Interested candidates or questions:
Jena Torpin, PharmD, BCPS
Residency Program Director
763-236-7544763-236-7544
Our Post Graduate Year 1 (PGY1) pharmacy residency program builds on PharmD education and outcomes to contribute to the development of a clinical pharmacist responsible for medication-related care of patients with a wide range of conditions, eligible for board certification and eligible for postgraduate year two (PGY2) pharmacy residency training.
Mercy’s PGY-1 Residency assists residents in achieving skills and knowledge to enhance competency as a pharmacy practitioner and leader. All residents are expected to:
There will also be opportunities for presentations and projects during the residents' various rotations.
The purpose of the orientation rotation is to familiarize new residents with the responsibilities of the residents within Mercy Hospital’s PGY1 program. This includes becoming acquainted with the duties of a clinical pharmacist to fulfill the residency staffing commitment. During this rotation, the resident will receive information and prove competency on department and system policies and procedures. In addition, the residents will complete the Initial Assessment of Competency, on-line learning programs, and Orientation Checklist.
This rotation is a longitudinal rotation that focuses on several pharmacist counseling opportunities on both the Mercy and Unity campuses. These include one-on-one medication reviews with outpatient cardiac rehab patients and group teaching for patients admitted on the inpatient substance abuse unit. Residents will meet with patients, provide education, complete documentation in the electronic health record when needed, and interact with other health care professionals as appropriate.
The resident will work routinely with our pharmacy director, pharmacy operations and clinical managers, Allina Health pharmacy leaders, and other leaders on an ad-hoc basis. Residents will participate in multidisciplinary committees and projects, attend department staff meetings, director-manager meetings, and other department meetings as assigned by the preceptor.
This longitudinal rotation pertains to the formal residency capstone project. The resident's project will ultimately be of benefit to optimizing pharmaceutical patient care at the institution or within the Allina Health System. This learning experience will take place across both Mercy and Unity campuses. The resident will present their project at a formal pharmacy conference in the spring of each year. The project must be approved by the Mercy-Unity pharmacy management team prior to implementation. Activities may include acquiring IRB approval.
The informatics elective rotation will provide the resident with the knowledge and experience to identify, develop, and implement safe medication practices. The resident will read journal articles and other publications on medical informatics, and this learning will then be applied to develop and implement initiatives to improve the medication use system. The resident will work with the informatics pharmacist at Mercy Hospital and other members of the pharmacy leadership team for this elective learning experience.
The AHCI Mercy Campus Oncology Infusion Elective is a dual clinical/operations directed experience that focuses on the treatment of patients with a hematology or oncology diagnosis. Residents will have an integral role in the review and management of AHCI patients and therapies with both clinical and operations focused tasks. The resident will provide clinical review and comprehensive disease state management for patients receiving outpatient infusion therapy. The resident will also learn the complete process of order verification, coordination of compounding and delivery of hazardous and non-hazardous medications with the goal of being proficient at day-to-day operations by the end of the rotation. There will be a vast array of clinical questions, projects, meetings to attend, and shadowing opportunities available to the resident also.
The elective oncology clinical rotation focuses on hospitalized patients with cancer with an emphasis on supportive care. During this rotation the pharmacy resident will identify and resolve medication therapy issues for patients as it pertains to oncology care. The resident will use current treatment guidelines to develop, monitor, and adjust patient-specific pharmacotherapy regimens and monitoring plans. The resident will follow all patients admitted for chemotherapy and other patients identified by either the resident or preceptor. Opportunities for residents to shadow oncologists and infusion center nurses are also available.
The primary focus of the elective pain rotation is to provide the residents with skills to effectively provide pharmaceutical care and make appropriate pain management interventions for hospitalized patients with acute and chronic pain. The resident will work closely with a multidisciplinary consult team during this rotation. In addition to gaining skills in assessing pain, the resident will also develop expertise in designing individual pain regimens and performing opioid equianalgesic conversions.
The Teaching rotation is an elective yearlong longitudinal experience at Mercy Hospital. This rotation is designed to provide PGY1 pharmacy residents at Mercy Hospital with the necessary knowledge and skills to obtain a teaching certificate through ASHP's Teaching Certificate program. The rotation will be conducted longitudinally throughout the residency year and will cover three distinct tracks: Core Track, Academic Teaching Track and Experiential Teaching Track. Each participant will work with a mentor and complete various assignments to develop their teaching abilities.Additionally, participants will have teaching responsibilities at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy to gain exposure to academic teaching environments.
Other elective learning experiences may be developed based on resident interest and preceptor availability.