Residents will provide direct patient care in the various levels of the health systems in which older adults are cared for and live in, including: inpatient, outpatient, personal and skilled nursing care, rehabilitation and home visits.
Site/Location
UPMC St. Margaret, Pittsburgh, PA
Program Purpose
PGY2 pharmacy residency programs build on Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) education and PGY1 pharmacy residency programs to contribute to the development of clinical pharmacists in specialized areas of practice. PGY2 residencies provide residents with opportunities to function independently as practitioners by conceptualizing and integrating accumulated experience and knowledge and incorporating both into the provision of patient care or other advanced practice settings. Residents who successfully complete an accredited PGY2 pharmacy residency are prepared for advanced patient care, academic, or other specialized positions, along with board certification, if available.
Mission
The purpose of the Geriatric Pharmacy Residency is to train highly motivated, team-oriented pharmacy residents on advanced patient care skills, teaching techniques, and practice-based research methods, preparing them to be leaders of change in the medical and academic community. The focus is on independent pharmacy practice, allowing the specialty resident advanced practice opportunities in the areas older adults receive care including the hospital, skilled and personal care home sites, and outpatient clinics.
What makes us unique?
Residents at UPMC St. Margaret also complete a two-year Faculty Development Fellowship. This program is a longitudinal curriculum in which family medicine physicians and pharmacy residents collaboratively learn teaching strategies, leadership, mentorship, and research design. In addition to the core faculty at UPMC St. Margaret, fellowship sessions are led by local experts in communication and teaching design from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, along with national figures in health system advocacy and leadership. Additionally, as part of the University of Pittsburgh Pharmacy Residency Program, residents at UPMC St. Margaret participate in resident group seminars with pharmacy residents in other training programs. They have numerous opportunities to give formal and informal presentations to healthcare professionals, precept pharmacy students, and teach at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.
Program Overview
- Patient Care and Pharmacy Experiences
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Longitudinal (Required)
- Geriatric Care Center Outpatient
- Skilled Nursing Facility
- Palliative Care
- Clinical Weekend Staffing
- Faculty Development Fellowship: Teaching and Learning
- Research
Block Rotations (Required)
- Orientation
- Elective
- Inpatient Geriatrics I and II
- Geriatric Psychiatry
- Transition PGY2 Practice Site
- Teaching Experiences
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Faculty Development Fellowship- Required
https://stmargarets.familymedicine.pitt.edu/fellowships/faculty-development-fellowshipResearch/Quality Improvement Experiences
Quality Improvement Project Required
Research Project RequiredProfessional Development/Leadership Experiences
PGY2 Geriatric residents at UPMC St. Margaret are supported by monthly meetings with their coach/advisor as well as research and QI mentors. Routine meetings occur with the residency program director to discuss the resident’s educational plan, personal, practice based and professional growth.
- Requirements for Program Completion
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- Copy of Updated Curriculum Vitae as of May 30
- Submit a resident portfolio including a breakdown of and examples of clinical, teaching, and research efforts throughout the academic year.
- Research project (copy of protocol, IRB/AI documents, data, analysis)
- Manuscript completed and provided to Residency Program Director by June 30th with the hope to submit to a peer-reviewed journal.
- Research project presentation (at least 2)
- Create a poster pertaining to research project
- Create or enhance a practice improvement initiative at your primary practice site
- Complete all tasks associated with Learning experiences and residency documentation in PharmAcademic
- Complete one presentation at a regional or national conference
- Achieve objective benchmarks set for residency progression (Q1= 0-25%; Q2 26-50%; Q3 51-75%; Q4 80-100%)
- Achieve 80% of all residency goals and objectives by the end of the residency year
- Manual/Policy and Procedures
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Will be provided by the program.
Employment Information
Start Date: July 1
Term of Appointment: 12 months
Stipend and Benefit Information
Yearly Stipend: GME Benefits and Stipends | Medical Education | UPMC
Paid Time Off: 20 days
Benefits: Salary and Benefits:| UPMC St. Margaret Family Medicine Residency Program (pitt.edu)
Travel: Residents typically travel to a conference in the fall and the American Geriatric Society Annual Meeting and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Conference in the spring!
Application/Interview Information
Eligible candidates will be graduating or have graduated from an accredited school of pharmacy. Candidates must register for the Match – ASHP Residency Matching Program - and submit an application requirement via PhORCAS by December 31. Select candidates will be invited for an interview. All interviews will be conducted virtually for the upcoming recruitment season.
