Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency Programs

VA-Battle Creek, MI- Battle Creek VA Medical Center, Battle Creek, MI

Last updated: 10/11/2023

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Maximum Number of Positions

• PGY1: 2
• PGY2 Psychiatry: 1
• PGY2 Neurology: 0

Program Details

• Primary Practice Site: VAMC
• PGY2 Required Practice Settings: 15% Inpatient / 75% Outpatient
• ASHP Accreditation Status: Yes (code: 43043)
• NMS Participant: Yes
• Program Inception: 2019
• Application Deadline: January 5th
• Starting Date: Monday of the pay period including or following July 1st
• Estimated Stipend: $45,221
• Financial Support for AAPP Annual Meeting: Varies/TBD
• Fringe Benefits: Residents receive the following benefits: -13 days paid leave + 11 federal holidays -13 days sick leave -Health, vision, and dental insurance available Additionally, no weekend or evening staffing hours are required. As a resident at the Battle Creek VA Medical Center, residents enjoy the benefits of being part of a nationwide network of clinical pharmacists and pharmacy residents.
• Interviews Required: Yes
• Offers pre-commitment: Yes, PGY1 residents may apply to early commit for the PGY2, but acceptance is not guaranteed

Special Requirements for Application

• PharmD
• Completion of PGY1 Residency OR equivalent experience
• Eligible for state licensure
• College transcripts
• Curriculum vitae
• Letters of recommendation (3)
• US Citizenship

PGY2 Rotations offered

• Administration
• Adult inpatient psychiatry
• Adult outpatient psychiatry
• Geriatric psychiatry
• Pain management
• Substance abuse
• Other: PTSD, Primary Care Mental Health Integration, Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs

PGY2 Features

• PGY2 Staffing Component: No (or N/A)
• PGY2 Teaching Component: Yes, Required
• PGY2 Teaching Certificate Program: Yes, Optional
• PGY2 Other Features: This ASHP-accredited PGY2 psychiatric pharmacy residency program is designed to develop accountability; practice patterns; habits; and expert knowledge, skills, attitudes, and abilities in the respective advanced area of psychiatric pharmacy practice. A resident who successfully completes this PGY2 residency should possess competencies that enable attainment of board certification in psychiatric pharmacy. The PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy resident will participate in many of the Battle Creek VAs mental health treatment services, including inpatient, residential, and outpatient mental health care. They will be responsible for psychotropic medication management across a variety of disease states including mood and anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, PTSD, substance use, and pain management. Additionally, the psychiatric pharmacy resident will participate in formulary and pharmacy management and quality improvement projects. Our PGY2 psychiatric pharmacy residency builds upon the broad-based competencies achieved in a specialized or general PGY1 residency, deepening the resident's ability to provide care in the most complex of cases or in the support of care through practice leadership. Therefore, the PGY2 residency will provide residents with opportunities to function independently as practitioners in a variety of mental health settings by conceptualizing and integrating accumulated experience and knowledge into improved medication therapy for patients. This program joins our well established, two PGY1 residency positions with emphasis on ambulatory care and the PGY2 resident serves as Chief Resident for all pharmacy residents at the BCVAMC. The psychiatric pharmacy resident will also be involved in the precepting of pharmacy students and PGY1 pharmacy residents. Residents may also elect to participate in interdisciplinary training opportunities with psychology, social work, optometry, and pharmacy trainees and/or complete a teaching certificate (if not already obtained during PGY1 residency training).
• PGY2 Preceptors: 4 BCPPs, 1 Other Pharmacists, 1 Non-Pharmacists

PGY1 Elective Rotations offered

• Psychiatry

PGY1 Special Features

The Battle Creek VA Medical Center is primarily an ambulatory care facility with clinical pharmacists integrated in to primary care teams and specialty clinics. As such, the emphasis of the PGY1 residency is on provision of ambulatory care pharmacy services. All PGY1 residents are required to complete a one-month psychiatry rotation with a mental health clinical pharmacy specialist with additional electives in psychiatric pharmacy available if desired.

Program Philosophy

Residents are provided opportunities to function independently as practitioners in a variety of mental health settings by conceptualizing and integrating accumulated experience and knowledge and transforming both into improved medication therapy for patients. This emphasis on independent practice in varied settings prepares residents for practice post-residency and board certification.

Site Special Features

All clinical pharmacy specialists at the Battle Creek VA Medical Center have a scope of practice allowing for independent medication management. This allows pharmacists to order medication, lab work for monitoring, and place other consults as necessary to facilitate safe and effective use of medications across a variety of disease states. Residents practice under the scope of practice of the precepting clinical pharmacy specialist.
Both the PGY1 and PGY2 residency programs utilize a longitudinal model for the majority of the residency year in which learning experiences rotate every half day. This allows residents to participate follow both outpatients and policy/project work on a long-term basis to build relationships and see first-hand the impact of their decisions and actions over time.