Steph’s Note: Have you ever met one of those pharmacists who has this really cool, advanced community practice, knows the business in and out, and is practicing at their top of their game? Did you wonder how they got there and what choices they made along the way - because you sure as heck haven’t learned in pharmacy school what they seem to know? If this sounds familiar and you’ve wondered how you can better prep yourself for a fulfilling outpatient career, this post is for you!

For this topic, we welcome back Vaidehi Parekh, who recently gave us the ins and outs about specialty pharmacy (check it out here). She’s an outpatient guru with a variety of experiences, and one of them just happens to be a community-based pharmacy residency, which, you guessed it, is exactly what she’s here to talk about this week. Take it away, Vaidehi!

I know what you’re thinking: Why would I do a residency to work retail?

Before you scoff and click off this page, take a step back, open your mind, and let me give you some info about community-based pharmacy residency programs (CPRPs) that you may not know:

CPRPs are accredited by ASHP in partnership with APhA.
You go through the same match process as everyone else.
There are currently 193 CPRPs available!
Most programs accept 1-2 residents, so it’s a very personalized experience with more one-on-one interactions and attention from your preceptors and residency program director (RPD).
All CPRPs will advance your skills in the following areas:

Direct patient care from MTM services, chronic disease management, transitions of care, immunizations and screenings, and patient-centered dispensing
Advancing community-based practice via a business plan for new or enhanced services and quality improvement
Leadership through professional organizations, community associations, advocacy, etc.
Management in the pharmacy setting
Teaching and education experience through precepting, creating and presenting continuing education, and/or completing a teaching certificate program
Dissemination of knowledge via a research project

Who knew CPRPs had so much to offer?!

Now that I have your attention, we can get to the fun part. I’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions that I’ve both asked and received throughout my own career. Plus you have the added bonus of getting several other successful CPRP alumni pharmacists’ perspectives too! Hopefully these will give you an even better idea of what CPRPs are and why you should consider one.

FAQ #1: Why did you choose to pursue a community-based pharmacy residency program (CPRP)?

Personally, I wasn’t originally interested in residency at all. It wasn’t until the summer between my second and third years of pharmacy school when I learned about specialty pharmacy and CPRPs from a mentor who happened to be an RPD that I started to think residency might be the route for me. I didn’t even finalize wanting to pursue a CPRP until I was a month into my fourth year rotations and realized that a residency with a specialty pharmacy focus would help me be a more competitive candidate in a very saturated local market.

“Pursuing a community residency gave me the opportunity to stay in the community setting while also having additional opportunities to further grow my clinical experience and comfort. Fortunately, I matched at an independent pharmacy that worked very closely with a family medicine office, and I was able to really have a hands-on clinical approach to chronic care management.”

Madison Stewart, PharmD
Dr. Stewart completed a CPRP followed by a PGY2 in ambulatory care and is currently working as a Pharmacy Clinical Coordinator for a large health system.

“I decided to pursue a CPRP because I knew I was interested in an outpatient setting, specifically in ambulatory care. I wanted more direct patient care experiences, so I tried to find opportunities that would lead me to that path. I don’t think CPRPs are emphasized as much in pharmacy school, but I am thankful that I had mentors that helped me find a program that was a good fit.”

Priyanka Patel, PharmD
Dr. Patel is currently completing her PGY2 in ambulatory care following her CPRP. Post-residency she is looking for opportunities to work in a primary care, outpatient setting with an interest in specialty clinics.

“I didn’t originally intend to pursue residency until I met my future RPD by chance on a community APPE during my P4 year. I worked with her then-resident on her research surveying pharmacists on their knowledge and perceptions for medications for opioid use disorder – my passion area – which sparked an interest in research. This lucky meeting changed my career trajectory towards community-focused academia with practice, research, and teaching, and residency was the perfect next step on that path!

Dr. Molly Nichols, PharmD, MS, MATS
Dr. Nichols went on to complete a two-year academic fellowship after her PGY1 and is currently a Research Associate and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Purdue University.

FAQ #2: What does a typical CPRP day look like?

Because community residencies primarily utilize longitudinal experiences to complete competencies (as opposed to the more typical 4-6 week rotation in a pharmacy practice PGY1), the better question here is really, “What does a typical week look like?”

