Jennifer Curran (middle) and Emily Cowley (second from right) with other residents from London Health Sciences Centre
Rx2018 alumni Emily Cowley and Jennifer Curran will be the first pharmacy graduates to complete new Year Two pharmacy residency programs in based in Edmonton and Toronto.
Pharmacy residencies offer advanced clinical training for pharmacists. Typically, residencies are one year in duration and place the resident in a variety of speciality areas, most often in a hospital, so that they are exposed to the many aspects of clinical pharmacy practice.
In the US, Year Two pharmacy residencies like the ones Emily and Jennifer will be starting are commonplace. These offer an additional year of experience that focuses on a particular specialty – this could be in a practice area like cardiology or in a disease state like HIV. In Canada, there’s been one such Year Two speciality residency based in Toronto and it focuses on HIV.
This year, however, Canada is beginning to follow the US model and develop more Year Two residencies. Two unique opportunities were advertised: a residency through the Alberta Health Services that specializes in cardiac care and a residency at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre focusing on Antimicrobial Stewardship.
Emily and Jennifer applied and were accepted as the first pharmacists in these programs. In November 2019, Emily will begin the Alberta Health Services residency, based in the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute in Edmonton, and Jennifer will be starting at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.
The two Rx2018 graduates are currently completing their Year One residencies at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC). They answered some questions about their current and upcoming residency experience:
Jennifer: Residency is an incredibly challenging and rewarding year full of growth. I have learned the true value of wonderful mentorship, and I continue to see the benefits of being open to (and applying) constructive feedback. The biggest lesson I have learned is that there will always be new things to learn in the profession of pharmacy. Maintaining the curiosity and the tools to learn new information is invaluable and will contribute to achieving the primary goal of providing excellent patient care.
What are some essential skills to succeed while on residency?
Emily: When I first started residency at LHSC, I never imagined myself moving out of province to Alberta, away from family and friends to pursue specialized training in cardiology. I think having an open-mind (and pharmacy school instilling the concept of life-long learning) allowed me to seek out new opportunities.
What unique opportunities do you hope to gain from the Year Two residency experiences?
Emily: This program has residents obtain Additional Prescribing Authorization which allows pharmacists to initiate prescriptions or prescribe to manage ongoing drug therapy. This is largely due to Alberta’s expanded scope of practice in comparison to Ontario. I look forward to implementing ordering lab tests and physical assessments into my care plans. This next year will primarily focus on cardiac care areas, whereas my current residency was generalized.
Jennifer: The generalized residency program at LHSC introduced me to many clinical areas that I thoroughly enjoyed, while allowing me to continue to build upon interests: antimicrobial stewardship and infectious diseases. The program at Sunnybrook is an opportunity to gain an additional year of building upon the skills I developed during my first year residency, in a focused area of antimicrobial stewardship. Sunnybrook Health Sciences has a large team of innovative antimicrobial stewardship pharmacists (and physicians), who I will have the opportunity to learn from (and collaborate with) which I am very excited about.
What advice do you have for students or graduates applying to residency programs?
Emily: When applying to hospital residency programs and attending the various open houses, try to find a program that is the right fit for you. Most first year programs have generalized requirements and similar electives, so for me it came down to the culture and the direction of the pharmacy department and institution. LHSC has provided a wonderful learning environment, lifelong friends (4 amazing co-residents!) and the support to pursue a Year 2 residency in cardiology.
Jennifer: Attend all the open houses. Being from Nova Scotia, a lot of the programs (and cities) in Ontario were new to me. I think the best piece of advice I received was to write down your initial thoughts on each program as you leave the open house. It truly does come down to fit, and I would strongly recommend applying only to institutions where your personal goals for residency align with their program.
Waterloo Rx2018 pharmacy residents at the Ontario Pharmacy Residency Conference in September 2018.