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Medication-Use Safety & Policy Residency

The combined PGY1/PGY2 medication-use safety and policy pharmacy residency at Intermountain Health provides residents with 2 years of specialized training within a large, integrated health care delivery network.

Residency manual
pharmacist

About our program

The PGY1/PGY2 medication-use safety and policy pharmacy residency provides learners with a unique opportunity to practice within a large, integrated health care network. 

Upon completion of this program, the resident will be prepared to work as a specialist in drug information, medication policy, formulary management, or medication safety in a variety of practice settings. 

Why should you consider pursuing a career in these practice areas? 

  • Work in a unique, growing area of practice 
  • Develop strong skills in leadership, communication, continuous improvement, and multidisciplinary collaboration 
  • Promote a culture of safety and create high-reliability organizations in health care 
  • Tackle the challenges of balancing rising drug costs with the clinical importance of optimizing patient care 
  • Apply critical medication safety principles to make positive medication-use process changes 
  • Drive evidence-based medicine at the level of an individual hospital or a multi-site health system 
  • Work on projects that have a profound impact on patients' lives 

Program contact

Have questions? Reach out to our program director, Michael O'Connor, PharmD, MS, FISMP.

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Program purpose

PGY2 pharmacy residency programs build on Doctor of Pharmacy education and PGY1 pharmacy residency programs to contribute to the development of clinical pharmacists in specialized areas of practice. PGY2 residencies provide residents with opportunities to function independently as practitioners by conceptualizing and integrating accumulated experience and knowledge and incorporating both into the provision of patient care or other advanced practice settings. Residents who successfully complete an accredited PGY2 pharmacy residency are prepared for advanced patient care, academic, or other specialized positions, along with board certification, if available. 

Program details

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

The aim of the MUSP residency is to provide residents with experience working within a population health practice model and working closely with other disciplines throughout the organization. Upon completion of this program, the resident will be prepared to work as a specialist in drug information, medication safety, formulary management, or medication policy in a variety of practice settings. 

The MUSP residency provides residents with 2 years of specialized training within a large, integrated healthcare delivery network. The resident spends the first year honing their clinical foundation and will spend the majority of their time at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. The first year mirrors Intermountain Health’s PGY1 pharmacy residency program. During this year, the resident completes 9 direct patient care rotations as well as required rotations in drug information and practice management. The resident may choose from rotations at 6 medical centers, obtain a teaching certificate (optional), conduct a practice-based research project, and participate in both local and system-level medication initiatives. Additionally, 1 rotation block must be used to complete a 4-week rotation in medication safety (this is one of the only deviations from Intermountain Health’s PGY1 pharmacy residency program).

During the second year of the program, the resident works within the system-wide Drug Information Service to develop their skills in formulary management, medication policy, literature retrieval and evaluation, and medication safety across the continuum of patient care. Training in pharmacy informatics; compliance and regulatory affairs; pharmacy management; and managed care are also offered. During the second year, the resident will also: 

  • Staff the anticoagulation clinic and transition-of-care service every third Saturday 
  • Remotely cover on-call responsibilities for the anticoagulation clinics for 1-week increments every 8 to 10 weeks (approximately 4 on-call weeks, including 1 minor and 1 major holiday 
  • Complete required rotations, which includes the completion of multiple medication-use projects (eg, medication-use evaluation, formulary class review) and presentations 
  • Complete a research/quality improvement project and written manuscript using a format and style consistent with publication in a professional journal
    • Residents are encouraged to submit their project for publication 
  • Deliver a presentation at a residency conference (or other professional conference) during the residency year 
  • Submit a poster for presentation at a professional meeting 
  • Prepare and deliver at least 1 ACPE-accredited continuing pharmacy education presentation and 1 professional development presentation 

Rotations during the first year of the residency follow those of the PGY1 pharmacy residency program. In the second year of the program, the resident will be based out of the System-wide Drug Information Services Department.

Rotations

Refer to the items listed in Required Competency Areas, Goals, and Objectives for Postgraduate Year Two (PGY2) Medication-Use Safety and Policy Pharmacy Residency from American Society of Health-System Pharmacists for details. No additional or elective competency areas, goals, or objectives are included in the program at this time.

Application Deadline

  • Please note that this program will not be recruiting for 2025-2026.

Applicants must submit the following information through the PhORCAS system: 

  • PhORCAS standard residency application 
  • 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 Conor Hanrahan (Conor.Hanrahan@imail.org).
    • This is currently done outside of the PhORCAS system due to FERPA rules.

The PGY1/PGY2 medication-use safety and policy pharmacy residency is a 24-month program that will start at the end of June of the corresponding residency year. 

  • Health, dental, life insurance, staff discounts, 15 days vacation/sick leave and 8 paid holidays.
  • The estimated stipend is $62,000 for the PGY1 year and $75,000 for the PGY2 year. Please contact the program director if you have additional questions regarding benefits.
  • Residents are granted professional leave to attend ASHP Midyear and the Mountain States Residency Conference. The PGY2 MUSP resident is also granted professional leave to attend a specialty conference of their choice (ASHP Summer Meeting or ACCP Global Conference on Clinical Pharmacy).

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