Baptist Cancer Center – Memphis PGY2 Oncology Residency

Our Approach: From Diagnosis to Treatment

Baptist Cancer Center’s Pharmacy Residency Program is the only adult cancer pharmacy residency program in Memphis, Tennessee. The program offers pharmacy residents the unique opportunity to get a complete picture of a patient’s journey from diagnosis to treatment.

The Baptist Cancer Center Memphis PGY2 Adult Oncology Residency was established in 2015 and became accredited following its first year of operation. As part of the Baptist Cancer Center oncology network, the resident will be an integral role in the pharmacy department and will have the opportunity to participate in the complete care of patients as they navigate through their cancer diagnosis and treatment. The program provides opportunities to work with our multi-disciplinary teams including Breast, Thoracic, Hematological, and Stem Cell Transplant programs in which the resident works directly with our oncologists and nursing staff to optimize patient care. Additionally, the resident will be directly involved with precepting/teaching pharmacy students, training and educating clinic staff, and learn processes involved in the management of an outpatient oncology treatment program.

Though primarily focused in our outpatient infusion clinics, the resident will also have multiple opportunities for inpatient clinical rounding at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis.  Also, through collaboration with the Baptist Clinical Research Institute, the resident will have opportunities to work on clinical research and gain experience in the management of clinical trials.

Application deadline: January 15
Number of Positions: 1
Duration: 12 months
Start date: Last week of June/first week of July
Estimated annual salary: $52,900
Interview required: Yes

Benefits

• Health, Vision, & Dental insurance provided as a full–time employee of Baptist Memphis
• Personal time off (14 days)
• Professional leave for the Tennessee Oncology Pharmacist Association (TOPA) meeting, the Hematology Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA) meeting, and other meetings as necessary.
• Personal office space with a desktop computer
• Free parking

ASHP PGY2 Oncology Residency Program Purpose

The goal of the Baptist Cancer Center oncology pharmacy residency program is to transition a PGY1 residency graduate from general practice to a specialized practice focused on the care of adult patients with cancer and hematologic disorders. After successful completion of the PGY2 residency program, residents should possess the knowledge and skills to prepare them to become a clinical pharmacist, obtain a faculty position and be eligible for board certification as an oncology pharmacist. The ASHP educational outcomes, goals and objectives pharmacy residencies in oncology will be utilized to achieve this purpose.

Practice Sites

Baptist Cancer Center

The Baptist Cancer Center is a tri-state network of 18 outpatient infusion centers with the flagship office, clinics and research operations in Memphis, Tennessee. The Cancer Center also has a Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT)- Accredited Malignant Hematology Stem Cell Transplant Clinic.

The PGY2 Oncology residency is focused on care for adult oncology patients primarily in the outpatient setting. The resident will work in our 3 outpatient clinic sites located on the Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis campus as well as our outpatient clinic in Collierville, Tennessee, and with the possibility of working at our clinic in Southaven, Mississippi, pending licensure. The resident’s office is located in the 80 Humphreys Center physician office building located on the Baptist Memphis campus. The resident will also have work space in the Baptist Clinical Research Institute at 6141 Walnut Grove Rd.

PGY2 Resident Responsibilities

• Assess and improve medication appropriateness through utilization of evidence based medicine
• Improve patient care, drug safety and economic impact relating to medication use in outpatient oncology infusion setting
• Actively participate in multidisciplinary patient care rounds and tumor board meetings (learning experience specific)
• Provide medication reconciliation, review and monitoring services at the Outpatient Stem Cell Transplant Clinic
• Review and verify orders and drug preparations in outpatient infusion center setting (learning experience specific)
• Manage pharmacy services as directed per learning experience  
• Answer Drug information requests
• Assist in precepting students on rotations and through didactic and application-based educational opportunities
• Lead patient presentations and topic discussions throughout each learning experience
• Identify medication errors and assess for practice change and improvements
• Assess for practice improvements in drug distribution services
• Display professional, ethical responsibility for one’s own practice

PGY2 Oncology Pharmacy Residency Learning Experience Overview

The resident begins their PGY2 training year with a 4-week department and residency orientation. This orientation includes EPIC training, medication preparation training, and orientation to the pharmacist roles at the various clinic locations. Throughout the year, residents will complete six (6) required learning experiences and one (1) elective learning experience. The required learning experiences are broken into four 5-week solid tumor focused blocks and two 5-week malignant hematology blocks. During each learning experience, the resident will work at one of 5 different outpatient oncology clinics, learning and taking on the role of the pharmacist at each location. During the learning experiences, the site preceptor will identify and discuss patient cases with the resident, addressing the various oncology topics in real time with real patient scenarios. Additional in-depth topic discussion on any aspects will be at the discretion of the preceptor and needs of the resident.

