Pharmacy Residency Program at MelroseWakefield Hospital

PGY1 residency programs build upon Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) education and outcomes to develop pharmacist practitioners with knowledge, skills, and abilities as defined in the educational competency areas, goals, and objectives. Residents who successfully complete PGY1 residency programs will be skilled in diverse patient care, practice management, leadership, and education, and be prepared to provide patient care, seek board certification in pharmacotherapy (i.e., BCPS), and pursue advanced education and training opportunities including postgraduate year two (PGY2) residencies.

Program description

Tufts Medicine MelroseWakefield Hospital (MWH)/Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) residency is a structured, 1-year postgraduate educational and training experience that fosters the development of advanced knowledge and skills in the delivery of pharmaceutical services within a community hospital setting.

The residency consists of learning experiences in key areas of internal medicine, critical care, pharmacy leadership/administration, medication safety, infectious diseases, anticoagulation, and academia.

Besides completing core and elective learning experiences, the resident will have to conduct a longitudinal research project to be presented at a meeting conference(s) as decided by RPD for the given year. The resident will be expected to staff every other weekend with 1 adjusted day off either the week before or after the weekend worked. Additionally, the resident will be expected to work one major and one minor holiday. The resident will have an academic appointment as the rank of instructor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at MCPHS University, Boston. The resident will teach in various areas of pharmacy practice and will gain experience as a preceptor for pharmacy students on advanced clinical rotations. Upon completion of the program, the resident will be prepared to enter numerous fields of clinical practice.

The fundamental goal of the residency is to attract and develop pharmacists whose talents and motivation indicate a strong potential for assuming leadership roles in a community hospital setting.

Upon completion of the program, the resident will be prepared to enter numerous fields of clinical practice.

The PGY1 program has:

• 2 general track (US Citizens/Green-Card holders/valid OPT Status) positions (NMS Code 127513); and
• 2 international track (currently only for Saudi Arabia or Kuwait candidates who has govt. sponsored scholarship) positions available (NMS Code 127521)

PGY2 residency programs build upon Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) education and PGY1 pharmacy residency training to develop pharmacist practitioners with knowledge, skills, and abilities as defined in the educational competency areas, goals, and objectives for advanced practice areas. Residents who successfully complete PGY2 residency programs are prepared for advanced patient care or other specialized positions, and board certification in the advanced practice area, if available. 

PGY2 residency programs build upon Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) education and PGY1 pharmacy residency training to develop pharmacist practitioners with knowledge, skills, and abilities as defined in the educational competency areas, goals, and objectives for advanced practice areas. Residents who successfully complete PGY2 residency programs are prepared for advanced patient care or other specialized positions, and board certification in the advanced practice area, if available.

Program Description

The PGY2 program is a structured, 1-year postgraduate educational and training experience that advances on the knowledge and skills acquired during PGY-1 residency in the delivery of pharmaceutical services in the area of infectious diseases (ID) within a community hospital setting. The program will provide a broad and comprehensive experience in various aspect of infectious diseases pharmacy practices including but not limited to clinical ID service and stewardship activities, wound care service experience, microbiology laboratory experience, and HIV, immunocompromised, and transplant patient population services. There is a greater emphasize on various stewardship activities, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics principles of antibiotics selection and dosing as well as managing resistance organisms. Besides completing core and elective learning experiences, the resident will have to conduct a longitudinal research project to be presented at a conference as decided by RPD for the given year. There may be some opportunities to have select learning experiences at our partner sites for specific patient population to cover the depth and breadth of clinical ID experience. The resident will be expected to staff every other weekend with 1 adjusted day off either the week before or after the weekend worked. Additionally, the resident will be expected to work one major and one minor holiday. Upon completion of the program, the resident will be prepared to enter into various roles in the field of infectious diseases.

PGY2 ID program has 1 position available. It is currently available for an international (Saudi Arabia or Kuwait candidates who has govt. sponsored scholarship) candidate only.

• Orientation
• Medication Safety
• Critical Care I
• Emergency Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Internal Medicine
• Anticoagulation

• Advanced Infectious Diseases
• Critical Care II
• Cardiology
• Psychiatry
• Transitions in Care
• Ambulatory Care
• Preceptor Development
• Others upon discussion with Residency Program Director

• Leadership/Administration (1 meeting/month)
• Pharmacy Practice (every other weekend + 1 major/1 minor holiday)
• Residency Project (11 months)
• Formulary and Medication Use (12 months)
• Teaching Certificate MCPHS University Boston (9 months)

• Clinical Practice Committee
• Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee
• Infection Control and Prevention Committee
• Anticoagulation Subcommittee
• Joint Commission Readiness Committee
• Stroke Committee
• Critical Care Committee
• Diversion Oversight Committee
• Fall Prevention Committee
• Med Safety Committee
• Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committee

• Education and Community Outreach
• P&T Agenda and Minutes
• Residency Brand and Communications
• Students Activities and Follow-up
• Students Orientation
• Well-being and Resiliency

