Albany Medical Center

Albany Med, located in Albany, New York, is the only academic health sciences center in the 25 counties of eastern New York and western New England. Albany Med consists of Albany Medical Center Hospital; Albany Medical College; the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital; South Clinical Campus, an off-site ambulatory surgery center; and a wide variety of ambulatory clinics. As a 766-bed hospital with 37,000 admissions annually, Albany Medical Center services a population of more than 3 million people. It is the region’s only level I trauma center, AIDS Treatment Center, Regional Resource Center, accredited stroke center, and kidney and pancreas transplant program. It is also the area’s most comprehensive emergency department and the only pediatric emergency department. The Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital is a 125-bed hospital within a hospital that provides both neonatal intensive care and pediatric intensive care services. Albany Med strives to care for patients of all ages with a broad range of health conditions. The medical center’s mission is to improve health by attaining the highest standard of quality in care delivery, education, and research initiatives.

PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency

The PGY1 pharmacy practice residency at Albany Med is a 12-month program that offers core and elective rotations in inpatient settings with several ambulatory care options. Core rotations include internal medicine, choice of intensive care unit, antimicrobial stewardship, anticoagulation stewardship, cardiology, and pediatrics. Longitudinal rotations include a pediatric cystic fibrosis clinic, drug information, and pharmacy administration. Elective experiences include renal/pancreas transplantation, HIV, hematology/oncology, and an option to create an elective per resident interest. Residents are expected to participate in various hospital committees, including pharmacy and therapeutics and medication safety. Residents also have the choice of a research project, typically a medication use evaluation project, which they present at regional and national meetings and submit to the department in manuscript form at the end of the year. Residents may also choose to participate in a teaching and learning program provided by Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and are encouraged to be involved in educational opportunities. On completing the pharmacy practice residency, residents are prepared for roles in hospital practice, academia, or further training.

Four ASHP-accredited PGY1 positions are available, with the following available rotations.

Core Rotations:

• Residency Orientation and Bootcamp
• Internal Medicine
• Pediatrics
• Antimicrobial Stewardship
• Anticoagulation Stewardship
• Cardiac Care Unit
• Medical Intensive Care Unit*
• Surgical Intensive Care Unit*
• Cardiopulmonary/Vascular Intensive Care Unit*

*Must choose one of the three intensive care units.

Longitudinal Rotations:

• Ambulatory care at pediatric cystic fibrosis clinic
• Drug Information
• Pharmacy Administration
• Staffing/Clinical Services

Elective Rotations (not an all-inclusive list):

• Hematology/Oncology
• Inpatient Psychiatry
• Renal/Pancreas Transplantation
• HIV
• Neurology
• Nephrology
• Ambulatory Care (e.g., nephrology, heart failure, internal medicine)
• Emergency Medicine

Patient Care

Pharmacy residents work in interdisciplinary teams to provide the best possible patient care. Albany Med’s residency program is designed to accelerate growth beyond entry-level professional competence in acute institutional direct patient care and practice management. With a wide variety of rotations, pharmacy residents’ experiences reflect actual work environments and are individualized to the resident’s interest and learning needs. Emphasis is placed on progressive development of clinical judgment, professional competence, and personal growth.

Research

Residents conduct one primary research project suitable for presentation at a regional meeting (e.g., NYSCHP) and a national meeting, typically Vizient and ASHP’s Midyear Clinical Meeting. The project must be completed (data collection, presentation to pharmacy department, and written manuscript) by the end of the residency year. Residents are provided with suggestions for potential projects as well as encouraged to pursue their own ideas. Research projects are not academic exercises, but practical outcomes that improve patient care within the hospital.

Staffing

Residents are expected to work every other weekend. One weekend a month, residents staff in the central pharmacy providing distributive functions. The other weekend is a clinical weekend in which the resident acts as the clinical pharmacist on call. Initially, residents work alongside a clinical pharmacist but progress toward autonomy. For weekends, residents get 1 day of their choice off during the workweek.

Teaching Experiences

Residents are required to provide a variety of educational experiences throughout the residency. They provide at least six clinical pearls to the pharmacy department, patient medication education/discussion, journal clubs, case presentations, and pharmacy in-services. Residents also give two in-services for physicians and one for nursing staff. Pharmacy residents also co-precept Pharm.D. students. An optional teaching and learning certificate is available in conjunction with Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Additional teaching experiences are also available through Albany Medical College and other educational institutions.