PGY2 ambulatory care and geriatric residency candidates are identified in the ASHP Residency Matching Program prior to their PGY1 year. Candidates will follow Early Commitment Process in their PGY1 year to confirm acceptance into the PGY2 specialty residency program.
This residency site agrees that no person at this site will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any residency candidate.
Meet Our Team
Residency Program Director:
Residency Program Coordinator:
Preceptors:
- Amy Grimes, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP
- Marc Gutowski, PharmD
- Lowry, Maria, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP
- Aaron Pickering, PharmD, BCPS
- Jennifer Pruskowski, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP
- Heather Sakely, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP
- Gretchen Shelesky, MD, MS
- Alexandria Taylor, PharmD, BCPS
Current Residents:
- Elisabeth Marker, PharmD
- Abigail Reigh, PharmD
Past Residents and First Positions:
21-23
Grace Kim, PharmD- Clinical Pharmacist, Internal Medicine, Luminant Health, Maryland
Lauren Sittard, PharmD, BCPS- Clinical Pharmacist, Rheumatology, Yale New Haven Health
20-22
William Beathard, PharmD, BCPS- Clinical Pharmacist, Ambulatory Care and Geriatrics, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Lauren Della Grotta, PharmD, BCPS- Clinical Pharmacist, Transitions of Care and Emergency Medicine, St. Clair Hospital, Pittsburgh
19-21
Sam DeMarco, PharmD, BCPS- Clinical Pharmacist, Pain Medicine, University of Maryland St. Joseph’s Medical Center, Maryland
Kristel Chatellier, PharmD, BCPS- Clinical Pharmacist, Internal Medicine, The Miriam Hospital, Rhode Island
Select Publications/Awards
Kim G, Mohan E, Sakely H, Grimes A. Deprescribing aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in older adults. American Geriatric Society Annual Scientific Meeting poster award, 2nd place, Quality Improvement Category.
Panjwani S, Sakely H, Chou K, Mohan E, Grimes A. Interprofessional team perceptions of a pharmacist-driven transitional care management program – A qualitative study. Am Coll Clin Pharm. 2022;5:42–48.
Pruskowski J, Sakely H, HadlerS. Development of a required longitudinal residency experience focused on deprescribing. Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 2019; 76:236-41.
Campbell AM, Coley KC, Corbo JM, DeLellis TM, Joseph MP, Thorpe CT, McGivney MS, Klatt P, Cox-Vance L, Balestrino V, Sakely H. Pharmacist-led Drug Therapy Problem Management in an Interprofessional Geriatric Care Continuum: A subset of the PIVOTS (Pharmacist-led Interventions on Transitions of Seniors) group. American Health & Drug Benefits. 2018;11(9):469-478.
Felton MA, Jarrett JB, Hoffmaster R, D'Amico FJ, Sakely H, Pruskowski J. Comparison of haloperidol, non-haloperidol antipsychotics, and no pharmacotherapy for the management of delirium in an inpatient geriatric palliative care population. J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother. 2018 Jun-Sep;32(2-3):141-148.
Haver A, Sakely H, Somma McGivney M, Thorpe C, Corbo J, Cox-Vance L, Klatt P, Schleiden L, Balestrino V, Coley K. Geriatrics Care Team Perceptions of Pharmacists Caring for Older Adults Across Health Care Settings. Annals of Long-Term Care: Clinical Care and Aging. 2017;25(4):20-26.
Balick, R. (2019). Pharmacists help patients thrive at any age. Pharmacy Today, 25(6) 28-31. Retrieved from https://www.pharmacytoday.org/article/S1042-0991(19)30643-7/ fulltextAnnotation: This article features the work of Heather Sakely, PharmD, Amy Haver, PharmD and the UPMC St. Margaret Geriatric Care Center.
Bobrzynski E, D’Amico F, Kryger E, Sakely H. Evaluation of Statin Use in Nursing Home Patients given Patient-Centered Goals of Care. American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Virtual Poster Symposium. May 2018.
Campbell AM. The benefits of faculty development span far beyond teaching skills. Am Jour Pharm Educ. 2015; 79(7):Article 108.
Breslin TM. Letter to the Editor: Not All Hard Work Leads to Learning. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 2013; 77(10):229.