• Orientation (5 weeks)
• Clinical Pharmacy Leadership
• Director of Pharmacy Leadership
• Finances and Strategic Planning
• Informatics Pharmacy Leadership
• Operations Pharmacy Leadership
• Enterprise Leadership
• Ambulatory Care Leadership

• Human Resources
• Residency Program Coordination
• Sterile Products Operations
• Technology Advancement and Implementation
• Others upon discussion with Residency Program Director

• Chief Resident (12 months)
• Leadership Project (12 months)
• Medication Safety,Drug Policy (12 months)
• Pharmacy Leadership Academy (7 * 6 week modules)
• Leadership Practice (Staffing 16 hours/month + 1 major/1 minor holiday, and on-call 1 week/month)

• Orientation (2 weeks for internal candidate; 3 weeks for external candidate)
• ID Consult Service
• Antimicrobial Stewardship
• Microbiology (4 weeks)
• Infection Control and Prevention (4 weeks)
• Medical Critical Care (ID focused)
• Wound Care Clinic
• Outpatient Infectious Diseases Practice (off-site but within Tufts Medicine)

• Oncology-ID Focused (off-site at Lowell General Hospital)
• Transplant/Immunocompromised Service (off-site within Tufts Medicine or may be completed outside)
• Emergency Medicine
• Antimicrobial Stewardship Administration
• Others upon discussion with RPD

• Research Project
• Pharmacy Practice
  • Staffing every other weekend; work ONE major and ONE minor holidays
  • Vancomycin per Pharmacy Consults Evaluation
• Medication Management and Leadership/ Administration
  • Medication Use Evaluation
  • ID Leadership (Lead duties and Committee Involvement)
• Teaching
  • Precepting APPE students/PGY1 resident on ID learning experience
  • ONE ACPE-Accredited Continuing Education lecture across Tufts Medicine
  • Pharmacotherapeutic Seminar – Spring semester facilitation, didactic lectures if interested
  • Teaching Certificate MCPHS Boston (9 months) if not previously completed in PGY1 program

Applications for consideration will be reviewed by the residency application review committee to select candidates for an interview that most closely match our program goals and learning opportunities. This committee is composed of the residency program director and selected preceptors. All application materials including a letter of intent, CV, transcripts and letters of recommendation will be reviewed by the committee and recommendations of whether to consider for an interview made based on the specific rubric evaluating various domains. An average of 5-6 candidates will be interviewed for each available position.

The interview process may be virtual or in-person. If virtual, an on-site option may be given for candidates wishing to tour pharmacy/hospital. The interview process will usually be anywhere from half a day to a full day. 

General template for the interview consists of but not limited to: 

• Meet and greet with RPDs, interview team members, and current residents 
• One-on-one interviews with the interview team of preceptors and RPDs 
• Presentation and/or clinical case 

Phase II interview process may follow the same template but would be accelerated with less team members.

All residents must be licensed or be eligible for licensure in the state of Massachusetts on the initiation of the program. If a resident is not licensed prior to the start of the residency, they must obtain an MA pharmacy intern license. All residents are required to be a Massachusetts licensed pharmacist within 120 days of starting their residency program.

Understanding each of our residents individual goals and interests is important and our program puts its best efforts to provide flexibility with learning experience schedule, electives and residency projects. We encourage our residents to not hesitate to discuss opportunities to tailor activities to their specific interests.

PGY1 and PGY2-ID residents are expected to staff every other weekend in addition to one major and one minor holiday. Residents will be given 1 comp day for every 2 weekend shifts (1 day for working Saturday and Sunday). 

PGY1 resident staffing includes all clinical areas as well as central pharmacy. PGY-2 ID residents are expected to staff on clinical areas and PGY2-HSPAL resident is expected to staff 16 hours per month in clinical or non-clinical areas.

PGY-1 or PGY-ID residents in the pharmacy program are not expected to be responsible for on-call services. 

Our PGY-2 HSPAL resident does handle leadership on-call responsibilities to obtain managerial experience.

Yes, PGY1 international track resident will be eligible for early commit for PGY2-ID program if they meet specific criteria. In addition, a formal interview process will also be conducted for the final selection of the candidate.

The PGY-1 resident minimum stipend is $50,422 and the PGY2 resident minimum stipend is $53,048. For international track residents, salary and benefits are provided through MCPHS. The resident will receive an annual salary as decided and is eligible for health, dental and prescription benefits. The required wage rate must be the higher of the actual wage rate or the Department of Labor prevailing wage. In addition, an employer is not permitted to pay a wage that is lower than a wage required under any other applicable federal, state or local law.

Our graduated residents have received PGY-2 training and practice as clinical pharmacists in various medical institutions across the globe. Our past PGY-2 HSPAL residents have progressed to director of pharmacy positions at other institutions, obtained clinical coordinator/leadership roles and even entered medical school.