In addition to the scheduled clinical rotations, residents will also participate in other educational and service activities throughout the year. These include:

Clinical pharmacy meetings

Clinical meetings are scheduled on Tuesdays, noon–1 p.m. They are comprised of various pharmacy-related discussions, presentations, and activities. These include residency-related presentations, feedback sessions, preceptor development, and educational reviews or updates. This time may also be used for operational and safety issues that need to be addressed or reviewed by the clinical pharmacy team (such as Epic concerns, policy review, or system- and department-related decision support system management). The calendar with meeting times and scheduled agenda items is available in the Microsoft Teams clinical group folder. Meeting locations will be provided through Outlook calendar appointment scheduling.

Service commitment

Residents are required to provide approximately 32 hours of staffing per month. This is comprised of one four-hour evening shift per week (4–8 p.m.) and a service commitment every fourth weekend. Residents are not scheduled for days off during the week to compensate for weekend service.

Residency research project

The resident will be responsible for conceiving, designing, and conducting a residency project. It will be completed under the guidance of a research mentor and a preceptor content expert. Additionally, the resident will be given the opportunity to complete an administrative project. A wide variety of projects are acceptable for a PGY1 resident (such as administrative projects, drug-utilization reviews, quality improvement projects, or retrospective clinical studies). PGY2 residents should undertake a more robust research project related to their specialty or area of interest. A list of current department initiatives and a list of preceptors and their areas of specialty will be provided in July to assist the resident in developing a research project topic. Completion of a manuscript is required and submission to a reputable journal for publication is highly encouraged.

Teaching opportunities

Based on level of interest and career path, PGY1 residents may be involved in varying degrees of co-precepting with rotating Doctor of Pharmacy students during elective pediatric clerkships. PGY2 residents will be required to co-precept one set of students during elective pediatric clerkships. St. Louis Children’s Hospital Pharmacy Department supports rotations from various local pharmacy schools including, but not limited to, the St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville School of Pharmacy. Residents can also be involved in a pediatric pharmacotherapy elective course at a local College of Pharmacy, currently team-taught by the St. Louis Children’s Hospital clinical pharmacists. Additional didactic teaching opportunities may exist at both local colleges of pharmacy.

Resident Education Academy (REA)

Residents will be given the opportunity to participate in an 18-hour teaching certificate program with other metro-area pharmacy residents. The St. Louis College of Pharmacy (STLCOP) Resident Education Academy (REA) is a didactic teaching workshop series conducted during the fall semester by faculty at the STLCOP. The fall REA sessions focus on training the residents in abilities-based instructional methodology and active learning strategies. These didactic teaching workshops prepare the residents for the spring semester, during which time the residents are responsible for conducting a lecture and discussion section in a team-taught therapeutics-based elective at the STLCOP. A certificate of completion is given to each resident that participates. Participation in this program is required for all PGY1 residents. PGY2 residents may opt out if a teaching certificate program was completed during their PGY1 year.

Committee involvement

Residents will be exposed to a variety of hospital committees to experience the integral role that pharmacists play throughout the organization. Participation in the Pharmaceuticals, Diagnostics & Therapeutics (P&T) Committee, Adverse Drug Event Hospital Acquired Conditions (ADEHAC) Committee, and Pharmacy Unit Based Joint Practice is required for all residents. PGY2 residents will receive additional committee experience related to their area of interest.

Research and statistics course

Under the tutelage of pharmacy preceptors from Barnes-Jewish Hospital, residents are lectured on research design, various statistical topics, and the use of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Supplemental meetings may be provided by research preceptors at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The course is designed to complement the design and analysis of the resident's residency project. Topics include study design and methodology; an overview of the hospital's informatics database; institutional review board (IRB) submission process and review; an introduction to SPSS and setting up an SPSS database; basic statistical tests; multivariate analysis; and survival analysis. Other statistical topics commonly found on Board-Certified Pediatric Pharmacy Specialist (BCPPS) board certification exams are also covered and include adjusting for multiple comparisons; sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic tests; and analysis of non-inferiority and equivalency trials.

Travel

PGY1 and PGY2 residents attend the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear Clinical Meeting in December and are requested to assist with recruitment activities including the residency showcase. Residents also attend the Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group (PPAG) annual meeting in the spring of their residency year and present the findings of their research project.

Medical conferences

Additional learning opportunities may be available through St. Louis Children’s Hospital, BJC HealthCare, and WashU Medicine. These include Pediatric grand rounds (Fridays at 9:15 a.m. in Clopton Auditorium), Department of Pediatrics noon conferences (located in St. Louis Children’s Hospital’s third floor auditorium), and numerous specialty conferences. These learning experiences are not required but are opportunities to gain additional knowledge and training when they do not conflict with other residency-related responsibilities.

ACLS and PALS

Residents having an interest in additional training in the management of medical emergencies will have the opportunity to complete BJC HealthCare’s Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) or Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) courses. Residents need to have current Basic Life Support (BLS) certification prior to taking PALS. It is the resident’s responsibility to document their current BLS certification. This is only required for the PGY2 Pediatric Critical Care Track Residency.