The PGY2 Critical Care Residency is an American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) accredited twelve-month program that transitions the PGY1 Pharmacy Practice resident to a specialized practice within critical care. The program provides experiences in medical, surgical, trauma, burn, neuroscience, cardiothoracic surgery, cardiology, code response and emergency medicine populations. The critical care resident will participate in quality improvement projects, institutional committees, didactic lectures and other educational activities to foster the knowledge, skills, leadership, and attitudes to competently participate in a contemporary multidisciplinary critical care team.
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.
Applicants must be Doctor of Pharmacy graduates from an ACPE-accredited school or college of pharmacy; have completed an accredited PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency; be licensed or eligible for pharmacist licensure in Virginia; and possess requisite patient care training or experience. The successful applicant must possess exceptional knowledge, clinical problem solving, communication skills, and leadership qualities.
The Critical Care Program Director or program preceptors and residents from VCUHS will be interviewing via the ASHP Midyear Personnel Placement Service. Candidates are encouraged to interview at the ASHP Midyear Personnel Placement Service and apply for the program. Visit our Application Process page for more information on our virtual sessions and showcase participation. On site interviews are by invitation only.
The program is comprised of six (6) required, and three (3) elective rotation experiences. The rotations are generally five weeks in duration; however, the Staffing & Administration rotation is longitudinal over the course of the year and occurs within three critical care pharmacy satellite locations. Additional longitudinal experiences include completion of a research/quality improvement project, a medication use evaluation, presence on institutional committees, didactic and clinical precepting, and emergency response. Each resident will co-precept an APPE pharmacy student from the VCU School of Pharmacy on 1 rotation under the guidance of that rotation preceptor if the scheduling allows (Clinical Teaching learning experience). Longitudinal experiences are completed in conjunction with required and elective rotations.
Required Rotations (6)
Critical Care CORE 1 & 2
Critical Care CORE 3 & 4
Critical Care CORE 5 & 6
Critical Care CORE rotations include 1 rotation experience in each of the following units:
Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit (CSICU)
Coronary Care Intensive Care Unit (CICU)
Emergency Medicine
Medical Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (MRICU)
Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (NSICU)
Surgical/Trauma/Burn Intensive Care Unit (STICU/BURN)
**The order of rotations are customized to the resident’s experience and areas of interest**
Elective Rotations (3)
Critical Care CORE 7 & 8 & 9 (includes a repeat of any required ICU experiences listed above and/or Clinical Toxicology
Longitudinal Experiences
Staffing & Administration (Operational staffing (every third weekend, ~17 weekends per year plus 1 minor and 1 major holiday)
Committee attendance and observation (~8 meetings per year)Project—Research/Quality Improvement
Project—Medication Use Evaluation
Committee attendance (~8 meetings per year)
Emergency Response Coverage (from 8:30am to 4:00pm every other rotation block, ~4 rotation blocks per year)
Emergency Medicine On-Call Program (~15 On-Call sessions per year)
Presentations
PGY2 Critical Care Residents are given an academic faculty appointment as a Clinical Instructor in the VCU School of Pharmacy and have opportunities to provide didactic instruction (e.g., lectures, team-based learning sessions, case conferences) and experiential training (e.g., APPEs) for Doctor of Pharmacy students from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy. Residents may participate in an elective teaching and learning certificate program.
Each resident is responsible for initiating and successfully completing a research project, with presentation at an internal residency research symposium and at a national meeting (ASHP, Vizient, SCCM). Residents are encouraged to submit their projects for publication. An advisor and additional support guide the resident through the process. Potential critical care research projects are presented to the residents at the start of the residency program.
