PGY2: Cardiology

The ASHP Accreditation Standard for Postgraduate Year Two (PGY2) Pharmacy Residency Programs (hereinafter the Standard) establishes criteria for systematic training of pharmacists in advanced areas of pharmacy practice. Its contents delineate the requirements for PGY2 residencies, which build upon the foundation provided through completion of an accredited Doctor of Pharmacy degree program and an accredited postgraduate year one (PGY1) pharmacy residency program.

PGY2 pharmacy residency programs build on Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD.) 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.

Program Focus and Goals

The PGY2 residency in cardiology is designed to transition PGY1 resident graduates from generalist practice to specialized practice that meets the needs of cardiovascular patients. This residency is focused in cardiovascular pharmacotherapy, clinical research, and academia and is meant to increase the resident’s knowledge, skills, attitudes, and abilities to raise the resident’s level of expertise in medication therapy management and clinical leadership.  The goal of this program is to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to function as a cardiovascular pharmacotherapy expert and obtain a position as a clinical pharmacy specialist or cardiology faculty member. 

Graduates of the residency program are prepared to assume any of the following roles: 

• Cardiovascular clinician in variety of patient populations
• Clinical Educator
• Clinical Researcher

UPMC Presbyterian Hospital (UPMC Presbyterian | Oakland - Pittsburgh, Pa.)will serve as the primary site for inpatient learning experiences. Located in the heart of the University of Pittsburgh’s Campus, Presbyterian Hospital is the flagship, quaternary, academic hospital of the UPMC Health System. The multitude of disease states and services provided within the Heart and Vascular Institute allow us to tailor training experiences to the goals and interests of each resident.

Our residency program provides comprehensive training across the spectrum of cardiovascular disease.  Our institution has a particular emphasis on the management of cardiovascular critical care due to the high acuity of our patients and specialized services offered.  We are also a high volume center for heart transplant and mechanical circulatory support.  Other unique learning experiences include clinical pharmacogenomics and pulmonary hypertension.  Finally, our close affiliation with the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy provides for extensive mentorship and support for teaching, precepting, and research.

Our program has also received national recognition for precepting and teaching, including three preceptors who have received the ASHP Foundation Preceptor Award.  This recognizes excellence, service, and innovation in serving as a residency preceptor.  Several preceptors have also received precepting and teaching awards through the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.  Our program’s commitment to residency research and scholarship is evident through approximately 25 published peer-reviewed manuscripts co-authored by our PGY2 cardiology residents. 

Duration: 52-week appointment concluding on June 30^th 
Number Positions: 1
Starting Date: July 1
Salary: $58,249
Paid Time Off: 20 days 
Benefits: UPMC Graduate Medical Education Benefits
Travel: Residents are expected to submit their research in-progress as an abstract for in-person presentation at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Pharmacist Poster Session in the Spring.
Training Site Type: Hospital
Owner/Affiliates: Private
Model (type): Teaching, Tertiary
Total Beds: 900

Application Requirements

All residents must be eligible for pharmacist licensure in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Applications for Pharmacist License and Intern Registration are available.

Application Process

Eligible candidates will have completed an ASHP accredited PGY1 pharmacy residency program and must submit the standard application requirements via PhORCAS by January 2nd. An interview is required.

This residency site agrees that no person at this site will solicit, accept, or use any ranking related information from any residency candidate.

Core Rotation Experiences 

*The below durations represent the minimum length for each experience. Some experiences may be extended based on resident interest or individualized needs.

Core Longitudinal Experiences

Elective Experiences

*The below durations may fluctuate between two and four weeks based on preceptor availability. Electives may include a learning experience not required (below list) or can be a repeat of a required experience where the resident demonstrates a specific interest and the experience could be customized to a different focus and/or more advanced level of practice.

• Electrophysiology
• Academia
• Pharmacogenomics
• Clinical Outcomes Research
• Endovascular infectious diseases
• Cardiothoracic infectious diseases
• Pediatric intensive care/congenital heart

Preceptors

• Ryan Rivosecchi, PharmD, BCCCP (Director)
• James C. Coons, PharmD, FCCP, FACC, BCCP
• Deanne Hall, PharmD, CDE, BCACP
• Julie (DiBridge) Clarkson, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, BCCP
• Edward Horn, PharmD, BCCCP
• Danine Sullinger, PharmD
• Andrew Teletnick PharmD
• Taylor Miller PharmD
• Kevin Ordons PharmD
• Sunish Shah PharmD, BCIDP
• Erin McCreary PharmD, BCIDP

