The first four to six weeks of the residency is orientation during which the residents rotate through different areas of the hospital, learn the pharmacy's computer systems, explore potential research projects, understand medication usage evaluations (MUEs), and obtain BLS/ACLS certifications. Clinical rotations are based on calendar months and last throughout the year.
The applicant should submit college of pharmacy transcripts.
Once properly trained, residents will staff every other weekend in various clinical and operational roles. Residents will be required to cover one major and one minor holiday.
During the residency, some residents discover new areas of interest. The program is flexible in adapting the residency experience to accommodate the resident's interest and goals. Elective rotations may be available off-site if the desired experience is not available at Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital.
The resident is provided with a list of goals and objectives for each rotation. The preceptor provides frequent verbal feedback and completes a midpoint and final evaluation of the resident. On a quarterly basis, the residency program director provides the resident with an evaluation of his or her progress. The objective of the frequent evaluations is to provide constructive feedback to the resident on their progress to maximize the opportunity for learning.
On each monthly rotation, the residents may be required to do a formal and informal presentations to the clinical pharmacy staff, nursing staff, and/or medical staff. Other presentations may be required as determined by the preceptor, physicians, or nursing staff. Additional opportunities to present include system and hospital committee meetings (i.e. P&T meetings, medication safety meetings, among others).
Residents have opportunities to assist in the teaching of pharmacy students from several colleges of pharmacy (University of Houston, Texas A&M University, University of Texas at Austin, University of the Incarnate Word, Texas Southern University). A teaching certificate program is offered through the University of Houston College of Pharmacy.
Support is available for required meetings such as ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and TSHP Conference. Support to attend additional meetings is determined on an individual basis.
Residents have access to The Houston Methodist Library electronic resources, including over 12,000 journals, 3,000 e-books and 40 subscription databases and applications. A few of the popular databases are: Lexi-Comp, DynaMed, Clinical Key and Up-To-Date, which are available from the hospital, as well as remotely through an application or the hospital’s VPN.
