Overview
The Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Department of Community Health Network (CHNw) is an ever-growing collection of over 45 clinical ambulatory care pharmacists practicing in various settings across central Indiana. To keep up with this growth, the Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Department will be expanding the 2023–2024 residency class from two to three ambulatory care pharmacy residents. This is the program’s first expansion in the number of residents taken since its creation in 2015. The ambulatory care pharmacy team operates under CHNw’s mission statement of “Deeply committed to the communities we serve, we enhance health and well-being by optimizing medication regimens and improving medication access and adherence” in all of the team’s day-to-day activities and ensures that residents are able to embrace this mission statement as valued members of its pharmacy team. The residents work alongside clinical pharmacists in various disease states that include primary care, cardiology, infectious disease, transitions of care, endocrinology, pulmonology, and women’s health. These pharmacists work in partnership with physicians and multidisciplinary health care teams to optimize patients’ medication regimens. The geographic spread of these various teams allows residents to provide care to a wide variety of patient populations throughout their residency.
Residents in the ambulatory care program sign CHNw’s extensive collaborative drug therapy management (CDTM) agreement early on in their orientation to allow a great deal of independence from the start of their residency. Over 200 physicians have signed this CDTM, which currently covers 20 different protocols but is ever-expanding. The protocols the pharmacists practice in include management of anticoagulation, diabetes and continuous blood glucose monitoring, asthma, contraception, COPD, dyslipidemia, GERD, HIV preexposure prophylaxis, hypertension, and hypothyroidism. Other protocols included are antiarrhythmic management, naloxone assessment, Medicare annual wellness visits, nicotine cessation, Paxlovid prescribing, osteoporosis, seasonal allergies, weight management, vaccinations, and pharmacotherapy review.
Pharmacy residents are actively involved in many different areas of the pharmacy team. In addition to practicing under the aforementioned CDTM, the ambulatory care residents participate in multiple required and elective rotations, didactic and experiential teaching, and administration projects, including developing new pharmacy services. Residents also participate in presenting six “Timely Topics” to the pharmacy team throughout the year. Timely Topics allow residents and clinical pharmacists alike the chance to provide multiple journal club–style presentations to the ambulatory care team. These presentations help all team members stay up-to-date on the latest literature and drug information publications.
Required Rotations
- Advanced Primary Care
- Ambulatory Care Administration (longitudinal)
- Cardiology
- Medical Residency
- New Pharmacy Service (longitudinal)
- Orientation
- Primary Care (longitudinal)
- Research (longitudinal)
- Teaching (longitudinal)
- Underserved
- Academia (Butler University)
- Anticoagulation
- Endocrinology
- Infectious Disease
- Transitions of Care
- Women’s Health
Resident Daily Schedule
Residents participate in a variety of 6- to 7-week rotations in both the primary care and specialty care settings. Throughout the year, residents also participate in longitudinal experiences including a primary care “home clinic” and new service/administration. The home clinic experience allows residents to attend to their home clinic on the same day of the week for the duration of the residency in order to gain experience in panel management and building long-term patient relationships. The new service/administration longitudinal experience provides residents the opportunity to work on long-term projects throughout the residency by working closely with pharmacy department leadership personnel on creating new pharmacy services. An example schedule is as follows:
The resident service commitment consists of opportunities for the residents to support the Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Department and patients alike. Residents participate in value-based care calls, which are initiatives by CHNw to reach out to patients recently discharged from the hospital to ensure they are able to access any new medications initiated in their hospital encounter, understand their discharge medication instructions, and address questions or needs related to their medications. The timing of these hours creates the opportunity to reach patients discharged from the hospital late in the day and ensure the pharmacy team follows up with them in a timely manner. Throughout the standard workday (8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.), CHNw ambulatory care pharmacists also participate in these patient care transition-of-care calls.
Residents have the opportunity to participate in didactic and experiential education. For the didactic education portion of the residency, pharmacy residents serve as adjunct faculty at Butler University. Residents serve as case facilitators and occasionally guest lecturers. For the experiential education portion, residents serve as the primary preceptor for at least one APPE student. Residents interested in more experience in experiential education may request to precept APPE students on more than one occasion.
CHNw in the Spotlight
CHNw has received recognition on various Forbes Lists, including:
- America’s Best Employers by State (2023)
- Best Employers for Women (#94) (2023)
- America’s Best Large Employers (#24) (2023)
- Best Employers for Diversity (#29) (2021)
CHNw has significantly deepened its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in recent years by undertaking several DEI-focused initiatives. CHNw strives to provide culturally competent care to meet the needs of its patients and caregivers. You can read more about CHNw’s DEI promise at https://www.ecommunity.com/diversity-equity-inclusion.
Please visit the Pharmacy Residency website below for more information on:
- CHNw pharmacy residency programs, including PGY1 pharmacy (four residents), PGY2 ambulatory care (three residents), PGY2 cardiology (one resident), PGY2 pharmacotherapy (one resident), PGY2 psychiatry (one resident)
- Upcoming recruitment sessions
- More information on the faculty, benefits, and a virtual tour!
Pharmacy Residency Website:
https://www.ecommunity.com/education-research/pharmacy-residency-program
Contact:
Nick Sciacca, Pharm.D., BCACP
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Ambulatory Care
PGY-2 Ambulatory Care Residency Program Director
9996 E. 146th Street, Suite 250, Noblesville, IN 46060
Email: [email protected]
Submitted by:
Morgan Dermody, Pharm.D., MBA
PGY-2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Resident
Community Health Network
Email: [email protected]