawnyle Kelley 4 weeks
Automation Technology Bryce Knight 4 weeks
Barcode Medication Administration Brian Johnson 4 weeks
Pharmacy Informatics Compliance Brett Sower 4 weeks
Pharmacy IT Leadership and Management Shea Kinsey 4 weeks
Project Management Shea Kinsey 4 weeks
Pharmacy Informatics Capstone Suzie Chen 4 weeks

Required Longitudinal Rotations

Rotation Preceptor(s) Duration
Residency Project TBD Longitudinal
Staffing Commitment Shea Kinsey
Ashley Woods
Longitudinal

Elective Experiences

Rotation Preceptor(s) Duration
Pharmacy Informatics Oncology
*Epic Beacon Accreditation
Nicholas Link 4 weeks
Healthcare Analytics Heidi Cozart 4 weeks
Ambulatory Pharmacy
*Epic Willow Ambulatory Accreditation
Bryce Knight 4 weeks
Advanced Reporting and Analytics
*Epic Cogito Accreditation
Shea Kinsey 2-4 weeks

Electives are arranged based on the resident's interests. This may include experiences in other areas not listed, or an extension in an already scheduled area.

Requirements

Staffing Commitment

The PGY2 pharmacy informatics resident splits their staffing commitment between the central hospital pharmacy and IT pharmacist on-call shifts. The resident will be scheduled in the central pharmacy at least one weekend (Saturday and Sunday) and one weekday per month, during which they will verify orders and manage order dispensing workflows. Starting around October, the resident will be scheduled for at least 2 on-call shifts per month. During IT on-call shifts, the resident will respond first to any high priority pharmacy-related trouble tickets between 9am and 9am the following day.

Presentations

Residents are required to do at least 4 presentations including the following:

  • Vizient Meeting Poster Presentation (Fall)
  • ACPE Accredited C.E. Presentation (Spring)
  • Mountain States Conference Residency Project Presentation (Spring)
  • College of Pharmacy Health Informatics Elective Lecture (Spring)

Meetings

  • ASHP Midyear and Vizient Meeting, Location TBD (Fall)
  • Mountain States Resident Conference, Salt Lake City (Spring)

Optional Teaching Experience

An optional Teaching Certificate program offered through a partnership with the University of Utah College of Pharmacy is available if interested.

 
Qualifications

  • Candidates must graduate from an ACPE-accredited pharmacy program with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree and a minimum GPA of 3.1 on a 4.0 scale.
  • Candidates must have completed an accredited PGY1 pharmacy residency program.
  • Candidates must be eligible for Utah licensure and are expected to obtain licensure as a pharmacist in Utah by September 30th of each program year. (The University of Utah pharmacy residency programs do not sponsor visas.)

Recruitment & Selection

The following information must be submitted by the date specified (typically the first Friday in January) in the Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PhORCAS) for the applicant to be considered for an on-site interview:

  • Completed PhORCAS registration
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Letter of intent
  • College of pharmacy transcripts
  • Three recommendations using the PhORCAS standard form

All residency programs at University of Utah Health use the Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PhORCAS). No paper applications will be accepted. Completed applications in PhORCAS are reviewed and competitive applicants will be interviewed. The program participates in the National Matching Service through ASHP

Benefits

  • Pharmacy residents are classified as regular, full-time, exempt employees of University of Utah Health.
  • The benefits package includes health, dental, and life insurance, and staff discounts.
  • Residents accrue 18 days of paid time off (PTO) and 10 paid holidays per year, but are asked to limit vacation and interview days to 10 total per year.
  • Depending on the residency program, registration and travel is paid for the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and the Mountain States Resident's Conference.

Contact Information

Shea Kinsey, PharmD, MBA, MHA, MS, BCPS

Director

Shea Kinsey, PharmD, MBA, MHA, MS, BCPS
Shea.Kinsey@hsc.utah.edu
(612) 716-9602

Nicholas Link, PharmD, MS

Coordinator

Nicholas Link, PharmD, MS
Nicholas.Link@hci.utah.edu