Welcome From the Program Director
Kate M. Kokanovich, PharmD, BCCCP
*Last updated 2020-2021
Our program prides itself on developing skilled, confident pharmacists that are key members of an interdisciplinary Emergency Medicine team focused on working together to achieve optimal outcomes for patients. Clinical pharmacy services stretch far and wide at the University of Rochester, allowing for flexibility and endless opportunities to customize the residency path for each individual and their goals. Our graduates have gone on to many varied career paths, including starting clinical pharmacy services in EDs across the country, researching and publishing practice changing literature, and teaching the next generation of pharmacy students, residents and fellows. Whatever future you see for yourself, if you love emergency medicine we can give you the experience and opportunities that will make your dream a reality.
Program Details
The Emergency Medicine (EM) Pharmacy Residency at UR Medicine Strong Memorial Hospital is a 12-month, full-time curriculum that provides the essential elements needed to develop a successful pharmacy specialist.
This intensive training involves activities in a wide variety of practice settings:
- Providing optimal medication therapy management for patients who are in need of emergent care
- Designing and managing pharmacotherapy regimens for hospitalized patients in a variety of emergency medicine and intensive care settings
- Training in ATLS and ACLS or PALS and longitudinal participation in medical and surgical emergencies, resuscitation, and simulation
- Participation in code, stroke, sepsis, pulmonary embolism, and myocardial infarction response teams throughout the emergency department and medical center
- Numerous opportunities for precepting, teaching, and counseling patients, students, residents, pharmacists, and other health care professionals as an integral part of the health care team
The Emergency Department (ED) at Strong Memorial Hospital is a 120-bed unit that includes a Critical Care/Trauma Bay, Pediatric ED, Psychiatric ED, and 23-hour Observation Unit and services over 120,000 patient visits annually. The institution is an American College of Surgeons Level 1 Trauma Center, Regional Pediatric Trauma Center, Burn Center, and is a Certified Comprehensive Stroke Center.
Pharmacists completing this residency will be competent and confident practitioners of direct patient care in any emergency medicine environment. They will be accountable for achieving optimal drug therapy outcomes as members of the health care team. These pharmacists will exercise skill in educating other health care professionals, patients, and the community on drug-related topics. Also, the pharmacist will be able to integrate the accumulated experience and knowledge gained during previous training and transform it into improved pharmaceutical care for patients who are critically ill and that need emergent care. They will demonstrate professional maturity by following a personal philosophy of practice, monitoring their own performance, exhibiting commitment to the profession, and exercising leadership in improving the efficiency and safety of the medication-use system.
Rotation Schedules
The schedule for the residency year is outlined below and is tailored to meet the needs and interests of the individual resident.
Required Rotations
- Orientation (4 weeks)
- Emergency Medicine - Community (4 weeks)
- Emergency Medical Services (EMS) (2 weeks)
- Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) (4 weeks)
- Toxicology (4 weeks)
Longitudinal Rotations (Required)
- Emergency Medicine Antimicrobial Stewardship
- Emergency Medicine Clinical Practice (26 weeks)
- Emergency Medicine Staffing (every 4th weekend)
- Management
- Presentations/Preceptorship
- Research
- Resuscitation
Elective Rotations
Elective rotations are designed to customize the EM experience to the needs and desires of each resident. Electives include:
- Selection of two (2) Critical Care rotations:
- Burn/Trauma Intensive Care Unit (BTICU) (3 weeks)
- Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) (3 weeks)
- Neuromedicine Intensive Care Unit (NMICU) (3 weeks)
- Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) (3 weeks)
- Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) (3 weeks)
Additional Opportunities and Research
The resident will have many educational opportunities throughout the year including participation in EM medical resident’s weekly conference, weekly EM/critical care pharmacy conference, EM and pharmacy journal clubs, cadaver labs, and simulation activities. The resident will be able to participate in several specialty education days throughout the year; EMS, Pediatrics, Wilderness Conference, Fire, Rescue, and Medicine, and Toxicology Teaching Days.
The PGY2 EM resident will also have opportunities to develop teaching skills by providing presentations to both the pharmacy staff as well as faculty, residents, and students in other health care professions.
Completion of a research project related to EM is required and results are to be presented to the emergency department and another local, regional, or national conference.
Resident Well-Being
We place tremendous value on resident well-being and offer a longitudinal series which helps our residents achieve a better work-life balance. We strive to provide our residents with the skills they need to manage their stress and build resilience, not only for residency training, but for their professional careers.
Sessions incorporate guest speakers, various icebreaker activities, events such as preceptor-resident get-togethers, and lots of fun!
Topics covered include:
- Understanding Wellness, Resilience, and Burnout
- Developing Self-Care Strategies as a Resident
- Understand Factors That Can Contribute to Burnout
- Handling Conflict and Difficult Conversations
- Creating a Culture of Resident Well-Being
Life of a Resident
- 6:30 a.m. Get to the hospital and check the ED culture-follow up bin.
- 7:00 a.m. Head to the critical care bay in the emergency department to start work.
- 11:30 a.m. Lunch break (depending on the day).
- 12:00 p.m. Back to the emergency department to finish the shift.
- 3:00 p.m. Give hand-off to the incoming EM pharmacist before leaving the ED.
- 3:30 p.m. Return to the pharmacy residency office to work on projects and catch up on emails for the day.
- 5:00 p.m. Head home and enjoy Rochester/family time!
The schedule for the EM pharmacy residency is a very fluid one. This is an example of what a typical day shift in the emergency department looks like. However, every Thursday, there is a pharmacy critical care/ emergency medicine conference in the afternoon for didactic learning that you will be excused from rotation to attend and often times, on Thursday mornings, you have the opportunity to attend the EM conference with the EM physician residents. As the emergency medicine resident, we also are scheduled evening shifts on rotation from 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. too.
Purpose Statement
The PGY2 emergency medicine pharmacy residency program will build on Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) education and PGY1 pharmacy residency programs to contribute to the development of clinical pharmacists in the specialized areas of emergency medicine. The PGY2 emergency medicine pharmacy residency will 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 in the emergency medicine setting. Residents who successfully complete an accredited PGY2 pharmacy residency in emergency medicine are prepared for advanced patient care, academic, or other specialized positions, along with board certification.