National Pharmacy Residency Programmes
Introduction
Pharmacy residencies are experiential clinical training programmes that are designed for pharmacists who would like to gain more hands-on knowledge and skill set in advanced patient care practice. The outcome of a residency programme is estimated to be equivalent to work experience that has been accrued over three to five years. Therefore the intensity of the training helps to prepare the postgraduates to achieve a competency level that will enable them to provide advanced pharmaceutical care in various settings.
Currently there are two major types of Pharmacy residencies, namely R1 (National Pharmacy Residency Year 1 Programme) and R2 (National Pharmacy Residency Year 2 Programme). R1 residency programmes are designed for training of advanced clinical pharmacy practitioners and R2 residency programmes are designed for training specialist pharmacist in a particular medical specialty such as oncology, infectious diseases, psychiatry, cardiology, geriatrics, critical care or paediatrics.
Office of Residency Training
The Ministry of Health has come up with a new initiative to consolidate all residency programmes in Singapore. Through this consolidation exercise, all nation-wide residency programmes will be evaluated for quality and the residents shall be selected through interviews. As such the implementation of the nation-wide residency will be administered centrally. In order to ensure residency programme directors (RPDs) and preceptors are able to focus their time and effort on the training of residents, good administrative support is necessary for the smooth implementation of the residency programmes.
NUS Department of Pharmacy has been appointed by MOH to assist in the implementation of the new National Pharmacy Residency Programmes with the establishment of the Office of Residency Training (ORT), extending the role of the Department in leading the education and training of advanced practitioner pharmacists in Singapore. With the residency programmes in place, the Department hopes that the clinical skills of our future pharmacists will reach a higher level of competency, to provide better pharmaceutical care to their patients in Singapore.
National Pharmacy Residency Programmes
The National Pharmacy Residency Programmes were officially launched and the inaugural batch of residents commenced their residency training in January 2016. The programmes are adapted from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) standards and were locally accredited by the Residency Accreditation Committee appointed by the Pharmacy Specialists Accreditation Board (PSAB).
The list of accredited National Pharmacy Residency Programmes can be found at: https://www.moh.gov.sg/hpp/pharmacists/career-practices/CareerNPracticesDetails/pharmacists-professional-training-education
Eligibility
Enrolment Criteria
Applicants must fulfil the following general criteria to qualify for the enrolment into residency programmes:
| a) | Applicant must be a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident; |
| b) | Applicant must not have broken any government bond in the past; |
| c) | Applicant must have obtained a Certificate of Good Standing (CGS) from the Singapore Pharmacy Council at the point of application. |
Applicants must fulfil the following programme-specific eligibility criteria at the point of application:
National R1 Residency Programme
| a) | Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident; |
| b) | Employed at a public healthcare institution; |
| c) | At least 2 years of full-time employment in a direct patient care setting as a fully-registered pharmacist with the Singapore Pharmacy Council, in the 5 years immediately preceding the application; equivalent part-time employment in a direct patient care setting can also be considered; |
| d) | Possesses a relevant post-graduate qualification (e.g. Master in Clinical Pharmacy, Doctor of Pharmacy) recognised by PSAB at the point of application; |
| e) | Intends to pursue specialisation in a PSAB-recognised specialty by undergoing R2 specialty residency training within 3 years of exit from R1 residency training. |
National R2 Residency Programme
| a) | Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident; |
| b) | Employed at a public healthcare institution; |
| c) | Completed / in the process of completing the national R1 pharmacy residency programme; |
| d) | Must possess a relevant post-graduate qualification (e.g. Master in Clinical Pharmacy, Doctor of Pharmacy) recognised by PSAB at the point of application; |
| e) | Intends to seek pharmacy specialist accreditation by PSAB within 5 years of successful exit from R2 residency training and readiness to fulfil the related accreditation requirements. |
All R1 Residents are to apply for the R2 residency programmes in the specialty of choice when the call is announced, and they will have to undergo the R2 selection interview. Resident’s employing institution will need to track and remind Residents to respond to the R2 application call, and make provision for the service disruption and coverage, as well as funding arrangement to facilitate Resident’s enrolment into R2 programmes.
