Overview
The University of North Carolina Medical Center, in conjunction with the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, offers a one-year specialty residency in critical care. The primary patient population encountered during this training program will be adult patients in an intensive care unit with various medical and surgical conditions. The purpose of the Postgraduate year Two (PGY2) Critical Care Pharmacy Residency program is to prepare the resident to excel in the provision of Pharmaceutical care to patients in a variety of critical care practice settings as a clinical pharmacy specialist or clinical faculty member. The residency program will focus on the provision of prospective evidence-based pharmaceutical care to patients and the appropriate monitoring and follow-up. Multiple professional writing, research, teaching and precepting opportunities are available during the course of the year.
Residency Research Project
The resident is expected to participate in a project that enhances the following learning objectives: developing criteria, seeking approval of the criteria from the medical staff, collecting and summarizing data, analyzing results and presenting the findings. To fulfill the requirement, each resident must complete a pharmacotherapy project and write a research manuscript which must be in publishable format by completion of the residency. It is strongly encouraged that the resident presents the results of the research at a critical care meeting or a suitable alternative such as the UNC Residency Symposium.
Teaching Responsibilities
Each resident will earn an appointment with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy as a Clinical Instructor. Teaching experiences are integrated with patient care experiences throughout the year. Residents will assist with precepting Doctor of Pharmacy candidates and Pharmacy Practice residents on clinical rotations. PGY2 residents are incorporated into a layered learning model with students and PGY1 residents who are also on rotations in various ICU rotations. PGY2 residents will participate in weekly PGY2 specific topic discussions with critical care preceptors as well as leading topic discussions for students/PGY1 residents on average twice a month. The critical care resident is expected to attend student seminars, continuing education seminars, case conferences, journal clubs and ICU/ID debates as scheduled. The PGY2 will help organize, prepare and participate in at least one of the critical care case conferences during the year. Case conferences are interactive, didactic and case-based. Residents are also required to present a one 45 minute ACPE- approved seminar which is provided twice- once for UNC faculty and an encore presentation held in the evening and open for the public to attend. This is generally scheduled for the fall.
Residents will serve as a teaching assistant during both the fall and spring semesters in a UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy class and are required to teach a didactic lecture in the critical care elective during the Spring Semester.
Professional Meetings
Residents are encouraged to attend the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting (December) as well as the UNC Residency Symposium in May. Other possible meeting’s include attendance at either the ACCP Meeting (November), or SCCM (January/February). Financial compensation may be provided for these educational experiences.
Pharmacy Practice Responsibilities
Pharmacy practice responsibilities (staffing) include three 1-week staffing blocks throughout the year and every third weekend. Activities include, but are not limited to verifying orders, providing pharmacokinetic consults, answering in-depth drug information questions, attending codes, providing patient education and solving pharmacotherapeutic issues. Residents will also participate in the pharmacy clinical on-call program as well as Code Blue coverage.
Benefits
The specialty residency in Critical Care is a one-year program beginning July 1 and ending June 30. Each resident will be given 15 days of paid time off (PTO) for the entire year, none of which can be taken in the last 2 weeks of the program. These days include all vacation, sick leave, interview days, and meeting attendance. Individual health insurance is provided. UNC Hospitals provides comprehensive malpractice insurance for all residents at no charge.
Qualifications
Interested candidates must have completed a Doctor of Pharmacy program from an ACPE accredited school or college of pharmacy, an ASHP accredited pharmacy practice (PGY-1) residency and be eligible to practice pharmacy in North Carolina. North Carolina Board of Pharmacy licensure is required. The North Carolina State board of Pharmacy examination is given twice each year (January and June). Reciprocity is available for all states except for California. Details regarding North Carolina licensure can be found at www.ncbop.org. An on-site interview is required.
For additional information, please contact:
Brian Murray, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Adjunct Professor- UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy
Clinical Specialist, Medicine ICU
Director, Critical Care Residency Program
Education Coordinator, Residency Program
University of North Carolina Medical Center
101 Manning Drive, CB 7600
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Email: Brian.Murray@unchealth.unc.edu
FAQ
Is a PGY1 Residency Required?
Yes. We feel like in order for residents to be the most successful and productive during their PGY2 year it is essential that they have completed a PGY1 practice residency, preferably at a major academic medical center.
What are some of the advantages of completing a PGY2 residency at UNC Medical Center?
UNC provides experiences in six different adult ICU’s, including the Medicine ICU, Surgery/Trauma ICU, Neurocritical Care ICU, Cardiothoracic ICU, Burn ICU and the Cardiac ICU. These units provide a broad array of patients with complicated medical issues to learn from. UNC is the major referral center for the state of North Carolina. We are well known for our collaborative approach to providing medical care. You will have the opportunity to work with some of the best physicians, nurses and other allied health professionals in the country in a very “team oriented” setting. Another added benefit of training at UNC is the close proximity of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy which is ranked as one of the best schools of pharmacy in the country. Here you will become an adjunctive faculty member and be involved in numerous teaching opportunities
