Learning Experiences

Required Core Rotations (1 month each):

Orientation and Training

Residents will be oriented to the Backus Hospital pharmacy, complete training in various inpatient and outpatient pharmacist roles, select projects and rotations for the year and discuss goals and interests of the resident.

Ambulatory Care

The Ambulatory Care learning experience will enhance residents’ knowledge in providing pharmaceutical care to ambulatory care patients in anticoagulation, endocrine, COPD rehabilitation, heart failure and/or rheumatology. It will also build upon the Longitudinal Anticoagulation Clinic experience by providing continuation of patient care, including home draw INR warfarin patient follow-up, peri-procedural anticoagulation management and medication therapy management and patient counseling. 

Critical Care

The Critical Care learning experience will develop the residents pharmacotherapeutic skills required for the provision of care to critically ill patients. The Backus Hospital critical care unit is a 12-bed unit, with a mixed medical and surgical patient population. The resident will be a member of the CCU team and will be responsible for ensuring safe and effective medication use for our critically ill patients.

Emergency Medicine

Backus Hospital Emergency Care & Trauma Center is a 42-bed Emergency Department (ED) that encompasses an adult ED (Acute 3) and Pediatric ED. Pharmacy also provides support to the Plainfield Emergency Care Center. The Emergency Medicine learning experience will provide the resident the opportunity to ensure safe and effective medication use for patients who are in need of emergency care. Residents will design and manage medication treatment for patients in a variety of emergency medicine settings such as cardiac arrest, pulmonary embolism, stroke, and trauma.

General Medicine

Internal medicine patients at Backus Hospital are cared for on teaching or non-teaching teams by hospitalists, mid-level providers, and specialists. The pharmacy resident will round with medical hospitalists, surgical PAs, and specialist services. The pharmacist will attend interdisciplinary and intradisciplinary rounds depending on the current inpatient assignment. Interdisciplinary rounding will consist of a Hospitalist, nurses, and case management. The pharmacy rounds with each team when possible on a rotating basis. Additional members of the team may include medical, PA, APRN, RN, and pharmacy students. Formal rounds take place each morning. The main areas where the pharmacy resident will attend rounds include the general medical/surgical (A3) and cardiology/telemetry (E4).

Infectious Diseases

The infectious diseases (ID) learning experience will enhance the resident's knowledge base in antimicrobial stewardship activities (i.e. antimicrobial therapy de-escalation or discontinuation, IV to PO conversions, specific antimicrobial targets) and pharmacokinetic dosing of vancomycin and aminoglycosides. The resident will develop pharmacotherapeutic skills required for the provision of care to patients with various infectious diseases. The resident will also have opportunities to round with the ID Consult Service, is a clinical rounding service that includes an ID provider and a pharmacist.

Medication Management

The Medication Management learning experience includes resident participation in multidisciplinary patient care rounds, reviewing and monitoring patients on anticoagulation therapy, providing patient education across transitions of care with emphasis on education of high-risk patients (COPD, heart failure, patients on anticoagulants) and resolving medication related issues.

Oncology

The Oncology learning experience is designed to allow the resident to experience managing oncology patients requiring chemotherapy regimens. Knowledge of primary treatments, supportive care, and management of complications will be emphasized. The resident will focus on oncologic processes and related pharmacotherapies. 

Pharmacy System Support Office (SSO) Clinical Leadership Management

This learning experience is designed to give the pharmacy resident the opportunity to become familiar with clinical management strategies, including the formulary approval and maintenance process, policy/protocol development and review, organization and department structure, cost analyses, pharmacy performance improvement efforts, and quality and safety practices. The resident will take part in coverage of a drug information TigerText role, as well as participate in P&T Council, Medication Safety and other standing meetings.


Required Longitudinal Experiences (10 months each):

Ambulatory Clinic

This learning experience will enhance the resident’s knowledge in managing and monitoring anticoagulation therapies. Pharmacy residents will provide collaborative drug therapy management (CDTM) at the Backus Hospital Ambulatory Anticoagulation Clinic for patients on warfarin (average of 20 patients per day). Routine responsibilities include monitoring point of care INR, modifying dosing regiments/plans, ordering laboratory tests, and providing patient education. The resident will provide patient care 1 day every other week as part of the longitudinal experience.

Operations and Staffing

The pharmacy resident will build a foundation of essential pharmacist skills, including reviewing and dispensing medication orders using electronic health record (i.e. EPIC), performing final checks on medications (including compounded sterile and non-sterile preparations), and assisting with drug information and medication related-issues. The resident will be scheduled to work an average of every 3rd weekend, one evening every other week and one major and one minor holiday. The resident will also assist with additional staffing throughout the residency year based on departmental needs.

Research

The pharmacy resident will complete an IRB approved research project throughout the residency year and during a specified research month. The project will be presented as a poster at American Society of Health-System Pharmacist Midyear Clinical Meeting and as a platform presentation at a Regional residency conference. Residents will also write a manuscript suitable for publication.

Teaching and Learning

Pharmacy residents will earn a Teaching and Learning certificate through the University of Connecticut and present a Continuing Education presentation for Hartford Healthcare pharmacists and technicians. Other activities include precepting pharmacy students, providing journal clubs, in-services and case presentations.


Elective Experiences:

The resident will complete two elective learning experiences during their residency year, chosen based upon the resident’s interests and preceptor availability. Elective experiences may be available in areas such as: Ambulatory Care II, Medication Management II, Transitions of Care, Critical Care II, Emergency Medicine II, Academia, Cardiology and others.

PGY1 residents will be active participants in safety huddles, committees and project work, participating in quality improvement initiatives. PGY1 residents will complete a teaching certificate program through the University of Connecticut, and be involved in preceptor activities.

Pharmacy Residency Contact Information

Shally S. Singh, PharmD, CACP
Residency Program Director
Department of Pharmacy Services
Backus Hospital
326 Washington St.
Norwich, CT 06360
Shally.Sinha@hhchealth.org