R1 Residents who could not proceed with R2 programme immediately due to valid reasons (as determined by the relevant committee) could reapply to R2 programme within 3 years of exiting from R1 programme.
Application
Pharmacists who meet the eligibility criteria are invited to apply to Ministry of Health (MOH) to enrol into the R1 and R2 Residency programmes. MOH will announce the call for application for the Pharmacy Residency Programmes through a training circular which will be sent to all the hospitals in the different clusters. All applications must be supported and endorsed by the Head of Pharmacy Department and the relevant authorities within the respective hospital.
The MOH Pharmacy Residents Selection Committee (PRSC) will review all applications and shortlist suitable applicants for the selection interview.
Should you require any clarifications, please contact the Office of Residency Training – Mr Desmond Lam (email: Des.Lam@nus.edu.sg)
Testimonials
Reflections from:
National Pharmacy Residency Programme Year 1 (R1)
National Pharmacy Residency Programme Year 2 (R2) in Cardiology Pharmacy
National Pharmacy Residency Programme Year 2 (R2) in Critical Care Pharmacy
National Pharmacy Residency Programme Year 2 (R2) in Geriatric Pharmacy
National Pharmacy Residency Programme Year 2 (R2) in Infectious Diseases Pharmacy
National Pharmacy Residency Programme Year 2 (R2) in Oncology Pharmacy
National Pharmacy Residency Programme Year 2 (R2) in Paediatric Pharmacy
National Pharmacy Residency Programme Year 2 (R2) in Psychiatric Pharmacy
National Pharmacy Residency Programme Year 1 (R1)
“Residency is definitely challenging and is one that make you grow.”
– Mr Chiang Cho-Lun (NTFGH), Resident, Jul 2022 – Jun 2023
“Good judgement comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgement. A hotspot of passionate preceptors and learning opportunities, the pharmacy residency programme is a great avenue for aspiring clinical pharmacists to not only garner experience, but also to reflect upon them.”
– Dr Tan Hsien-Jie Earl (IMH), Resident, Jul 2022 – Jun 2023
“The R1 residency programme will definitely challenge you, but at the end, you will be surprised at how much you have grown both personally and professionally.”
– Dr Toh Jing Heng (KTPH), Resident, Jul 2022 – Jun 2023
“I had the opportunity of working with people of diverse backgrounds and experts in their field. The R1 programme has benefited me and prepared me as a clinical pharmacist to be able to provide quality patient-centered care”
– Ms Yap Min Yi (TTSH), Resident, Jul 2022 – Jun 2023
“The residency programme has equipped me with not only the essential skill sets required to manage complex patient cases but also prepares me to rethink of new solutions to solve clinical questions. By interacting and working with the various preceptors and their teams, I also had the opportunity to learn to be adaptable to the different working styles; to embrace the differences and rationale behind these working styles. To sum up, residency offers a broad-based learning environment for an individual to pick up the various skills and build a community that is necessary for one to further develop both clinically and professionally.”
– Dr Chew Yue Xin Cindy (NCCS), Resident, Jan – Dec 2016
National Pharmacy Residency Programme Year 2 (R2) in Cardiology Pharmacy
“Cardiology pharmacy residency exposure ranges from cardiac critical care to chronic outpatient management. Cardiology diseases are prevalent in our population with pharmacists heavily involved in the evidence-based patient care practice. The cardiology pharmacy resident will be working closely with other healthcare professionals in the cardiology team. There are opportunities for teaching, medication management and research.”
– Ms Wong Yee May (TTSH), Residency Programme Director
National Pharmacy Residency Programme Year 2 (R2) in Critical Care Pharmacy
National Pharmacy Residency Programme in Critical Care is committed to nurturing pharmacy residents who have an interest in pursuing a specialist training in critical care. It is a structured 1-year programme that builds upon the broad-based competencies achieved in a R1 Pharmacy Residency to equip pharmacists with clinical knowledge and skills, competencies required and right attitude of a proficient specialist pharmacist to provide comprehensive pharmaceutical care to critically ill patients.
