(180) Partnering with Veterinary Medicine Hospital Pharmacy Residency Programs to Enhance Opportunities for Pharmacy Students

Objective : To demonstrate how partnering with a pharmacy residency program at a veterinary medicine teaching hospital can create additional learning opportunities for PharmD students.

Methods: In 2015, the pharmacy department in the veterinary medicine teaching hospital, in conjunction with the college of pharmacy started a PGY-1 pharmacy residency program. Since the program’s inception, pharmacy faculty have assisted the hospital pharmacy staff with screening, interviewing, and selection of applicants. Pharmacy faculty have also served as teaching and research mentors.

Results: In addition to the provision of services at the veterinary teaching hospital, the resident routinely contributes to the educational program of the College of Pharmacy by assisting with non-sterile compounding laboratories for P-1 students, providing a presentation to P-1 students about careers in veterinary pharmacy, designing and facilitating a required skills laboratory for P-2 students focusing on veterinary pharmacy practice, and facilitating a veterinary pharmacy elective course. Each year, the resident also serves as a preceptor for several APPE students from Purdue and other colleges of pharmacy.

Conclusions: Graduates from the residency program have gone on to positions in numerous settings across the nation including compounding pharmacies, other veterinary teaching hospitals (in staff and director’s roles), and, in one case, as a clinical faculty position in a College of Veterinary Medicine. Although roles for pharmacy graduates in veterinary pharmacy are still somewhat limited, the growth of pharmacy residency programs at veterinary teaching hospitals will likely result in more opportunities and demand for advanced pharmacy services in the future. Colleges of pharmacy should look for opportunities to partner with pharmacy departments in veterinary medicine teaching hospitals as these relationships can benefit the educational and experiential programs across the academy.