Winchester Medical Center (WMC) is a growing 495 bed facility in Winchester, VA. that 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, a nationally accredited cancer center, advanced primary stroke center, and it is a Magnet Designated Hospital. The US News and World Report has named WMC as a 2024-2025 bet regional hospital.
Their residency involves many different learning experiences in both block and longitudinal format. Required block rotations include orientation, internal medicine, antimicrobial stewardship, practice management and leadership, a teaching rotation of your choice, and medical/cardiac ICU. Longitudinal experiences include formulary management, community service/career development, CE development, and staffing (every 3rd weekend, one major holiday, and one minor holiday). Electives offered include Neuro/trauma Critical Care, Cardiovascular Surgery Critical Care, Internal Medicine – Trauma, Internal Medicine- Inpatient Family Medicine Teaching Service, NICU/Pediatrics, and anticoagulation. For additional academic experience, a teaching and learning certificate can be obtained through their partnership with Shenandoah University (SU). Throughout the year you will also be provided opportunities to give presentations to the pharmacy and nursing staff.
The two large research projects include a medication use evaluation, which is presented at Midyear, and a longitudinal 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 body weight dosing of IVIG, appropriateness of our use of albumin, among other topics. Many of their previous residents have had their research published.
After graduating from the program, many residents have completed PGY2s or fellowships in various specialties, while others have transitioned into clinical pharmacist, staff- clinical pharmacist, or staff pharmacist roles at institutional settings. Several past residents have continued in various capacities at WMC.
WMC is one of 10 residency programs that partner with SU. The residents from these 10 sites meet monthly for a residency forum and journal club. The forum includes topics that are helpful to your career and beyond such as CV development prior to Midyear and financial planning. Following the forum, the journal club allows residents to partner together to present a relevant journal article. These interactions with other SU affiliated residents provide excellent networking opportunities and additional support.
Winchester is located in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley at the top of Virginia. Several festivals occur year round including the 10-day Apple Blossom Festival in May. This annual event includes a carnival, parades, a talent show, art festival, wine festival, and many other events. Winchester has an extensive Civil War history with many historical sites in and around the city. The downtown area 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 providing a wealth of camping, hiking, and sight-seeing opportunities.
If you are interested in the program, representatives from Winchester Medical Center (WMC) will be at the residency showcase at midyear, booth 5281 on Tuesday morning. You can call Charisa Flaherty, Pharm.D., BCPPS, (Residency Program Director for the PGY1 residency) at 540-536-3490 or email (cflahert@valleyhealthlink.com). Additional contacts include the program coordinator, Temeka Lewis-Wolfson, at 540-536-8870 or (tlewis6@valleyhealthlink.com) to get more information about the program, answer questions, and connect with current/past residents or preceptors.