VCUHS/MCVH Pharmacy Residency Programs

The pharmacy residency programs at the VCU Health System/MCV Hospitals, and Virginia Commonwealth University, began in 1970 as a two year program associated with the Master of Science degree. In 1972 the program was accredited by the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists and graduated its first resident. The degree residency combination was discontinued, and the residency became a one year general program in 1977. Since 1972, the residency programs have expanded and changed, and now include a pharmacy practice residency and numerous specialized residencies. In 1996, the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals and the School of Pharmacy at VCU combined efforts to increase the number of specialized residencies. The programs have graduated over 200 residents.

The primary goal of each residency program is to provide practical training and experience, while offering the resident the opportunity and stimulus to develop, to the highest degree attainable, his or her professional expertise in the provision of pharmaceutical care.

Pharmacy Practice Residency

The Pharmacy Practice Residency is a twelve-month program designed and structured to provide the organized health care practice community and the pharmacy profession with knowledgeable, creative, and resourceful practitioners who can provide direct patient care services in an institutional practice environment. It supplements an academic pharmacy education and provides the opportunity and necessary stimulus for graduate pharmacists to develop their knowledge and expertise in the provision of pharmaceutical care. The program is flexibly designed to accommodate the training needs of Doctor of Pharmacy degree graduates. This residency participates in the ASHP Matching Program.

Specialized Residencies

The specialized residencies in pharmacy practices are twelve-month programs designed to prepare a practitioner who will be able to lead in conceptualizing, planning, developing and demonstrating specialized pharmacy services. The development of such skills is achieved through the ongoing provision of appropriate service, administration, education and research activities in selected, specialized pharmacy services at VCU Health System. Two-year programs, leading to a Pharmacy Practice Residency certificate and a specialized residency certificate upon completion, may be available to interested applicants.

Fellowship Training

Additional fellowship training, with a focus on research in a pharmacotherapy specialty, may be available through faculty at the School of Pharmacy.

Stipend and Benefits

A yearly stipend and a health insurance plan (including paid outpatient physician visits) are provided to all residents. Residents receive two weeks of paid vacation and uninterrupted stipend during minor illness. Financial assistance is provided for certain professional activities.

Faculty Appointment

Successful residency applicants will be eligible for a clinical faculty appointment in the VCU School of Pharmacy. Teaching opportunities, including didactic and experiential teaching of Doctor of Pharmacy students, constitute approximately 10 - 15% of the overall residency training program.

Program Coordination

Dr. Craig Kirkwood coordinates the VCUHS pharmacy residency programs on the medical campus, including orientation, annual assignments, retreats, seminars, case conferences, collateral activities, and personnel processes. For each individual residency program, a program director guides the specific activities of that residency. The residents report administratively to the Director, Department of Pharmacy Services, VCUHS/MCVH, and the Chair, Department of Pharmacy, VCU School of Pharmacy.

Department of Pharmacy Services

The Department of Pharmacy Services, VCU Health System, is responsible for the pharmaceutical care provided at the medical center complex. Approximately 200 professional, technical and student employees staff the department. Inpatient and outpatient services are provided through 15 operational sites, using automated and computerized drug distribution systems. Through its close ties with the School of Pharmacy, the department functions as a major element in the fulfillment of the VCU educational and research mission. The department provides acute and ambulatory pharmaceutical care, through a network of pharmacies, clinical staff pharmacists, and clinical pharmacy specialists at VCU Medical Center.

MCV Hospitals/VCU Health Systems

As part of the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, VCU Health System/MCV Hospitals is the fourth largest teaching health care complex in the country. As a university teaching and research center and the largest acute care hospital in Virginia, VCUHS/MCVH provides diverse and comprehensive services, such as transplantation for heart, kidney, liver and other organs. The medical center clinics and outpatient services create a major ambulatory care facility, registering more than 400,000 outpatient visits annually.

School of Pharmacy

The School of Pharmacy is located adjacent to VCU Health Systems/MCV Hospitals. The School offers a variety of educational programs leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy degree, the Master of Science degree, the Doctor of Philosophy degree, or the combined Doctor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. The VCU Health System/ MCV Hospitals complex serves as the primary teaching site for Doctor of Pharmacy students. Faculty members at the School actively participate in the residency programs. Many faculty members serve as rotation preceptors, research project advisors, or program directors for residents.

Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU is an urban, public university with an enrollment of approximately 22,000 students on two campuses. The academic campus is situated in the Fan District of Richmond, a restored residential section with turn-of-the-century townhouses. The medical center is located two miles east near the financial, governmental, and shopping areas of downtown Richmond. VCU offers 138 degree programs through twelve distinct schools and one college, and provides training at VCU Health System/MCV Hospitals & Clinics of the VCU Medical Center.

Richmond

Richmond, the capital of Virginia, is a city rich in history for more than four centuries. Since 1607, Richmond has been central to Virginia’s, and the country’s, historical development. Today it is a major urban area with a diversity of commerce and a variety of recreational and cultural opportunities. Richmond is centrally located within a two-hour drive of Virginia Beach, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and Washington, D.C. The historic sites of Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Monticello are less than an hour drive away.