Why Choose Pharmacy Residency in Critical Care?
The comprehensive clinical case-mix seen at the Singapore General Hospital, National University Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Changi General Hospital offer pharmacy residents unparalleled clinical exposure and training opportunities. Residents will have the opportunity to deal with advanced critical care pharmacotherapy in the various intensive care units, national burn centre and trauma centres across four public hospitals.
The Residency Programme is designed to include core experiences required for establishing a foundation of critical care knowledge and skills. Core rotations include medical, surgical, neuroscience, cardiology, cardiothoracic, and burns intensive Care. It has in place electives such as Clinical Nutrition, Haematology / Bone Marrow Transplant, and Infectious Diseases to provide breadth in the residency training and to meet each of our resident’s learning needs.
We have a large pool of pharmacy faculty who are passionate and committed to education. The residents will be supervised and mentored by specialist pharmacists and advanced pharmacy practitioners who are widely recognized as leading pharmacy clinicians in their respective field of practice with excellent teaching experience.
Your Career Prospect and Development
Upon completion of the specialty training the resident will be well prepared to take the board certification exam for Critical Care Pharmacists and a career opportunity as specialist pharmacist in critical care.
– Dr Chan Hong Ngee (SGH), Residency Programme Director
National Pharmacy Residency Programme Year 2 (R2) in Geriatric Pharmacy
“In the Geriatric Pharmacy Residency Programme, the resident is exposed to learning experiences over the continuum of care settings, from acute care in tertiary hospitals, ambulatory geriatric clinics, and intermediate and long-term care facilities. Medication-related needs of older adults vary according to where they are in that continuum of care. Residents will learn to incorporate changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, availability of evidence, changes in function and therapeutic goals in the pharmacological management of older adults.
The geriatric pharmacy resident will also have opportunity to work with other members of the multidisciplinary health care team and engage in teaching and research activities.”
– Ms Tan Keng Teng (TTSH), Residency Programme Director
“The 1-year Residency Programme in Infectious Diseases (ID) has provided me a platform to be exposed to various infectious diseases in different kinds of patient populations. Independent learning and hands-on management with guidance from various knowledgeable preceptors, who are all very willing to share and teach, helped to enhance my clinical knowledge and improve patient care. The programme is structured but yet customisable based on residents’ needs. During the residency training, I was also exposed to the other roles of ID pharmacists, i.e. teaching/education and research, and I was given opportunities to hone my skills in these areas as well. I have definitely expanded my horizon through the residency training programme and have emerged with more confidence as a practitioner. I will certainly recommend this programme for passionate individuals who wish to enhance your career as an ID specialist!”
– Ms Tan Sock Hoon (TTSH), Resident, Jan – Dec 2021
“With almost 50% of hospitalised patients receiving antibiotics, infectious disease touches most patients who are admitted to hospitals in Singapore. In SGH, our unique casemix of patients allows residents to experience the various facets of infectious disease management all under one roof. The wide variety of ID cases helps to broaden the scope of training for the residents, providing them with interesting and complex cases that reinforce what they have studied in literature.
The programme coordinators allow the resident to customise their training schedule, allowing resident to hone in on their interests. The preceptors and facilitators, who are experts in the field, are also easy to approach. Together, they provide a safe and conducive environment to train in.”
– Dr Narendran s/o Koomanan (SGH), Resident, Jul 2020 – Jun 2021
“The Haem-Onco PGY2 program has trained me to be able to practice at the top of my licence in the field of my specialty. I am very thankful to have met the preceptors and doctors along this 1-year journey which has been a very enriching experience. I was given opportunities to learn and improve my clinical skills. In addition, I was also able to learn best practices from various institutions which will be useful to advance the pharmacy practice in my own institution.”
