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Primary Children's PGY1 Residency

Primary Children's Hospital is a Level I trauma center and pediatric referral center that covers the largest geographical service area of any children’s hospital in the nation, offering unique training opportunities for residents.

Residency manual
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About our program

The Primary Children's Hospital PGY1 pharmacy residency is a 12-month ASHP-accredited program focused on training residents to become competent, confident practitioners of direct patient care. The program also helps to prepare residents for a PGY2 specialty practice residency, an adjunctive pharmacy faculty position and/or employment as a clinical pharmacist within a health system.

Program contact

Have questions? Reach out to our program director, Nate Gorney, PharmD, BCPS.

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Primary Children's campus

Where we train

Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City is a Level I trauma center, equipped to care for neonates, children and adolescents with complex illnesses and injuries. Primary Children’s Hospital is associated with the University of Utah School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, enabling patients and staff to benefit from the research and clinical expertise of its faculty.

Founded on the philosophy of “the child first and always,” Primary Children’s Hospital is the pediatric referral center for five states in the Intermountain West – the largest geographical service area of any children’s hospital in the United States.

Primary Children's Hospital recently opened a second campus in Lehi, Utah. This residency program and all rotations take place on the Salt Lake City campus. 

More about our hospital

Program details

Everything you need to know about our program and what to expect.

Core rotations

  • Ambulatory care (4 weeks)
  • Central operations / Compounding (1 week)
  • Critical care (4 weeks)
  • Internal medicine (4 weeks)
  • Pharmacy practice management (4 weeks, completed at home facility)

Electives (5 rotations)

  • Over 100 rotations across the enterprise
  • Opportunities to complete rotations outside of home facility

Rotations

Application Deadline

  • All application information must be received in PhORCAS prior to 10 pm MST on January 2nd, 2025

Applicants must submit the following information through the PhORCAS system:

  • PhORCAS standard residency application
  • Expected to obtain Pharmacist licensure within the first 90 days in the state of the residency program
  • Current curriculum vitae
  • Three letters of reference using the ASHP standard form (ideally including one from a work supervisor, if available)
  • Letter of intent
  • College of pharmacy transcripts; if no GPA is provided on your transcripts, then follow the instructions below:
    • If graduating from a school that uses a pass / fail grading system, please submit your class rank to Elizabeth Sebranek (if applying to multiple programs, only 1 letter is required).
    • This is currently done outside of the PhORCAS system due to FERPA rules.
  • Supplemental Essay - Choose one of the two questions below to answer in 250 words or less
    • Tell us about a mistake that you learned from. What did you learn?
    • If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring two drugs, which drugs would you bring and why?

The resident staffing model at Primary Children's Hospital is a mix of clinical and distributive functions. In the morning the resident staffs the medical/surgical floor or the NICU. The residents are responsible for order verification, answering questions from practitioners and nursing staff, managing vancomycin and anticoagulation CPAs, as well as other various functions of the pharmacist. In the afternoon, the resident staffs out of the central pharmacy. The residents' functions in the central pharmacy include but are not limited to staffing in the IV room, medication verification, answering medication questions from medical staff, and assisting in central pharmacy processes. The residents staff every third weekend from 7AM to 7PM. 

Candidates selected to the pharmacy residency program are paid a competitive resident salary and receive a complete benefits package.

Resident Salary

  • Approximate PGY1 stipend: $61,000 per year

Pharmacy Resident Benefits

  • Classified as full-time employees of Intermountain Health
  • Paid a competitive resident salary
  • Eligible to receive a complete benefits package including retirement, health, dental, vision and life insurance
  • Allowed 15 days of vacation and / or sick leave
  • 8 paid holidays
  • Access to other employee benefits such as the employee wellness program, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) support, and the employee discount program.

Professional Development

  • Intermountain Health will provide travel support for one professional conference. Options may include ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting or Pharmacy Futures Meeting, Pediatric Pharmacy Association (PPA) Annual Meeting, or other specialty conference such as Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM)
  • In addition, internal CE and other professional development opportunities are offered on a regular basis.

Research

Complete one longitudinal research project suitable for publication during the residency year. Successful completion incorporates the following elements:

  • Identify research topic
  • Formulate study design and data collection form
  • Submit project for Institutional Review Board approval
  • Complete data collection and analysis
  • Write manuscript
  • Poster presentation
  • Podium presentation

Teaching Opportunities (Teaching Certificate Offered)

  • Prepare and present a 1-hour seminar at home facility for pharmacists
  • Prepare and present a 1-hour, system-wide broadcasted ACPE-accredited presentation for pharmacists and technicians
  • Develop and deliver one platform presentation and one poster presentation at a regional, state, national or other approved conference meeting
  • Serve as the primary preceptor of a learner on rotation
  • Optional academic teaching certificate requirements:
    • Develop a personal, written teaching philosophy
    • Design and maintain a teaching portfolio
    • Observe at least 2 different didactic lectures at their assigned school of pharmacy
    • Develop and deliver a lecture at college of pharmacy to students
    • Lead/facilitate at least one recitation, simulation lab or other similar activity at a college of pharmacy
    • Attend at least 2 committee or faculty meetings at a college of pharmacy
    • Deliver at least 1 in-service presentation to clinical staff (nursing, pharmacists, etc.) while on a clinical rotation
    • Submit at least 1 manuscript for publication to a peer reviewed journal
    • Participate in academia/education-focused discussions throughout the year

Longitudinal Didactic Education (Core Curriculum)

Residents attend regular education sessions to support their growth as a pharmacy practitioner, develop "soft skills," promote resident collaboration, and enhance overall wellness. Example training domains include the following:

  • Clinical skills and pearls
  • Leadership skills
  • Professional skills
  • Research skills
  • Teaching skills
  • Wellness skills

Our preceptors and residents

Meet our team of talented preceptors and our current classes of residents

Meet our preceptors Meet our residents
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Wasatch Mountains recreational area near Salt Lake City, ut

Living in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City sits in the heart of the Wasatch Mountains, which is known as a bastion for outdoor enthusiasts. With a buzzing downtown scene, at least eight world-class ski resorts within a 40 minute drive or less, blue-ribbon trout streams, desert wonderlands, and beautiful hikes at every turn, Salt Lake City and its surrounding areas give our staff many ways to decompress after a busy shift, making it a fantastic place to call home.

Explore Salt Lake City