KINGSTON \u2014 December 13, 2011 — The learning never stops at the University of Rhode Island, not even after graduation. University of Rhode Island residency programs help pharmacists focus on specialties KINGSTON \u2014 December 13, 2011 — The learning never stops at the University of Rhode Island, not even after graduation. URI\u2019s College of Pharmacy sees to that with its sponsorship of several post-graduate residencies, including its newest one, the pharmacy\/oncology residency at Rhode Island […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":639,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[35,53,92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-news-php","category-news-residency"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/639"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5396\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nURI\u2019s College of Pharmacy sees to that with its sponsorship of several post-graduate residencies, including its newest one, the pharmacy\/oncology residency at Rhode Island Hospital.
\nOpen to graduates nationwide, the residency allows licensed pharmacists who have completed a post-graduate year 1 residency \u2014 such as the university\u2019s ambulatory care program, administered in partnership with Coastal Medical \u2014 to receive training in a hospital and ambulatory care setting focusing on the treatment of cancer patients. The resident also gets experience in an academic setting, partnering with the University to help teach current pharmacy students.
\n\u201cThey get much more focused exposure to a specialty area,\u201d said Kristina Ward<\/a>, associate professor of clinical pharmacy at URI. \u201cIt qualifies someone to go in and join the faculty at an institution, or it allows them to be a clinical pharmacist in an oncology setting.\u201d
\nThe program was launched this year, with Brian Waldron, of Pequabuck, Conn., earning the sole spot in the residency. Waldron, a graduate of Campbell University in North Carolina, was selected from among six applicants, including two URI graduates.
\nWhile on rounds or in the clinic, Waldron works closely with the medical staff to assess patients\u2019 medication regimens and make recommendations to ease common side effects of chemotherapy.
\nHe is involved in setting up pharmacy services for drug trials and is working on a research project to assess the effects of a medication on patients with breast and prostate cancer.
\nWaldron also is reviewing new drugs and helping develop guidelines for their safe use.
\nOn the academic side, Waldron is working with URI faculty to prepare a hypothetical melanoma patient case that undergraduates at the university will be expected to complete during interactive learning sessions.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s been a great experience here so far working with the University of Rhode Island,\u201d the 32-year-old Waldron said. \u201cI went to URI and spent a day there, and I met with various faculty members who explained some of the various opportunities for teaching. I decided to develop a patient case to provide students with a realistic situation they may experience as a clinical pharmacist.\u201d
\nAndrea Haron, coordinator of the pharmacy\/oncology residency program at Rhode Island Hospital, said the academic side of the residency makes it more attractive to candidates.
\n\u201cIt gives more resources for the resident to learn from,\u201d Haron said.
\nThe program also requires dedication. Dealing with the emotional toll that cancer can take on patients and health care professionals is one of the biggest challenges the resident faces.
\n\u201cWe look for people who have an interest in oncology and strong desire to work in that field,\u201d Ward said of the selection process. \u201cIt can be very taxing emotionally, so not everyone wants to do it.\u201d
\nWaldron fit that requirement to a tee.
\n\u201cThe reason I knew I wanted to do oncology and hematology is that, when I was in school, as soon as I started reading about it, I couldn\u2019t put it down,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s an area where a pharmacist can make a really big impact.\u201d
\nFinding the right candidate isn\u2019t as simple as posting a flier on a bulletin board in the College of Pharmacy\u2019s Fogarty Hall. The school also set up shop last year at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition.
\nThe convention gives doctor of pharmacy graduates one-stop shopping to look for a residency that suits their goals. The pharmacy college set up a booth again this year Dec. 4-8 in New Orleans as it begins recruiting residents for next year\u2019s postgraduate year one and postgraduate year two programs.
\nWhile the university encourages its graduates to apply, attending conventions such as the ASHP Midyear and drawing a pool of applicants from around the country helps to raise URI\u2019s profile outside of the region, Ward said.
\nWaldron, who was looking for a residency in the Northeast, discovered the URI program through the health-system pharmacists\u2019 website.
\nHaron said the partnership with URI has been beneficial and will continue, perhaps in other specialized areas.
\n\u201cThe program will definitely continue and grow,\u201d Haron said. \u201c It will grow. We don\u2019t know in what direction \u2014 maybe in other residencies in the future. It\u2019s great to have this working relationship with URI on another frontier.\u201d
\nFor more information, call Kristina Ward at (401) 874-7484 or log on to the College of Pharmacy website www.uri.edu\/pharmacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"