Curriculum

Clinical Training
As a resident in pediatric pharmacy, much of your time will be devoted to comprehensive clinical training in:

• Direct patient care services
• Pharmacy practice management
• Computer-based pharmaceutical care
• Research
• Medication Use Evaluation
• Education

Direct Patient Care Services
Throughout the residency, you will be an integral member of a multidisciplinary patient care team, enhancing your skills in:

• Developing problem lists and defining therapeutic goals.
• Developing therapeutic drug plans.
• Monitoring drug therapy and enhancing patient outcomes.
• Providing drug information and education to health-care practitioners.
• Counseling and educating patients on medication use.
• Assessing and practicing evidence-based medicine.
• Promoting cost-effective pharmacy care.

Pharmacy Practice Management
For your practice management training, you will focus on management skills, such as problem-solving techniques, resource management and organizational systems. Committee participation, another aspect of management training, will give you opportunities to help establish policies about drugs, drug therapy, drug-delivery devices and quality improvement. You also will learn about:

• Pharmacy practice philosophy
• Communication skills
• Computer technology
• Drug use and drug distribution system policies
• Department objectives, policies, procedures and regulatory requirements

Computer-based Pharmaceutical Care
Mayo Clinic uses a computer-based pharmaceutical care (P-Care) monitoring system. P-Care integrates data from disparate computer systems, including pharmacy, admissions, laboratory, microbiology, and the parenteral nutrition database. Computerized algorithms utilize this data to alert pharmacists to potential situations where therapy, safety or costs can be improved. Performing daily pharmaceutical care duties, P-Care is used to:

• Provide patient demographic data, laboratory data, microbiology data, medications, parenteral nutrition information and drug levels while on team rounds, during order processing and during medication profile review.
• Identify patients whose medication therapy requires a pharmacist's daily review.
• Identify and review treatments that are inconsistent with established medication rule-based algorithms.
• Document all pharmacist-performed clinical activities and interventions
• Provide a forum for pharmacists, pharmacy residents and pharmacy students to communicate pertinent patient-specific, medication-related issues.

Research Training
You will work on at least one research project throughout your residency year. Your primary preceptor will help you identify the project, which will give you experience in:

• Organizing, planning and conducting research-related tasks.
• Managing time and maintaining accuracy while multitasking.
• Developing investigational skills.
• Writing a research protocol.
• Evaluating and completing a project.
• Writing a manuscript suitable for publication.

You will be encouraged to publish the results of your research in a peer-reviewed journal and/or to present the results as a poster or platform presentation at a national meeting. You will have time devoted specifically to your research project during the academic year.

Medical Use Evaluation
You will complete a medication use evaluation (MUE) in the early part of your residency year. The goal is to help you learn how to develop a systematic process designed to determine and maintain the appropriate and effective use of medications. A mentor will help you with the MUE project.

Education
You will be actively involved in providing education during your residency.  You will develop skills as a clinical preceptor by acting as a preceptor for PharmD student clinical rotations.  There are also opportunities to lecture to pharmacists/pharmacy students, medical residents, medical students, and other allied health professional.

Rotations
The rotation schedule for the one-year Pediatric Pharmacy Practice Residency will include:

Core Rotations

• General pediatric service
• Pediatric critical care service
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
• Pediatric infectious diseases
• Pediatric hematology-oncology
• Pharmacokinetics (longitudinal)

Elective Rotations
The Pediatric Pharmacy Residency is tailored to meet your goals and objectives. Many elective rotations are available. Every effort will be made to match learning opportunities to your interests.

Practice Coverage
You will be scheduled to work half-days every other weekend in the pediatric pharmacy practice area. The goal of this experience is to help you integrate your didactic and patient care knowledge into the actual day-to-day practice of pharmaceutical care in a tertiary care medical center. You will not be on call.

Conferences
During your residency you will have the opportunity to attend these professional conferences:

• ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting
• Minnesota Society of Health System Pharmacists Annual Meeting
• Midwest Pharmacy Residents Conference
• Pediatrics Specialty Conference

Evaluation
Core standards for resident performance have been established to provide clear expectations. The Residency Learning System (RLS) is used to ensure that you will receive ongoing feedback that facilitates the development of your skills throughout the year. This feedback utilizes consistent assessment criteria and provides a mechanism to improve your skills.

Curriculum Enhancements
Mayo School of Health Sciences is committed to developing and maintaining the very best education programs. Changes may be made to the curriculum and other aspects of this program as necessary to assure the highest-quality training.