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Emory Decatur Hospital Post-Graduate
Year One Pharmacy Residency

PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency

The post-graduate year one (PGY-1) pharmacy residency at Emory Decatur Hospital trains pharmacists to be competent and confident in providing pharmaceutical care to a broad patient population. The 12-month community-hospital program prepares residents for clinical positions in acute care settings or for pursuing further specialized training in a post-graduate year two residency program.

During the program, residents train to function as integral members of multidisciplinary patient care teams. They educate other health care professionals, patients and the community at large on drug-related topics and safe medication use. And residents show professional maturity when managing practice-related problems, by self-monitoring their work and by helping to advance the profession. At the completion of our residency program, residents will possess current and future marketable job skills.

Goals

Our PGY-1 residency program trains and educates residents in contemporary pharmacy practice in a community-hospital setting so they may:

  • Function effectively as pharmacists on health care teams
  • Identify, prevent and resolve medication-related problems for patients in acute health care settings
  • Gain skills in and contribute to teaching and research
  • Master personal development skills for life-long learning and professional growth
  • Utilize practice management skills to promote rational and safe use of medications

Learning Experiences and Rotations

Learning Experiences include:

  • Required 4-week orientation rotations
  • Required 4-week block rotations
  • Required longitudinal rotations
  • Elective rotations of 4 weeks in duration

PGY-1 residents may have at least one off-site rotation during the residency year. During December, residents attend the ASHP Midyear and fulfill research and elective requirements. Residents may not spend more than one-third of their residency in a single clinical area, and they must spend two-thirds or more of the program in direct patient care. Residents should not spend back-to-back months in non-direct patient care rotations.

Required Learning Experiences

  • Clinical orientation/pharmacokinetics     
  • Pharmacy orientation     
  • Internal medicine
  • Critical care
  • Nutritional support
  • Oncology  
  • Emergency medicine
  • Neonatology  
  • Pharmacy practice management

Required Longitudinal Learning Experiences

  • Drug policy development (10 months)
  • Clinical services – weekend coverage (20 weeks during residency year)
  • Residency research project (10 months)
  • Service – staffing (10 months)
  • Teaching and education (11 months)

Elective Learning Experiences 

  • Infectious Diseases/Antimicrobial Stewardship
  • Outpatient Oncology
  • Pharmacy Management
  • Women's Services
  • Any required rotation as an advanced rotation

Projects and Responsibilities

Research Project: Residents design, develop and complete an original research project, including a final manuscript of research results. Residents present their project at the Southeastern Residency Conference in April of their residency year.

Journal Club: Residents present current journal articles at scheduled times throughout the year. Residents interact with residents from other programs in the metro Atlanta area by participating in an Atlanta Area Resident Journal Club held every other month.

Code Response: Residents receive ACLS training and certification so they can respond to medical emergencies inside Emory Decatur Hospital.

Medication Use Evaluation: Residents develop and complete a quality improvement project by the end of the residency year.

Staffing: Residents gain experience and competency in the pharmacy’s medication distribution system by staffing one shift every other week, during an evening shift in the central pharmacy area or a day shift in the ICU pharmacy.

Pharmacokinetics: Residents participate in the clinical pharmacist on-call program and provide clinical services on the weekends and holidays.

Teaching: In addition to providing in-services while on rotations, residents assist in precepting fourth-year pharmacy students from Mercer University and the University of Georgia. Residents serve as facilitators for the introductory pharmacy practice experience for third-year pharmacy students. Residents also complete a pharmacy teaching certificate program offered by Mercer University College of Pharmacy.

Professional Development 

Residents receive financial support to attend the following conferences:

Midyear Clinical Meeting – Residents represent Emory Decatur Hospital at the Residency Showcase.

Southeastern Residency Conference (SERC) – Held in late spring in Athens, Georgia, SERC is one of the largest and oldest residency conferences in the country. Residents present the results of their research projects at SERC.

Contact Info

For more information, please contact the program director.

Program Director
Rodna Larson, PharmD
Emory Decatur Hospital
Pharmaceutical Services
2701 North Decatur Road
Decatur, GA 30033
404-501-5542
Email: Rodna.larson@emoryhealthcare.org