Pearls of Wisdom From a Residency Director of 10 Years

Organization Is Key

From the first day taking the helm as a residency program director—whether the program is new or you are taking over from someone else—make sure you are organized. Having specific folders and shortcuts on your computer is a way to easily access documents that you need in a timely manner.

Every pharmacy residency program follows the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) accreditation standards—it is important to adhere to the rules and regulations in order to keep your program accredited. Keeping an updated electronic copy on your laptop’s shortcuts is highly recommended, as well as having the ashp.org website added to all electronic devices used by residents and preceptors for quick access.

Residency manuals or handbooks are still required by ASAP, which can be time-consuming and result in a lot of paperwork. It is important to remind the residents to add all of their lectures, patient cases, teachings, and residency certificates into the notebook in a timely manner. Having most of the material stored electronically is the best approach; however, sometimes that is not an option, making it imperative that there is a designated file for loose-leaf papers or written documents to keep for at least the length of your accreditation. Preceptor hours for teaching, expenses for the program, and Medicare reimbursement—if applicable for your program—should also be kept up to date and organized.

Passion and Purpose

Being the leader of a pharmacy residency program does require you to have a passion for your career and mentoring students. As a residency director, you become involved in creating excellence in the pharmacy career. Mentoring, coaching, and advising new pharmacists is the doorway to making sure our communities have skilled and knowledgeable pharmacists.

Integration of Your Program into the Health System

It is imperative to ensure that your residency program is attuned and aligned with the mission of the health system that supports it. I find that it is very much a benefit to make sure that the administration and those higher up are somehow integrated into the residency program.

In my experience, I have found that residency programs can be an asset to the hospital system when there are requests from the outside community for events that need to be supported. This also gives the program an opportunity to make a direct impact on the community they serve. A residency program should seek out any and all opportunities for its residents to be involved in leadership and projects that are appropriate for them to work alongside the administration. Not only will this improve the reputation of your program to the administration, but they can also see how the residency program benefits the hospital as a whole.

Think Outside the Box

Often, there is a set structure for residency programs. Given that we have to follow certain accreditation standards in order for our program to be credentialed, it makes sense; however, there are some opportunities that come along where we can push our residents to use their skills outside of the traditional residency structure. These opportunities are often “surprise” requests that come about because of a collaboration with the hospital system and an external vendor. As an example, a drug company working exclusively with a cardiologist conducted a study on heart disease in my institution, with the condition that the pharmacy residents spearhead the program and co-author the research with the cardiologist. This was outside of their traditional yearly programming, but it was an ample opportunity if they were willing to put in the time. It was also an opportunity to add experience to their CV.

To set a residency program apart from others, it must be well-rounded and broad, so when opportunities arise, it can be complemented by your program.