PGY2 Emergency Medicine Pharmacy Residency Program

Purpose

The purpose of this PGY2 emergency medicine specialty residency is to train pharmacy practitioners who will be competent, confident, and qualified to work in a variety of emergency medicine or critical care environments. Through both onsite precepting and the University of Georgia graduate certificate program, the resident will also be prepared as a preceptor and mentor to PGY1 residents and PharmD students.

Description

The PGY2 pharmacy residency in emergency medicine at St. Joseph’s/Candler is a 12 month training program accredited by the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP). The residency follows the competency areas, goals, and objectives established by ASHP for a PGY2 in emergency medicine. This residency is also affiliated with The University of Georgia College of Pharmacy which provides a graduate certificate program for the PGY2 resident. The resident will enroll in graduate school at the University of Georgia and receive a graduate certificate upon completion of assigned course work.

Required Rotations   

(May also create a unique Emergency Medicine experience as available)

*Length of rotations may vary depending on availability and scheduling.

Training Site

St. Joseph’s/Candler is a 714-bed community-based regional referral health system comprised of two hospitals with an annual combined emergency department censes of over 100,000 patients. Rotations will take place at both emergency departments and in the medical/surgical, cardiac, and neurological intensive care units. The trauma and toxicology rotations will take place at Grady Health System, a Level I Trauma center in Atlanta, GA. Pre-hospital care will be done with Chatham Emergency Services in Savannah, GA.
 

Residency Benefits

Residents are paid a competitive stipend by St. Joseph’s/Candler and the University of Georgia for the 52-week residency year. Participation in health, dental, and vision insurance benefits is available to the resident through the health system. Residents must complete physical and health screening examinations and a background check prior to starting the residency. Residents are provided a travel allowance to attend the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting, the Southeastern Residency Conference (SERC), and the spring Georgia Society of Health System Pharmacists (GSHP) statewide meeting. Membership in GSHP is paid by the health system and the University of Georgia provides membership to The American College of Clinical Pharmacy and reimbursement for the Board of Pharmacy Specialties exam upon successful completion. Membership in ASHP or other organizations is maintained by the resident.   

Preceptors

The director of the PGY2 emergency medicine residency and primary preceptor for this program is Erica Merritt, PharmD, BCPS, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Emergency Medicine. Other preceptors involved in the training year include:

• Wes Arrison, PharmD, BCPS, BCEMP, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Emergency Medicine
• Kimberly Friend, PharmD, BCEMP, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Emergency Medicine
• Devon Burhoe, PharmD, BCPS, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Emergency Medicine
• Hal E. Richards, PharmD, BCNSP, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Critical Care and Nutrition Support
• John Carr, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Critical Care and Nutrition Support
• Sabrina Croft, PharmD, BCPS, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Critical Care and Neurology
• Sara Anne Meyer, PharmD, BCPS, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Cardiology

Please visit our Meet the Preceptors page to learn more about all of our preceptors at St. Joseph's/Candler.

Number of Positions

One 

ASHP Resident National Match Program

The St. Joseph’s/Candler pharmacy residency programs participate in the ASHP Resident National Match Program. All applicants must be registered for and participate in the Match. The resident candidate should complete the Resident Matching Program “Applicant Agreement”. This residency site agrees that no person at this site will solicit, accept or use any ranking-related information from any residency applicant. Further information, rules and regulations, and the Applicant Agreement, can be found on the ASHP website at www.ashp.org.

Applicant Qualifications

Applicants for the PGY2 residency in emergency medicine should have graduated from an accredited Doctor of Pharmacy program and completed a clinically oriented, ASHP accredited PGY1 residency. Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certifications must be current prior to beginning the residency year and maintained throughout the year.

Pharmacist Licensure

The process to become licensed in the state of Georgia begins by requesting the appropriate information from the Georgia Board of Pharmacy. Please begin the licensure process early as it takes time to receive the information and application. Deadlines vary depending on whether an applicant is reciprocating a current license or obtaining a new license through score transfer of NAPLEX results. Both reciprocating and new licensees are required to take the Georgia version of the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam (MPJE). It is preferred that Georgia licensure be obtained prior to beginning the residency; however, if this is not possible, the resident will need to obtain a temporary Georgia Pharmacist License before day 1 of the residency to comply with Georgia Law. Our expectation is that a resident will obtain a permanent Georgia licensure as a pharmacist no later than Oct. 31 of the residency year. The Georgia State Board of Pharmacy can be contacted by phone at 404.651.8000 or by visiting the website gbp.georgia.gov.

Interviews

Interviews are an integral part of our evaluation of potential residents. We expect that serious applicants will want to evaluate our program and clinical site as well. Therefore, an on-site interview in Savannah, GA, will be required for candidates selected to move forward in the application process. Deadline for receipt of completed application materials via PhORCAS  is January 4th. All application materials must be complete and received by the deadline in order to be considered for an interview. All interviewees will be expected to complete a 30 minute presentation on an emergency medicine topic of his or her choice during the interview day.

If you require further information or have questions, please email the PGY2 emergency medicine program director at merritte@sjchs.org. We encourage you to visit the St. Joseph’s/Candler website at www.sjchs.org which will provide other interesting and important information about our organization and medical, research, and educational programs.

How to apply

Application submission is required via PhORCAS by the deadline of January 4th to be considered for an onsite interview. Mailed or emailed applications are not accepted and will not be reviewed for consideration.