PGY-1/PGY-2 Health-System Administration and Leadership

Program Purpose

The purpose of the MGH HSPAL Residency Program is to prepare graduates to serve in various leadership roles within an academic medical center health-system pharmacy department.

PGY2 pharmacy residency programs build on Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) education and PGY1 pharmacy residency programs to contribute to the development of clinical pharmacists in specialized areas of practice. PGY2 residencies provide residents with opportunities to function independently as practitioners by conceptualizing and integrating accumulated experience and knowledge and incorporating both into the provision of patient care or other advanced practice settings. Residents who successfully complete an accredited PGY2 pharmacy residency are prepared for advanced patient care, academic, or other specialized positions, along with board certification, if available.

Description

The PGY-1/PGY-2 Health-System Pharmacy Administration (HSPA) Residency program is a 24-month program at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) with a combined Masters’ Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences with a specialization in Health-System Pharmacy Administration from the University of North Carolina (UNC) Eshelman School of Pharmacy (#1 ranked pharmacy school in the country).

In the first year of the program, residents will complete the same requirements of the MGH PGY-1 pharmacy residency program, supplemented with the MS degree. Our mission is to provide a dynamic, goal-oriented environment to develop a well-rounded clinical expert and to assure each resident is thoroughly trained in the provision of individualized direct patient care, clinical and didactic teaching, practice-based research and patient-centric pharmacy leadership. The PGY-1 year will develop the resident into an independent generalist practitioner with a strong clinical foundation. After completion of the first year of residency, the resident will receive a PGY-1 residency certificate. 

In the second year of the program, residents work closely with the entire Mass General Department of Pharmacy Leadership Team and hospital administrators to develop competence in clinical leadership, pharmacy operations, budgeting and finance, medication safety, drug use policy, regulatory affairs, process improvement, pharmacy informatics and enterprise-level management. The second-year electives are customizable to each resident's interests and career goals. Additionally, the resident can participate in a corporate pharmacy leadership role within Mass General Brigham Healthcare, founded by both Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital and includes 10 additional community hospitals within the system.

The MGH PGY-1/PGY-2 Health-System Pharmacy Administration Residency will follow all standards and regulations outlined in the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Regulations on Accreditation of Pharmacy Residencies and the ASHP Accreditation Standard for Postgraduate Year Two (PGY-2) Pharmacy Residency Programs. The residency program will be seeking accreditation status within the first year of the program.

We currently offer one position for the combined PGY-1/PGY-2 Health-System Pharmacy Administration Residency Program.

The Master of Science Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences is offered in collaboration with the University of North Carolina Hospitals, Duke University Health System, Wake Forest Baptist Health, Mission Hospitals, BayCare Health System, University of Pennsylvania Medicine, Moses Cone Hospital, and Novant Health University Hospitals New Hanover Regional Medical Center. The core curriculum for the two-year MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences program with a specialization in health-system pharmacy administration consists of course work in advanced topics with human resource management, health-systems financial management, medication safety, quality improvement, and health-system pharmacy operations.

Program Goals

• Prepare, dispense and manage medications to support safe and effective drug therapy for patients
• Design, implement and manage a safe and effective medication-use system
• Apply contemporary quality methodology to the management of pharmacy services
• Lead and manage the health system pharmacy’s human resources
• Manage the health system pharmacy financial performance within the context of the broader health system
• Leverage technology and automated systems to optimize the medication-use system
• Demonstrate personal leadership qualities and business acumen essential to operate effectively within the health system and advance the profession and practice of pharmacy
• Attain board certification (BCPS)

Learning Experiences

The first month of the PGY-1 residency is an orientation to the Department of Pharmacy, after a 1.5-day hospital orientation. Activities include competency lectures on basic clinical skills, training on the Massachusetts General Hospital Epic® information system and side-by-side training with clinical and operational pharmacy preceptors.

PGY-1 Core Learning Experiences:

Please review the MGH PGY-1 Residency webpage to review the Core, Selective, Elective, and Longitudinal learning experiences in the PGY-1 year which will be completed in addition to the UNC MS Degree. The PGY-1/PGY-2 HSPA resident will have 8 weeks of Pharmacy Administration learning experience in the first year and a 4 week learning experience of Introduction to Pharmacy Operations.

PGY-2 Core Learning Experiences:

• Ambulatory Oncology & Cancer Center Leadership (5 weeks)
• Executive/Enterprise Leadership (8 weeks)
• Clinical Leadership (6 weeks)
• Advanced Pharmacy Operations and Automation (8 weeks)
• Business and Finance (4 weeks)
• Quality, Compliance, and Regulatory Affairs (4 weeks)
• Supply Chain Management (4 weeks)
• Specialty Pharmacy Leadership (2 weeks)

PGY-2 Elective Learning Experiences:

• Extension of any required rotation
• Perioperative Pharmacy Management
• Advanced Medication Use Policy and Safety
• Retail Pharmacy Management
• Advanced Compounding Operations Leadership
• Advanced Ambulatory Oncology Leadership
• Other experiences based on the resident’s interest (e.g., Vizient Informatics and Supply Chain Leadership elective)
• Data & Analytics

PGY2 Longitudinal Experiences:

• Pharmacy Manager On-Call (rotating basis with other Pharmacy Leaders)
• Medication Safety
• Supervisory experience (Oversee overnight Central Distribution Technician Staff: 10 FTE)
• Pharmacy Practice Experience – Central and Decentralized Clinical and Operational Services

Application Requirements

• Doctor of Pharmacy degree from an ACPE-accredited program
• Eligible for licensure in Massachusetts
• Application materials must be submitted through PhORCAS by December 31
  • Completed application
  • Formal letter of intent
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Official university/college transcripts
  • Three letters of recommendation through PhORCAS (at least 1 letter of recommendation needs to be from a clinical preceptor)
• Complete a UNC Graduate School Application

Contact Information

Katherine S. DeSanctis, PharmD, MS
Director of Pharmacy Operations
Director, PGY-1/2 HSPAL Residency Program
kdesanctis@mgh.harvard.edu

Antonia Akrap, PharmD, MS, BCPS
Manager, Perioperative Pharmacy Services
Coordinator, PGY-1/2 HSPAL Residency Program
AAKRAP@mgh.harvard.edu