Longitudinal experiences extend throughout the 12-month residency program, and will have intermittent dedicated weeks for more in-depth discussion and dedicated office time to address assignments and needs. These experiences include:

• Management
• Investigational Drug Service
• Teaching
• Residency Research Project 

RESIDENCY PROGRAM COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS

For successful completion of this PGY2 Oncology pharmacy residency program, signified with the awarding of a certificate of achievement at the end of the 12-month period, the resident must successfully complete the following program requirements and comply with Baptist Memphis policies for employment.

Criteria include:

• TN State licensure by the predetermined deadline established each calendar year.
• Compliance with standards established for ALL Baptist-Memphis employees with no disciplinary action requiring termination.
• Completion of all required, assigned hospital and department employee competencies
• “Satisfactory” completion of all required longitudinal education assignments as defined in the description for each activity in the residency manual
  • Journal Club x6, ACPE accredited continuing education x2, Clinical writing assignments, Medication Use Evaluation x1, Drug Monograph x1
• “Satisfactory” completion of a residency research project including IRB approval, data collection, presentation of the conclusion with proposed changes to the associated staff and development of a final manuscript suitable for publication.
• Completion of all required and elective learning and longitudinal experiences
• Documentation of achieved for residency (“ACHR”) on 75% of the required & selected elective ASHP competency objectives as evaluated in learning experiences and longitudinal experiences by the end of the 12 month residency. The required number of “ACHs” needed per objective to obtain “ACHR” will be provided each year to the resident during orientation
• Active participation in the University of Tennessee Teaching and Learning Program including student precepting and presentation of a didactic lecture
• Membership and participation in BCC oversight committees including Medication Management Committee Oncology Protocol Review Committee
• Attendance at Tennessee Oncology Pharmacist Association Annual Meeting (Fall) and Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association Annual Meeting (Spring)
• Completion of all PharmAcademic evaluations
• Maintain ALL documents relating to projects, longitudinal activities & presentations in the resident’s electronic folder on the Shared Drive. Complete Resident End of the Year Checklist.

Baptist Cancer Center Oncology PGY2 Resident

Residents in our PGY2 pharmacy residency program have already completed a PGY1 residency after graduating with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, and have continued their learning to specialize in hematological and oncological patient needs.

Meet Our Resident

Baptist Cancer Center PGY2 Clinical Preceptors

Our residents are provided the opportunity to learn from clinical and pharmacy preceptors who have expansive educational backgrounds and specialized experience to enrich their learning and hands-on experiences.

Meet Our Preceptors

How to Apply

All potential residency candidates must submit the following items via PhORCAS to apply to the Residency Program:

• Curriculum Vitae
• Three (3) letters of recommendation (one from PGY-1 Residency Program Director)
• Official transcript from an ACPE accredited degree program

All items constitute the application packet and must be received by the Residency Program Director (RPD) or Coordinator by January 15, unless participating in the Residency Matching Program Post-Match Scramble.

Once matched, applicants will then submit an application to BCC Human Resources department.

Early commitment will be considered for residents completing a Baptist Memorial Health Care affiliated PGY1 program. The deadline to apply for early commitment to the PGY2 program is November 1st.

Contact Information

Glenn Roma, PharmD, PhD BCOP
Pharmacist-Investigational II, PGY2 Residency Program Director 
Baptist Clinical Research Institute/Baptist Cancer Center
6141 Walnut Grove Rd, Floor 2
Memphis, TN 38120
901-226-1471
glenn.roma@bmhcc.org

Alexander Quesenberry, PharmD, BCOP
Pharmacy Director 
Baptist Cancer Center
80 Humphreys Center, Suite 340
Memphis, TN 38120
901-226-3582
alexander.quesenberry@bmhcc.org