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Solid Organ Transplant

Solid Organ Transplant

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 solid organ transplant residency program provides the resident exposure to the pre-transplant evaluation process for transplant candidates as well as acute care and ambulatory management of transplant recipients. Early experiences will begin with a focus on management of specific organ transplant types alone (i.e. kidney, liver, pancreas, heart and lung). As a sound knowledge base of transplant therapeutics and familiarity with the University of Utah Health system is developed, the experience will begin to focus on becoming an independent pharmacist within the solid organ transplant team throughout the continuum of care while caring for multiple transplant types at one time. During the second part of the residency year, the resident has the freedom to focus on areas of interest and customize their learning experiences to meet his or her goals.

Additionally, the resident's research project, staffing requirement (transplant specific) and administrative experience will be ongoing throughout the year. Graduates of our residency program have gone on to careers in academia, clinical practice, research and the pharmaceutical industry.

Goals

  • To train highly sophisticated transplant practitioners that will serve as leaders in transplant pharmacy and the profession.
  • Develop expertise in identifying medication problems in solid organ transplant patients and communicating rational, evidence-based recommendations to solve these problems.
  • The Solid Organ Transplant residency program uses the ASHP Competency Areas, Goals and Objectives (CAGOs) for PGY2 SOT residencies. We use all the required CAGOs for our program. Other elective areas may be addressed as part of the resident's customized plan.

Highlights of Experience

  • The Postgraduate Year Two (PGY2) Pharmacy Residency in Solid Organ Transplant at University of Utah Health will provide a diverse experience balancing clinical, academic and research experiences in an academic medical center. Residents will learn the skills necessary to develop a patient-centered, evidence-based, collaborative practice. The medical staff actively participates in residency training. The resident will have the unique experience of not only participating in the care of heart, lung, liver, kidney and pancreas transplant recipients, but will be part of a comprehensive specialty pharmacy service line.
  • The resident will be a member of and participate in solid organ transplant quality programs. This entails actively participating in morbidity and mortality reviews, root cause analysis, QAPI meetings, selection meetings for all organ groups, and protocol reviews/development.
  • The resident will have the opportunity to gain teaching experience. A teaching certificate program is available (optional). There is potential to participate in lectures at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy, precepting pharmacy students and PGY1 pharmacy residents, as well as numerous opportunities to provide inservices to members of the multidisciplinary team.

Requirements

Required Learning Experiences

  • Orientation (up to 4 weeks)
    • Histocompatibility and Immunology lab experience
  • Inpatient Solid Organ Transplant: (4-6 week experiences)
    • Inpatient Kidney/Pancreas Transplant Service
    • Inpatient Liver Transplant Service
    • Inpatient Heart Transplant Service
    • Inpatient Lung Transplant Service
  • Outpatient Solid Organ Transplant: (4-6 week experiences) – ambulatory transplant services are often combined with inpatient rotations, to allow for greater continuity of care
    • Ambulatory Kidney/Pancreas Transplant Service
    • Ambulatory Liver Transplant Service
    • Ambulatory Heart Transplant Service
    • Ambulatory Lung Transplant Service
  • Residency Project (longitudinal, up to 12 months)
  • Service Requirement – Transplant Specific (longitudinal, up to 12 months)

Elective Learning Experience

  • Immunocompromised Infectious Disease (4 week)
  • Pediatric Solid Organ Transplant (Primary Children's Hospital, 4 week experience)

Presentations

The resident will present a minimum of 3 formal presentations

Staffing

Staffing responsibilities include providing clinical care for hospitalized transplant patients and assisting with transplant discharge education. Start date for staffing is individualized to the resident, but typically occurs in early August. Residents work approximately every other weekend until they have rotated through all the organ groups and then will move to every third weekend throughout the remainder of the residency year.

Qualifications

Candidates must graduate from an ACPE-accredited pharmacy program with a doctor of pharmacy degree (or equivalent combination of education and clinical experience) with a minimum GPA of 3.1 on a 4.0 scale. Residents must have completed an accredited PGY1 pharmacy residency program. Applicants 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 and Selection

The following information must be submitted by the date specified on the residency application for the applicant to be considered for an onsite 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 are invited to attend an on-site, full-day interview in January or February. We anticipate all interviews will be conducted through a virtual platform. The program participates in the Resident Matching Program of ASHP.

Program Director

Contact Information

Lonnie Smith, PharmD, FAST
Lonnie.Smith@hsc.utah.edu