– Mr Chan Zhi Yao (NUH), Resident, Jan – Dec 2021
“Having gone through residency programme, I would recommend this to pharmacists interested in the programme. This programme provided a well-rounded experience and huge variety of learning opportunities for one to grow as a clinical pharmacist. One of the best aspects of this programme is its flexibility where the residency director was able to tailor the rotations and learning experiences to my interests and needs.”
– Ms Wee Hui Ling (TTSH), Resident, Jul 2019 – Jun 2020
“After my preregistration training and one year as an inpatient pharmacist at SGH, I moved to the Haematology Pharmacy at SGH as I was drawn by the dynamic nature of haematology and oncology. It has been 11 years since. I enrolled into the R2 Oncology programme in 2017, a year after I completed my PharmD programme at NUS. At that point in time, it was something “I had to do” to eventually receive specialist accreditation. Yet, never did I expect that I would have gained so much more out of it.
In my one year of training, I was rotated to various institutions in Singapore and gained exposure to various practice settings. This was very valuable, as it not only honed my knowledge and skills in the area of haematology and oncology but also helped me gain a better idea of what our patients go through in their treatment and care journey.
On a typical day, I would join the ward team for rounds in the morning and follow up on the patients throughout the day as needed. On some days, I would be attached to the outpatient clinics or laboratories to view provision of care from different perspectives. Preceptors also met up with me regularly to discuss cases as well as to have topic discussions or journal clubs. Participating in the education of junior pharmacists as well as other members of the healthcare team was also something I enjoyed doing as part of my residency.
As part of the residency training, I also had the privilege to attend the Chemotherapy Induced Nausea and Vomiting Optimization Asia Pacific Leaders Meeting in Beijing, China and other local Haem-Onc related courses and conferences I had requested to attend. I was pleased that my preceptors were very accommodating and agreed to me attending these as long as the training objectives were met.
My palliative care rotation was truly one that was most memorable for me. Beyond pain management, I learnt how to have difficult conversations with patients and their family, and how to support them through difficult times. These communication and soft skills I picked up then have gone a long way in helping me develop stronger relationships with my patients.
One of the greatest challenges during residency would be the prioritising of tasks within the limitations of multiple deadlines. However, I suppose one just gets better at it over time. When I looked back at the times when I struggled the most, it happened to also be the times when I learnt and grew the most.
The R2 Oncology programme has definitely helped me become a better and more holistic practitioner. It also gave me the opportunity to challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone and to expand my horizons beyond my usual practice setting.
To fellow pharmacists who are considering to pursue an R2 programme, ask yourself what are you good at and what you enjoy. Do what you enjoy and you will have the drive to keep going on. Once you have set a goal for yourself, stay committed to it, not only for yourself but also for your teachers and mentors. It may be an intensive one-year programme but go in with an open heart, and you will be surprised what you get out of it!”
– Dr Chong Mui Fong (SGH), Resident, Jul 2017 – Jun 2018
“Amidst challenges, I’ve grown stronger, humbled, and more determined. With gratitude for my mentors, I look ahead to expanding pediatric pharmacy at NUH with newfound clarity and purpose.”
– Ms Cheryl Neoh Chia Chin (NUH), Resident, Jul 2022 – Jun 2023
“In Paediatric Pharmacy Residency Programme, residents are exposed to a range of learning experience from a variety of Paediatric subspecialties in the two children hospitals in Singapore, KKH and NUH. Residents will take care of the treatment of paediatric patients with conditions ranging from common childhood illnesses to complicated diseases. With the exposure to a wide range of patients’ age group from neonates to adolescents, residents get to strengthen on developing pharmacotherapy plans and communication skill tailoring to patients’ developmental milestones, schooling time schedule, needs, etc. On top of developing residents’ clinical skills, other skills such as leadership and management, research and education will be honed too.”
– Ms Foo Koon Mian (KKH), Preceptor
“The R2 programme has given me valuable learning opportunities that help shape attitudes and thinking important for advancement to a specialised practice.”
– Ms Lim Shuli (IMH), Resident, Jan – Dec 2021 Intake