PGY2 Emergency Medicine Pharmacy Residency
Program Type: ASHP accredited PGY2 Emergency Medicine
National Matching Service Program Code: 727269
Purpose Statement
PGY2 pharmacy residency programs build on Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) education and PGY1 pharmacy residency programs to contribute to the development of clinical pharmacists in specialized areas of practice. PGY2 residencies 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 or other advanced practice settings. Residents who successfully complete an accredited PGY2 pharmacy residency are prepared for advanced patient care, academic, or other specialized positions, along with board certification, if available.
Program Description
Emergency Medicine Pharmacists (EMP) at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center are integrated members of the interdisciplinary emergency medicine team. They collaborate directly with ED providers and nurses at the bedside to optimize and expedite critical life-saving therapies. EMPs are relied upon to provide comprehensive clinical pharmacy services for all patients within the adult and pediatric emergency departments.
Emergency Medicine trained PGY2 residents are empowered to treat and appropriately triage the most complex chronic and acute illnesses presented by emergency department patients, including those with multiple disease states and serious complications. Upon completion of training, graduates are equipped to be fully integrated members of the interdisciplinary emergency medicine team, are able to prioritize responsibilities and utilization of resources, and are able to make complex medication recommendations in this fast-paced environment.
Graduates of MercyOne’s EM PGY2 residency will also develop a professional practice encompassing MercyOne’s core values of Integrity, Commitment to the Poor, Compassion, Excellence, Justice, Stewardship, and Reverence. Residents will display a commitment to the profession of pharmacy, desire for continued professional growth, and acquire the experience necessary to exercise leadership for emergency medicine pharmacy practice in the health-care system and teach other health professionals and those in training to be health professionals.
Learning Experiences
Residents will spend the majority of their year practicing within the 56-bed Adult and Pediatric emergency departments with various areas of focus. The program is individualized for each resident to meet their personal and professional goals.
Required
- Emergency Medicine I (4 weeks): Ensure global understanding of ED policies, practices, and procedures and prepare resident to assume staffing responsibilities in the ED.
- Emergency Medicine II (4 weeks): Expand knowledge base and increase exposure to multiple different disease states and their subsequent treatment within the ED.
- Emergency Medicine III (4 weeks): Advance command of appropriate, up-to-date EM literature and improve efficiency in patient workup and review.
- Emergency Medicine IV (4 weeks): Develop clinical teaching and precepting skills; co-precept PGY1 resident’s EM LE.
- Emergency Medicine Leadership (4 weeks): Enhance the resident’s leadership skills and their ability to effectively manage an emergency medicine practice.
- Critical Care (4 weeks): Round with critical care teaching service within Cardiac-Medical ICU and/or Neuro-Trauma-Medical ICU to enhance critical care knowledge and apply concepts learned in the ED.
- Pediatrics (4 weeks): Increase the resident’s confidence in managing diagnoses common to pediatric ED patients.
- Toxicology (5 weeks): Work with medical toxicologists and pharmacy and nurse specialists in poison information at the Iowa Poison Control Center to develop skills in managing acute toxicities and exposures.
- Trauma (4 weeks): Develop therapeutic knowledge and skills specific to managing traumatically injured patients.
Longitudinal (required)
- Infectious Disease: Review treatment guidelines and discuss complicated ID cases encountered in the ED.
- Projects: Complete longitudinal research project or advanced MUE, develop proposal for future MUE, create or revise one treatment guideline or protocol, and participate in interdisciplinary committees as assigned.
- Education & Teaching: see Teaching Opportunities section
Electives
- Burn Management (4 weeks): coordinated with University of Iowa Burn Treatment Center
- Emergency Medical Services (2 weeks): exposure to pre-hospital medicine, including ride-alongs with metro EMS and MercyOne AirMed
- Pain & Opioid Stewardship (4 weeks): various inpatient and ambulatory opportunities related to acute and/or chronic pain management
- Psychiatric (4 weeks): coordinated with Clive Behavioral Health Hospital and/or psychiatry residency program
Staffing
After successful completion of the EM I learning experience the resident will assume staffing responsibilities in the ED. The resident will staff 8 hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday every 4th weekend, with supplemental weekends to result in 14 total weekends during the residency year. The resident is also required to staff one winter holiday (Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s Day) and one summer holiday (Memorial Day, July 4th, or Labor Day). In addition to the weekend staffing component, the EM PGY2 resident will staff the ED intermittently during subsequent EM learning experiences (not to exceed 30% of the experience). This will allow the resident to become more proficient in fulfilling all responsibilities of the EM pharmacist while supplementing their learning.
Residents may work additional shifts outside of those required by the residency program at their discretion and in accordance with the duty hour and moonlighting policy. Additional shifts are compensated with a flat dollar stipend.
Application Deadline: January 2, 2025
Program Director
Jessica Nesheim, PharmD, BCPS
Emergency Medicine Clinical Pharmacy Specialist
Director, PGY2 Emergency Medicine Pharmacy Residency
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center, Des Moines, Iowa
Email: jessica.nesheim@mercyoneiowa.org
Bio: Jessica Nesheim, PharmD, BCPS is an Emergency Medicine Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center. She earned her PharmD from Drake University College of Pharmacy in 2009 and completed a PGY1 residency at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center in 2010. During residency, Jessica assisted in the development and justification of pharmacy services in their Emergency Department (ED) leading to the approval of two Emergency Medicine Pharmacist (EMP) positions and her initial role as an EMP at MercyOne Des Moines. Jessica precepts Orientation, EM I & III, EM Leadership, and longitudinal Projects and Education & Teaching for the EM PGY2 resident. She also precepts the EM experience for PGY1 residents and an elective APPE EM experience for pharmacy students. Her professional interests include opioid stewardship, substance use disorders, practice improvement, and advancing the profession of pharmacy. Jessica serves on multiple committees within MercyOne. She is an active member of the Iowa Pharmacy Association, serving on the Practice Advancement Initiative Taskforce and is actively involved with ACCP Emergency Medicine PRN as chair of the Collaborative Organization for Development of Emergency Medicine Pharmacists (CODE) committee and ASHP as a member of the Emergency Medicine Section Advisory Group (SAG). Jessica’s favorite thing about precepting is gaining fresh perspectives and insights, continually learning, and celebrating with learners as they overcome challenges. When she isn’t working, Jessica enjoys spending time with her husband and two kids, traveling, trying new restaurants, and tackling DIY projects around her “fixer upper”.
