HCA Florida Ocala Hospital launches accelerated pharmacy residency program
HCA Florida Ocala Hospital is launching a new accelerated program for pharmacy residents, and it’s been almost a year and a half in the making.
The American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) Pharmacy Residency program trains pharmacy residents over a one-year term for general clinical pharmacy practice. It’s a critical component of the career path, and is the only active program of its kind in Marion County. It offers a key accreditation for pharmacy residents, in which they hone their knowledge and expertise in patient care.
Farran Weaver, an advanced clinical pharmacist and program director, is pleased to see the efforts of her team realized after 16 months of hard work and planning.
“From the moment I started working here, I was asking, ‘Are we going to have a residency program?' ” she remembers, adding that she and her colleagues do regular clinical rotations, “but they’re usually much shorter.”
This one is a much more intensive, rigorous course of study that denotes residents as standouts in their field. “We’re super excited about it,” she says. “It really helps our residents to fully understand the hospital culture and offer the best we can to our patients.”
Each resident will focus on evidence-based medicine and participation in the healthcare team to design and manage treatments across several disciplines, including research projects, medication use evaluations, committee involvement, conference attendance and teaching.
All of this helps to create well-rounded clinical pharmacists by the end of the first year of the program. It’s a huge advantage for professionals in the field, offering mentoring and coaching so that residents can achieve a level of expertise at an accelerated pace.
Nationwide, HCA has more than 100 residents trained each year in the program, and over 400 have graduated across 15 states, according to an HCA news release. After completing the initial year, residents can opt to pursue a second year in a specialty of their choice, including neurology, vascular, surgical and trauma disciplines.
Currently HCA Florida Ocala Hospital offers just the one-year option, but it hopes to implement the second year specialty training at some point, once the initial phase is fully under way.
“It’s a huge benefit for our community and our economy,” explains Isaiah Zirkle, chief operating officer for HCA Florida Ocala and HCA Florida West Marion Hospitals. As part of HCA Healthcare, both facilities are part of the largest teaching hospital systems in the country, and generally recruit staff from residency programs.
“It’s just going to elevate the care we already provide,” he elaborates. “Patients with specialized needs will have this resource of people who are highly trained and knowledgeable. We get to recruit some of the best available to come and train with us, and they end up staying to work here.”
“Attracting and retaining talent is key to expanding access to care and improving the health of our community,” agrees Alan Keesee, CEO for HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, is quoted as saying in the news release. “We’re fortunate to have the strong infrastructure necessary to create this program, as well as our team of clinical pharmacists who can train the next generation of caregivers.”
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Ocala medical: HCA Florida Ocala launches program for pharmacy residents