This program is accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and participates in the ASHP/NMS PGY2 Matching Program and PhORCAS.
 |
Program Director Lisa Kurczewski, PharmD, BCCCPClinical Specialist, Neurocritical Care Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy PharmD, State University of New York at Buffalo Residency in Pharmacy Practice, Yale-New Haven Hospital Residency in Critical Care, West Virginia University |
Coordinator, Pharmacy Residency Programs
Craig Kirkwood, PharmD
Assistant Director, Pharmacotherapy Services
Associate Professor of Pharmacy
BS, University of Buffalo
PharmD, University of Buffalo
Residency in Hospital Pharmacy, Buffalo General Hospital
Residency in Drug Information, North Carolina Memorial Hospital at University of North Carolina
Director, Department of Pharmacy Services
Rodney L. Stiltner, PharmD, MS
Director, Department of Pharmacy Services
Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy
PharmD, Mercer University
MS, University of Wisconsin
Residency in Pharmacy Practice, Charleston Area Medical Center, West Virginia
Residency in Management Pharmacy Practice, University of Wisconsin Medical Center Hospitals and Clinics
Cassandra Baker, PharmD
Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit (CSICU) and Coronary Care Unit (CICU)
Gretchen Brophy, PharmD, BCPS, FCCP, FCCM, FNCS, MCCM
School of Pharmacy
William Cahoon, Jr, PharmD, BCPS, BCCP, BCCCP
Coronary Care Unit (CICU) and Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit (CSICU)
Greg Chenault, PharmD, BCCCP
Surgical and Trauma Critical Care (STICU/Burn ICU)
Kailey Denny, PharmD
Emergency Medicine
Brittany Hardek, PharmD
Medical Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (MRICU)
Lisa Kurczewski, PharmD, BCCCP
Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit (NSICU)
Adam MacLasco, PharmD, BCPS
Emergency Medicine
Tammy Nguyen, PharmD, BCPS
Emergency Medicine
Kennedy Powers, PharmD
Medical Respiratory Intenstive Care Unit (MRICU)
S. Rutherford Rose, PharmD, FAACT, DABAT
Clinical Toxicology
Application is made through the PhORCAS process. The application deadline is January 3, 2025. For application instructions, please visit the Application Process section of this website.
Required Characteristics to be Evaluated by Your Reference Writers:
1. Ability to work with peers and communicate
2. Clinical problem solving
3. Dependability
4. Independence and resourcefulness
5. Willingness to accept constructive criticism
6. Emotional stability and maturity
2
The salary for PGY2 pharmacy residents at VCU Health System is $60,000.
The pharmacy resident's contract at VCU Health System will begin on July 1 of the program year. The pharmacy residency will be completed on June 30 of the subsequent year.
Two weeks (10 days) are granted for paid vacation or personal leave. This may be taken during rotations throughout the year. At least 10 days of paid holiday leave are provided during the year. Discretionary leave (personal or vacation leave) is pre-approved by the resident's rotation preceptor, the residency program director, and the residency programs coordinator. In general, the resident will be absent no more than five days during any rotation.
Five days of paid sick leave are provided as baseline leave. After complete use of sick and vacation leave, unpaid leave is utilized and the need to extend the residency is considered.
Twelve days are provided for educational and professional leave. This includes but is not limited to, attendance at professional meetings (e.g., ASHP, ACCP, SCCM, NCS), interviews, licensure or board exams, visitation to other medical center(s) or national pharmacy organizations, or participation in a medical mission.
The VCU Health System provides a health insurance policy, to each pharmacy resident. Coverage includes outpatient physician visits and laboratory tests. Prescription, dental, vision, and family coverage are available through payroll deduction with the respective co-pay and vary with the level of coverage desired.
VCU Health System is self-insured and provides professional liability (malpractice) insurance, subject to policy limits, for each pharmacy resident. Insurance covers professional service when on-duty within the institution. It does not cover professional services (e.g., moonlighting or consulting activities) provided at other facilities or institutions. This malpractice insurance will cover all acts of alleged medical negligence while a resident is at VCU Health System. Residents may choose to enhance the professional liability insurance with a personal liability policy.
Residents are permitted to seek additional, paid staffing as a pharmacist upon approval of their program director. For convenience, the additional staffing usually occurs within VCU Health System. Moonlighting, in general, will not extend to greater than 16 hours weekly. Additional staffing which conflicts with residency requirements is not permitted.
The Department of Pharmacy Services provides office space for the residents. Residents may access patient information and drug information throughout VCUHS and from home via remote access.
Residents have access to VCU recreational facilities, including exercise equipment, weight rooms, aerobic activities, basketball courts and swimming pools, at a reduced membership fee.
Parking is provided on the VCU Medical Center campus through payroll deduction at the reduced, house staff rate.