Winchester Medical Center seeks pharmacy residents. Charisa Flaherty, Pharm.D., BCPPS, the PGY1 – Pharmacy Residency Program Director at Winchester Medical Center, sent the following information for potential applicants.
Winchester Medical Center (WMC) is a growing 495 bed facility in Winchester, VA. It provides the communities it serves with quality health care that is easy to access, well-coordinated, and responsive to its patient’s needs. WMC houses a Level II Trauma Center, a Level III NICU, and it is a Magnet Designated Hospital.
Our residency involves many different learning experiences in both block and longitudinal format. The current required block rotations are orientation, internal medicine, antimicrobial stewardship, practice management and leadership, a teaching rotation of your choice, and adult ICU (there are three ICU rotations to choose from: cardiac, neuro, and medical). Longitudinal experiences are transitions of care with our CHF patients, formulary management, community service/career development, CE development, and staffing. Your staffing requirement will be every third weekend and one major holiday (Thanksgiving or Christmas). Currently we are offering 3 electives. Electives offered include critical care (in addition to the required rotation), NICU/Pediatrics, anticoagulation, emergency medicine, neurology, and adult inpatient psychiatry. If you choose to, you can obtain a teaching and learning certificate through our partnership with Shenandoah University (SU).
There are two large research projects that are required: a medication usage evaluation, which is presented at Midyear, and a research project which is presented at Eastern States. Topics that previous residents have looked at for these projects include pain management in patients with traumatic rib fractures, ideal bod weight dosing of IVIG, appropriateness of our use of albumin, among other topics. Many of our previous residents have had their research published.
After graduating from our program, we have had residents continue on to complete PGY2s or fellowships in many different specialties, while others have become clinical pharmacists, staff- clinical pharmacists, or staff pharmacists at institutional settings. Many of our past residents have also stayed on in various capacities at WMC.
WMC is one of 9 residency programs that partner with SU. The residents from these 9 sites meet monthly for a residency forum and journal club. The forum includes topics that are helpful to your career and your life. Some examples of past forums include CV development prior to Midyear and financial planning toward the end of the year. The forum is followed by journal club where you would partner with other residents to present a relevant journal article. These interactions with other SU affiliated residents provide good networking opportunities and additional support.
Winchester is nestled in the heart of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley at the top of Virginia. Winchester has many festivals during the year, the biggest one being the Apple Blossom Festival in May. This is a 10 day event that includes a carnival, parades, a talent show, art festival, wine festival, and other events. Winchester has an extensive Civil War history with many historical sites in and around the city. The downtown consists of a walking mall with unique restaurants and shops. Winchester is located 90 minutes from Washington, DC, two hours from Baltimore, and 45 minutes from Shenandoah National Park where there is a wealth of camping, hiking, and sight-seeing opportunities.
As with all institutions across the country, COVID-19 has affected our hospital and our residency program. Our pharmacy staff does continue to be onsite as are our residents. WMC has taken protective measures. At this time, all employees are required to be vaccinated and to do daily wellness checks. Everyone who enters the hospital must wear a mask regardless of vaccination status. Going into any patient’s room (regardless of patient’s age) requires eye protection. To be allowed into a room of a known or suspected COVID patient, for any reason, requires training on proper garbing. Many of our meetings have been moved to online.
If you are interested in our program we will be at the residency showcase at midyear (it is currently listed under Valley Health – I am trying to get that fixed), or you can call me at 540-536-3490 or email me at cflahert@valleyhealthlink.com<mailto:cflahert@valleyhealthlink.com>. I can give you more information about our program, answer questions, get you in touch with our current or past residents, or get you in touch with some of our preceptors