The short answer is this… It varies depending on the type of CPRP the resident is completing and if there are any special focus areas for that residency program. (That’s what makes this a great question for current residents or RPDs when you’re at Midyear or interviewing!) That being said, although the experiences are primarily longitudinal versus rotational, if the resident has additional interests, RPDs and preceptors make time to incorporate those topics. Examples may include learning about the business side of running an independent pharmacy, learning about insurance audits, etc.

Just for illustrative purposes, here is a snippet of my weekly schedule during my PGY1 CPRP:

Project time refers to any of the main 3 projects - research, business plan, and quality improvement. Typically the start of each project is staggered so the resident doesn’t start off doing everything at once, but eventually all 3 do run simultaneously. So it’s BUSY to say the least. But that project time can be used for any/all projects that are ongoing at that time.

FAQ #3: What types of research projects are available in a CPRP?

What a resident can choose for their research project depends a lot on their setting. Compared to independent pharmacies or federally qualified health centers (FQHC), large corporations can be a bit more restrictive on their research projects based on the long-term goals of the company as a whole. But for some examples…

I did my research on the use of adherence tools and their impact on proportions of days covered with antiretroviral therapy for persons living with HIV.

“My research project was evaluating the barriers and facilitators to providing point of care HIV screening in the community pharmacy setting.” - Dr. Stewart

“I did a medication use evaluation to see if our prescribers at the FQHC my residency was based out of were prescribing per the updated ADA guidelines and if prescribing per the guidelines helped in lowering patients’ A1cs.” - Dr. Patel

“For my research project, I disseminated a national survey to community pharmacy preceptors that assessed their experience, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors around cannabidiol products.” - Dr. Nichols

Dr. Nichols’s research is published, and you can read about it here!

FAQ #4: What was your favorite project in a PGY1 CPRP?

I loved my business plan because it focused on a personal interest - travel. My business plan was to expand travel vaccine services, which included additional pharmacist training.

“My favorite project as a PGY1 resident was working collaboratively with the family medicine office to review patients receiving chronic care management prior to their appointments with their physician. I would review the patient charts from both the office and pharmacy to assess needed health maintenance (e.g., vaccines), medication recommendations, and cost concerns with current prescriptions.” - Dr. Stewart

“Research was my favorite project in my residency.” - Dr. Patel

“My favorite residency project was probably a ‘facts, fiction, and guideline review’ CE presentation I gave on medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) at the Indiana Pharmacy Association 2019 Fall Conference. The results from the previous resident’s research project showed that pharmacists in Indiana held several negative perceptions towards MOUD products, so I hoped to address and mitigate those stigmatizing beliefs through my presentation. I was super nervous to give such a big and formal presentation, but I put my blood, sweat, and tears into it and ultimately crushed it (if I do say so myself!).” - Dr. Nichols

FAQ #5: What types of CPRPs are available?

Before you get to the list below, just know that every one of these CPRP types provides a different residency experience. Be sure to search for programs based on your interests and long-term career goals!

There are CPRPs in the following settings:

Large chain retail pharmacy in partnership with a college of pharmacy
Independent pharmacy in partnership with a college of pharmacy
Independent programs run by community pharmacies, chain corporations, or health systems in outpatient pharmacies/clinics
Independent programs run by schools/colleges with their own pharmacies or clinics

FAQ #6: What career opportunities do you have after completing a CPRP?

Kowalski, give me options! (Because guess what, you have them after doing a CPRP.) (Image)

SOOOO MANY!!!!! That’s what’s super cool about these programs. You have options! Next steps after a CPRP can include…

A PGY2 for additional training
Academia
Ambulatory care pharmacist
Community pharmacy manager
Independent pharmacy owner
Specialty pharmacy
Transitions of care

And many more! The world is truly your oyster.

I know you’re a busy pharmacy student cramming for exams, so let me make it easier for you to get any additional questions answered. If you’ve made it to the end of this article, and I’ve sparked an interest in CPRPs, take a look at APhA’s page for interested candidates. Happy residency researching!

FAQs on CPRPs: Why You Should Consider a Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program