A career in pharmacy is about so much more than dispensing drugs. You need a deep and evolving knowledge of a vast array of ever-changing medications and their myriad potential interactions — and the skills to communicate this knowledge to patients who trust you with their health. Beyond that, you may want to acquire the special tools needed to work in emergency and trauma care and other specialized clinical settings.
Geisinger’s Pharmacy Residency (PGYI) program will give you the skills you need. Our Pharmacy Residency builds on your Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) education, with the ultimate goal of preparing you for board certification and for postgraduate year two Pharmacy Residency (PGY2) training.
Our goals are:
To provide you with the training and experience to develop professional expertise as a health system pharmacy practitioner
To cultivate you as a competent, innovative practitioner who’s ready to provide comprehensive pharmaceutical services across the continuum of care
To train you to effectively research, analyze and communicate drug information
The PGY1 Pharmacy Residency at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., will help you develop every aspect of yourself as a pharmacist — your clinical skills, your professional goals and your personal growth. And from day one, you’ll be treated as a trusted, valued colleague on a pharmacy team that’s committed to delivering the highest possible quality of patient care. You’ll work with department members who have full-time practice and teaching responsibilities and serve as preceptors for the learning experiences.
The Geisinger Wyoming Valley Department of Pharmacy has 86 employees, including 43 pharmacists. The pharmacy practice model involves integration of distribution and clinical activities at the patient care level supported by centralized distribution, support functions and management systems.
You’ll work with pharmacists practicing in:
Internal medicine
Pediatrics
Adult hematology/oncology
Critical care medicine
Infectious diseases
Emergency medicine
Cardiology
Medication therapy disease management
IV nutrition
Operating room services
Our pharmacists are involved in:
Drug therapy management
Multidisciplinary patient care
Decentralized pharmacy practice
Pharmacokinetic consultations
Anticoagulation consultations
Adult and pediatric code response
Medication utilization and outcome evaluation
Medical, nursing and pharmacy staff education programs
Pharmacy students from regional schools of pharmacy rotate through our hospital and clinics as part of their core hospital pharmacy, clinical pharmacy and ambulatory care rotations.
In other words, you’ll be exposed to a tremendous variety of experiences and potential career paths.
Required core learning experiences
Most of these Pharmacy Residency learning experiences are one month long, but duration might be modified based on your interests and the availability of preceptors.
Orientation
Internal medicine
Advanced internal medicine (pre-requisite: internal medicine)
Cardiology
Critical care (pre-requisite: infectious diseases)
Infectious diseases
Required longitudinal learning experiences
Drug information and healthcare education (11 months)
Major research project (1 year)
Pharmacy administration and medication safety (11 months)
Pharmacy staffing (11 months)
Elective learning experiences
Most of these experiences are also one-month long. But, like required core experiences, these can also be changed depending on residents’ interests. That, in turn, could change the number of electives you can select. Our goal is to provide you with a pharmacy residency tailored to your interests and goals. In general, you’ll have the opportunity to select six electives and complete the international medical missions experience.
Geisinger Wyoming Valley is a 320-bed academic medical center which services the northeast Pennsylvania community. We are a level I trauma center, as well as a comprehensive stroke and heart attack center.
Geisinger has a long history of education and research that spans the 20th century. The PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program at Geisinger Wyoming Valley supports this mission. Geisinger is committed to cultivating a culture of diversity and inclusion. We recognize that our team is our most valuable asset and seek to promote an environment that is welcoming of persons of all races, ethnicities, religious beliefs, genders and sexual orientations. At Geisinger, we celebrate life experiences, personal differences, knowledge, innovation and talent. Within Geisinger's Department of Graduate Medical Education, the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion applies diversity principles in all settings and advances the institution's efforts to create a welcoming and safe environment for all residents and fellows.
The Geisinger Wyoming Valley Department of Pharmacy consists of over 80 employees, of whom 40 are pharmacists. The pharmacy practice model involves integration of distribution... and clinical activities at the patient care level supported by centralized distribution, support functions, and management systems. Currently, we have pharmacists practicing in internal medicine, pediatrics, adult hematology/oncology, critical care medicine, infectious diseases, emergency medicine, cardiology, medication therapy disease management, IV nutrition, and operating room services. Our pharmacists are involved in drug therapy management; multidisciplinary patient care; decentralized pharmacy practice; pharmacokinetic consultations; anticoagulation consultations; adult and pediatric code response; medication utilization and outcome evaluation; and medical, nursing, and pharmacy staff education programs. Pharmacy students from regional schools of pharmacy rotate through our hospital and clinics as part of their core hospital pharmacy, clinical pharmacy, and ambulatory care rotations.
