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Specialty Residency in Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Practice (PGY 2)

Introduction

The Postgraduate Year Two (PGY2) Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency offered by the Department of Pharmacy at National University of Singapore in conjunction with Tan Tock Seng Hospital is a one-year, postgraduate, non-degree training program.

In line with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Accreditation Standard for PGY2 Pharmacy Residency Program and Singapore Pharmacy Board, the residency program offered through the Department of Pharmacy at National University of Singapore is designed to provide systematic training for pharmacists in advanced areas of pharmacy practice in ambulatory care.

The program enables residents to provide care in the most complex of cases and in the support of care through practice leadership. Residents will also be able to function independently as practitioners by conceptualizing and integrating accumulated experience and knowledge, and transforming both into improved medication therapy for patients. Furthermore, through the academic setting, residents will also develop skills required for becoming an effective clinician teacher.

Upon satisfactory completion of the one-year residency, the resident will receive a Certificate of Completion of a PGY2 Residency in Ambulatory Care issued by the Department of Pharmacy at National University of Singapore.

Advancements achieved in Pharmaceutical Science will impact drug discovery, drug formulation as well as the regulation and practice of Pharmacy.

Goals and Objectives

The goals and objectives for the ambulatory care pharmacy practice residency are based the six educational outcomes set forth by the ASHP Ambulatory Care Working Group.

Outcome 1: Establish a collaborative interdisciplinary practice

Outcome 2: Provide efficient, effective, evidence-based, patient-centered treatment for chronic and/or acute illnesses in all degrees of complexity through a collaborative interdisciplinary ambulatory practice.

Outcome 3: Demonstrate leadership and practice management skills.

Outcome 4: Promote health improvement, wellness, and disease prevention.

Outcome 5: Demonstrate excellence in the provision of training or educational activities for health care professionals and health care professionals in training.

Outcome 6: Serve as an authoritative resource on the optimal use of medications.

Please click here for more details about the Learning Outcomes: http://www.ashp.org/DocLibrary/Residents/RTP-PGY2-AmCareProgram.pdf

Programme Structure

The PGY2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Practice Residency offered by the Department of Pharmacy at National University of Singapore advocates continuity of care. Resident will have opportunities to make interventions, follow up and ensure attainment of optimal outcomes of their patients over the one-year period.

The residency program consists of 40 weeks of core pharmacist-managed clinics and 8 weeks of elective rotations. In addition, there will be a mandatory Outpatient Retail Pharmacy attachment in which residents will spend 8 hours per week for 12 weeks during the beginning of the residency to familiarize themselves with the available over-the-counter products and prescription medications on the institutions’ formulary (Please refer to Table 1).

The core pharmacy practice of advanced ambulatory care includes:

1. Anticoagulation Clinic,
2. Heart Failure Clinic,
3. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Clinic, and
4. Risk Factor Management Clinic.

These core clinics address the growing health concerns in the nation; and through the diverse patient populations found in these clinics, resident will be able to acquire broad range of clinical skills to meet the healthcare needs of the country in an ambulatory care setting and prevent hospital admission.

Elective rotations are per the interest of the resident and subject to site and preceptor qualification and availabilities at the time of resident’s residency period. Examples of elective rotations may include but are not limited to endocrinology, nursing home, inpatient cardiology, and inpatient infectious diseases.

TABLE 1: PROGRAM STRUCTURE

Rotation	Description	Duration of Longitudinal Experience
CORE 40 weeks	Anticoagulation Clinic Heart Failure Clinic Human Immunodeficiency (HIV) Clinic Risk Factor Management Clinic Outpatient Retail Pharmacy *	40 weeks (2 sessions or 1 day per week) 40 weeks (2 sessions or 1 day per week) 40 weeks (2 sessions or 1 day per week) 40 weeks (2 sessions or 1 day per week) 12 weeks (2 sessions or 1 day per week)
ELECTIVES ** 8 weeks (Any 2 postings)	· Endocrinology · Nursing Home · Inpatient Cardiology · Inpatient Infectious Disease · Repeat of any core clinics	4 weeks (every day) 4 weeks (every day) 4 weeks (every day) 4 weeks (every day) 4 weeks (every day)
OTHER RESIDENCY RELATED ACTIVITIES	Residency project, classroom teaching assignments, publication, in-service, presentation, preceptorship, meetings	28 weeks (2 sessions or 1 day per week)

* Residents may start core clerkships without experience in outpatient retail pharmacy if proven to have sufficient experience from previous work experience.

** Subject to availabilities at the time of residency; upon approval of PGY2 Ambulatory Care Residency Director, special arrangements can be made for resident who wishes to be exposed to other areas of pharmacy practice not listed in the elective section.

Eligibility Criteria

Resident selection for the PGY2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency include:

1. a) Leadership Abilities,
2. b) Professional Development,
3. c) Professional Competence,
4. d) Communication Skills,
5. e) Scholastic Achievements, and
6. f) Dependability and ability to work with others.

In addition, applicant must fulfill the following criteria:

• Applicant must have a NUS BSc (Pharmacy) (Honors) degree or equivalent and preferably have completed a PGY1 pharmacy residency. Additional postgraduate qualifications such as PhD, MSc by research, MBA or MPharm (Clinical Pharmacy) will be highly regarded.
• Applicant must be registered to practice pharmacy (patient care) in Singapore. As residents function as licensed pharmacists in patient care activities, overseas applicants must be eligible for pharmacist licensure in Singapore and must have attained licensure before the initiation of residency.
• It is preferred for the applicant to have at least 3 years of relevant work experience as a pharmacist in hospital, polyclinics or community with documented proof.

All criteria will be determined through personal interviews, peers, academic transcripts, evaluations by instructors and supervisors, and letters of recommendations in conjunction with the application. Special exceptions for admission may be made for candidates, on a case-by-case basis with strong justifications if they do not meet the stated qualifications, under the discretion of Department of Pharmacy at National University of Singapore.

Application

Please click here to download the application form. The deadline for the submission of the completed application form and all supporting documents is on Monday 5 September 2016.

Please take note that the Resident Selection Interview Session is tentatively scheduled from 12 September to 16 September 2016. Please ensure that you will be available to attend the scheduled Interview Session.