Pharmacy Residency Program

 Serving Manatee County since 1973, HCA Florida Blake Hospital is a 383-bed, tertiary hospital that offers a wide variety of services including Manatee County’s only Trauma Center, Comprehensive Stroke Center, 24-hour emergency care, open-heart surgery, joint replacement, inpatient rehabilitation, and cancer care. Our hospital also offers highly specialized burn care services. HCA Florida Blake Hospital is one of only six Burn Centers in the state of Florida that offers full-service inpatient and outpatient burn care.

HCA Florida Blake Hospital PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program builds upon Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) education and provides an environment conducive to the growth and development of clinical pharmacists able to provide responsible planning and management of medication-related patient care. The program affords the pharmacy resident with mentorship, guidance, motivation and opportunity to ensure optimal patient outcomes and produces confident, self-directed learners who are eligible for board certification and postgraduate year two (PGY2) pharmacy residency training.

• Applicants must be graduates or candidates for graduation from an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) accredited degree program (or one in process of pursuing accreditation).
• Applicants must be licensed or eligible to apply for a license to practice pharmacy in the state of Florida. All being selected residents MUST be licensed in the state of Florida within 90 days from the start of the program.
• Applicants must participate in the ASHP Residency Matching Program
• Applicants must complete application and submit to PhORCAS prior to January 15, and include:
  • Letter of intent
  • Copy of pharmacy school transcript
  • Three professional references/evaluations submitted via PhORCAS
• If selected, an on-site interview is required for Phase I of the Match. If necessary, an online interview (e.g., Skype) is required for Phase II (i.e., scramble) of the Match.

• Professional competence based on clinical APPE rotations, as well as work, presentation, research, biomedical writing/publishing and practical experience
• Collegiate achievements
• Communication skills represented in the letter of intent, professional references, APPE, academic, and interview performance
• Leadership potential as indicated by the nature and extent of participation in professional societies, community or public services, and social activities
• Ability to work cooperatively with others

Residents must complete the following requirements by the end of the residency year to graduate from the program and receive a residency certificate:

• Successfully obtain “Achieved for Residency” for 80 percent of ASHP PGY-1 Residency taught goals/objectives
• Complete all required learning experiences
• Complete all assigned evaluations in PharmAcademic
• Successfully attain BLS and ACLS certification (PALS certification optional)
• Research
  
  • Complete a longitudinal research project
  • Present research at the ASHP midyear and/or Florida Residency Conference. If unable to present at this meeting, the resident is required to present at an alternate professional conference or at minimum present their research at Blake Medical Center hospital-wide Grand Rounds.
  • Prepare a publishable manuscript and submit it to a journal or submit to present as a poster presentation at a conference
• Hospital and Health-System Pharmacy Practice formulary evaluation
  
  • Complete at minimum one medication usage evaluation
  • Complete at minimum one therapeutic class review
  • Complete at minimum one monograph
• Communication Skills
  
  • Each resident must give at least (1) formal presentation per core rotation to healthcare providers during the residency year. All presentations must be present in the resident’s portfolio
  • Each resident must prepare, present and document their formulary evaluation summaries to the Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee

• Service
  
  • All residents have an operational pharmacy practice (staffing) component as required by the program
• Prepare and present medication error analysis at a medication safety meeting
• Complete teaching certificate program
• Projects, presentations, other work products, and any evaluations completed outside of PharmAcademic (e.g. presentation evaluations) uploaded to PharmAcademic

• Orientation (1 month)
• Advanced Orientation: Kinetics, Anticoagulation and TPN (1 month)
• Internal Medicine 1 (1 month)
• Internal Medicine II (1 month)
• Critical Care (1 month)
• Infectious Disease (1 month)
• Administration (1 month)
• Longitudinal Project (2 weeks)

• Cardiology
• Medication Reconciliation
• Emergency Medicine
• Medication Safety
• Burn
• Trauma
• Antimicrobial stewardship
• Pediatrics (off-site at HCA Florida Brandon Hospital/HCA Florida Trinity Hospital)

Detailed information about salary, benefits and amenities will be provided to pharmacy residents by Human Resources.

• Salary: Competitive
• Duration of appointment: One year, beginning on July 1 of the program year.
• Vacation and holiday leave: 10 days of paid time off (PTO) can be taken during rotations throughout the year with prior approval from the rotation preceptor and residency program director. Residents are required to work some holidays.
• Sick and family leave: Sick leave is deducted from PTO. Residents are expected to notify co-workers and their respective preceptor or supervisor as early as possible when illness requires absence.
• Educational and professional leave: Nine days are granted for paid professional leave to attend appropriate continuing education or professional programs, travel to job interviews or visit other residency sites or professional practice locations. Requests for professional leave must be submitted to the residency program director. Residents are expected to attend the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear Clinical Meeting as well as the Florida Residency Conference. Financial assistance is provided for travel, meals and lodging expenses for these meetings.
• Health benefits: Residents are eligible for health benefits as full-time pharmacist employees of HCA Florida Blake Hospital
• Liability insurance: All pharmacy residents are covered under HCA Florida Blake Hospital’s liability insurance policy.
• This insurance does not cover any other professional services at facilities outside of HCA Florida Blake Hospital
• Office space and resources: Office space for use by pharmacy residents is provided at each site. A laptop is also available for each resident.
• Discounts and amenities: Residents are eligible to receive a wide variety of entertainment, health and other discounts via HCARewards.
• Parking: Pharmacy residents park free in approved locations

For any additional questions, please email Anthony Spann, Residency Program Director and Pharmacy Clinical Coordinator or Torry Schilling , Residency Program Coordinator.

Dr. Leung was born and grew up in St. Petersburg, FL. He received his Bachelor of Science from the University of South Florida and then went on to the University of Florida College of Pharmacy in Gainesville, FL. During pharmacy school, he was heavily involved and held multiple leadership positions in FSHP. His clinical interests include infectious disease and critical care. In his free time, Jackie enjoys playing table tennis, traveling, and pen spinning.

Courtney came to HCA Florida Blake Hospital with a Doctor of Pharmacy from Sullivan University College of Pharmacy in Louisville, Ky.

Residency Project:  Safe and effective use of Tenecteplase for Acute Ischemic Stroke

Dr. Pham was born and grew up in Vietnam. She attended Portland State University for her undergraduate studies and University of Florida College of Pharmacy in Orlando, FL.. During pharmacy school she actively participated in research with a focus on infectious disease and pediatric clinical pharmacology, which are also her clinical interest. She was also involved in various volunteer programs in her community. In her free time, Thanh enjoys exploring nature, developing her culinary skills with new dishes, and traveling.

Thanh came to HCA Florida Blake Hospital with a Doctor of Pharmacy from University of Florida College of Pharmacy in Orlando, Fl.

Residency Project: Evaluate the safe and effective use of Pentobarbital for Super-Refractory Status Epilepticus

Boubacar Cherif came to HCA Florida Blake Hospital with a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree from University of Washington School of Pharmacy and Bachelor of Arts from Berea College in biochemistry.

Residency Project:  Pharmacist Initiative to Reduce Inappropriate Treatment of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria

Linh Dang came to HCA Florida Blake Hospital with a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree from Nova Southeastern University College of Pharmacy.

Residency Project: Evaluation of Enoxaparin for Deep Vein Thrombosis Prophylaxis in Burn Patients