Waterloo Pharmacy is pleased to announce that the Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency Program, jointly hosted by the School and the Centre for Family Medicine (CFFM) Family Health Team, has received full accreditation status from the Canadian Pharmacy Residency Board.
The program, established in 2017, is one of only three primary care residencies in Ontario and is the only program of its kind in Canada that is not affiliated with a hospital. Most pharmacy residencies take place in hospitals, but the Family Health Team focus of Waterloo’s program means that residents get more opportunities to work with accomplished health care professionals in community settings.
“The School of Pharmacy is very proud of this accomplishment,” says Hallman Director Dave Edwards. “Professors Jeff Nagge and Barb Coulston, along with the CFFM, have designed a unique and innovative program that fills a gap in advanced clinical pharmacy education. By engaging local health care partners, they have ensured that the residents will have an outstanding learning experience in the program.”
The residency consists of rotations that focus on different elements of pharmacy practice such as anticoagulation, diabetes, medication management, chronic pain management, geriatric care and more. There are also opportunities for teaching and independent research to foster the resident’s skills in an academic environment. Two residents have completed the program so far and both have gone on to having unique and exciting pharmacy careers in primary care.
The residency set me up for success in almost every way possible,” says Nikki Domanski, the first graduate of the program. “Working on a multidisciplinary team, assessing patients in specialized clinics, conducting long-term follow-up; these were all aspects of the program that were instrumental in my growth as a pharmacist and leader. The skills and confidence I gained through the program have led me to a very unique and rewarding career.”
Through partnerships with the CFFM and Grand River Hospital, residents of the program collaborate with a variety of health care teams in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. The residency experience is as rewarding for mentors as it is for students.
I have greatly enjoyed working closely with the pharmacy resident each year. It is exciting to see the residents develop into such skilled, collaborative, and creative clinicians. Each resident has influenced the design of our program, and we are very appreciative of the pride they displayed in contributing to this unique residency opportunity. They truly became part of our UWaterloo-CFFM family.
A third resident is currently in the program and interest and applications remain high each year. Full accreditation status means that the program complies with all the standards required to offer a residency and that the program will not be assessed again until 2023. Interested pharmacy learners can find application information at the School of Pharmacy website and the CPRB website.
We’re thrilled to receive full-accreditation status in our first accreditation cycle, and look forward to developing the program further. We hope our program is a catalyst to increase the number of pharmacy residency positions in our Region.
Congratulations to the residency team on this impressive accomplishment!