Andrew Hayduk PharmD
Hayduka@upmc.edu

Previous Residents

• Andrew Teletnick, PharmD (Clinical pharmacist, UPMC Presbyterian Hospital)
• Lindsey Hannibal PharmD (Clinical pharmacist, University of Utah)
• Elizabeth Foster PharmD (Clinical specialist, University of Michigan)
• Julie (DiBridge) Clarkson PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, BCCP (Clinical pharmacist, UPMC Presbyerian)
• Marissa (Levito) Uricchio PharmD, BCCP (Senior Clinical Pharmacy Researcher, Oracle)
• Bailey Colvin PharmD, BCCP (Clinical specialist, Ruby Memorial Hospital, West Virginia University)

Foster EM*, Coons JC, Puccio EA, et al. Clinical outcomes associated with diltiazem use in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction after implementation of a clinical support system. Ann Pharmacother. 2024;58(12):1161-1169.

Foster EM*, Sullinger D, Coons JC. Management considerations for pulmonary arterial hypertension pharmacotherapy in the intensive care unit. Pharmacy (Basel). 2023;11(5):145.

Horn ET, Xu Q, Dibridge JN*, Huston JH, Hickey GW, Kaczorowski DJ, Keebler ME, Zeevi A. Reduction of HLA donor specific antibodies in heart transplant patients treated with proteasome inhibitors for antibody mediated rejection. Clin Transplant. 2023;37:e15132.

Bashline M, DiBridge J*, Klass WJ, Morelli B, Kaczorowski D, Schmidhofer M, Horn ET, Gomez H, Ramanan R, Hickey GW, Rivosecchi RM. Outcomes of systemic bivalirudin and sodium bicarbonate purge solution for Impella 5.5. Artif Organs. 2023;47:361-369.

Fabrizio C, *Levito MN, Rivosecchi R, Bashline M, Slocum B, Kilic C, et al. Outcomes of systemic anticoagulation with bivalirudin for Impella 5.0. Int J Artif Organs. 2021;doi:10.1177/03913988211032238.

*Levito MN, McGinnis CB, Groetzinger LM, Durkin JB, Elmer J. Impact of benzodiazepines on time to awakening in post cardiac arrest patients. Resuscitation. 2021;165:45-49.

Coons JC, Crisamore K, Adams S, Modany A*, Simon MA, Zhao W, et al. A pilot study of oral treprostinil pharmacogenomics and treatment persistence in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. Ther Adv Respir Dis. 2021;15:17534666211013688. doi:10.1177/17534666211013688.

*Colvin BM, Coons JC, Beavers CJ. Guideline-directed heart failure therapy in patients after left ventricular assist device implantation. VAD J. 2021;7:Issue 1. https://doi.org/10.11589/vad/e2021712

Moreland-Head LN*, Coons JC, Seybert AL, Gray MP, Kane-Gill SL. Use of disproportionality analysis to identify previously unknown drug-associated causes of cardiac arrhythmias using the food and drug administration adverse event reporting system (FAERS) database. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol Ther. 2021;26:341-348.

Levito MN*, Coons JC, Verrico MM, Kane-Gill S, Szymkowiak A, Legler B, Dueweke EJ. A system wide approach for navigating interference with unfractionated heparin anti-factor Xa concentrations in the setting of oral factor Xa inhibitor use. Ann Pharmacother. 2020;doi:10.1177/1060028020956271.

Requirements for Program Completion

1. Pharmacist licensure obtained in the state of Pennsylvania by September 30th
2. Successfully complete all learning experiences and associated evaluations.
   1. Successful completion is defined as attainment of “Achieved for Residency” on at least 80% of program objectives, including 100% of program objectives related to patient care. The resident also cannot have any objectives outstanding that “need improvement.”
3. Residents must also complete the following required projects/experiences:
   1. PULSE presentation (Pharmacotherapy Updates: Lecture Series & Continuing Education) presentation
   2. Case Conference Presentation
   3. Research Project with abstract submission to the American College of Cardiology Pharmacist poster session and presentation at the UPMC Residency Research Day.
   4. Research project manuscript draft suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed pharmacy or medical journal
   5. Present at least one didactic lecture and facilitate at least one practicum in either the Pharmacotherapy of Cardiovascular Disease or the Acute Care Simulation course curriculum.
4. Additionally, the resident must complete and submit documentation of the following items in order to obtain the residency certificate: projects and presentations as described above, evaluations in PharmAcademic®, updated Academic and Professional Record, curriculum vitae, tentative research project publication title/journal/submission date, and forwarding address/phone/email.

Residency Manual

Key Policies

Teams Meeting by Appointment

Email Ryan Rivosecchi (rivosecchirm@upmc.edu) to schedule.