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PGY2 Solid Organ Transplant Pharmacy Residency

Since its inception, The Baylor Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute has performed more than 13,000 solid organ transplants.

The Baylor University Medical Center PGY2 in Solid Organ Transplant aims to develop well-rounded clinicians who can provide high level pharmaceutical care in a variety of solid organ transplant settings.

The program was initiated in July 2020 and is accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

Our one-year specialty program is designed to provide specialized training for residents interested in solid organ transplantation. Residents will gain experience in the comprehensive management of a diverse population of transplant recipients and living donors throughout the various phases of care. Other areas of focus include development of skills in teaching, research, guideline and protocol development, and practice leadership. The structure and learning experiences will be continuously customized to meet each resident’s personal and professional goals.

We currently accept one resident each year.

Curriculum

About the Transplant Center

From its inception in 1984, the Baylor Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute has remained an internationally renowned destination for transplant care and recognized as a leader in transplant research. On average, at least 350 transplants are performed annually on the BUMC campus alone, making it one of the largest centers in the US.

Since 1984, the program has performed:

  • 4460 Kidney Transplants
  • 484 Kidney-Pancreas or Pancreas Alone Transplants
  • 4358 Liver Transplants
  • 237 Auto Islet Transplants
  • 1173 Heart Transplants
  • 25 Uterus Transplants
  • 659 Lung Transplants
  • 676 VAD Implants

Milestones include:

  • North Texas' first islet cell transplant
  • The nation’s first certified VAD program
  • The nation’s first baby born after uterus transplant
  • Largest uterine transplant program in the world
  • The Southwest's first adult liver transplant
  • The world's first extra-corporeal perfusion (bridge to transplant) using a genetically engineered pig liver, allowing the patient to survive and successfully undergo a liver transplant
  • North Texas' first split-liver procedure, in which the surgeon divides a donor liver into two lobes for a pediatric and adult recipient
  • North Texas' first adult-to-adult living donor liver transplant procedure
  • North Texas' first paired kidney donor transplant

Structure Requirements Form – Transplant

Required Rotations (~8 months):

  • Orientation (2-4 weeks)
  • Abdominal Transplant I and II (4-6 weeks each)
  • Heart Transplant I and II (4-6 weeks each)
  • Lung Transplant I and II (4-6 weeks each)

Elective Rotations (up to 4 may be selected, 2-4 weeks each)

  • Transplant Nephrology and Hepatology
  • Solid Organ Transplant Ambulatory Care II
  • Abdominal Transplant III
  • Solid Organ Transplant Cardiothoracic ICU
  • Off site: Transplant Infectious Diseases - University of Texas Southwestern (Dallas, TX)
  • Off site: Pediatric Solid Organ Transplant – Children’s Health (Dallas, TX)

Longitudinal Experiences

  • Solid Organ Transplant Ambulatory Care I
  • Research
  • Practice Management
  • Education and Teaching
  • Staffing

Teaching requirements include:

  • ACPE-accredited CE for system pharmacists
  • CME-accredited CE for Transplant Grand Grounds
  • Preceptor Development Session (completed with residency class)
  • Precept students and PGY1 residents

Residents will have the opportunity to present journal clubs/case presentations, quarterly transplant nursing orientation, and participate in/lead multidisciplinary staff education.

Our multifaceted multidisciplinary teaching is provided during formal rounds, didactic sessions, and weekly transplant related conferences with invited lecturers, where residents also have the opportunity to present. These include but are not limited to:

  • Abdominal Transplant Grand Rounds
  • Advanced Heart Failure/Heart Transplant Grand Rounds
  • Advanced Pulmonary Grand Rounds
  • Hepatology Grand Rounds
  • Cardiology Grand Rounds
  • Nephrology Grand Rounds

The resident will serve in a lead role for a research project throughout the year. Transplant research projects are vetted by the Transplant Research Committee and approved under an umbrella IRB, which expedites the process for IRB approval. Residents have free access to RedCap and statistician support from the transplant department.

The goal is to submit an abstract to and present at a transplant or other applicable conference, such as:

  • ISHLT Annual Meeting
  • ATC Annual Meeting

Subsequently, at least 1 manuscript will be prepared and submitted to an applicable journal.

Other projects include but are not limited to policy or guideline development and a medication use evaluation or quality improvement project.

Staffing:

Longitudinal staffing approximately every third weekend in the internal medicine/cardiology/transplant evening clinical staffing shift.

On-Call Requirements:

Residents also serve as Manager On-Call as part of leadership development. Each resident participates in this program approximately every 7 weeks with 7 residents.

Policy/Guideline Development:

The resident will be required to write or update at least 1 transplant protocol, guideline, or policy.

Committee Involvement:

The resident will participate in select hospital and transplant committees throughout the year. This will include:

  • Transplant Selection committees for each organ
  • Transplant Quality committees
  • Transplant System Governance committees: manage and optimize EPIC related enhancements for all 3 transplant centers within BSWH
  • Transplant research committees
  • Heart Immunology Committee
  • Drug Shortage Committee
  • BUMC Antibiotic Stewardship Committee
  • BUMC Residency Recruitment Committee
  • Others based on resident’s interests

Active participation and contribution to at least one committee or workgroup within national organizations impacting transplant pharmacy practice, such as ACCP IMTR PRN, AST, ISHLT, or ASHP, as per resident’s interests, will be highly encouraged. Residency preceptors will guide the resident in determining optimal and feasible opportunities that will benefit resident's learning and facilitate networking opportunities.

Conference Travel:

The resident will have the opportunity to attend various professional meetings throughout the year as outlined in the structure requirements form. Residents receive an annual travel stipend supported by both the pharmacy and transplant departments (e.g. ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting, ALCALDE Southwest Leadership Conference, and American Transplant Congress or International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation Annual Meeting). Attendance at the AST Fellows Symposium will also be encouraged.

Salary and Benefits

Pharmacy residents are classified as full-time employees of Baylor Scott and White Health. Here is a selection of the benefits we provide. (For a complete list, view our Benefits page)

  • Salary is approximately $57,449.60 for PGY2 residents
  • The benefits package includes, health, dental, life insurance, and staff discounts.
  • Residents accrue 15 days of paid time off (PTO), which includes vacation, holiday, sick leave, interview leave beyond allotted 5 days, and professional leave not sponsored by the program.
  • Residents will be allowed professional leave and travel expenses for attendance at professional seminars and meetings such as the ASHP Clinical Mid-Year Meeting and the Texas Society of Health System Pharmacists Annual Meeting
  • Free parking, discounted bus passes available and a DART rail station on campus
  • Access to Baylor Health Sciences Library and electronic references
  • Dedicated office space and computer

How to Apply

We use the Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PHORCAS) to accept applications, transcripts and other supporting application materials.

Deadline for application: January 4th of each year.


Application Requirements

The qualified applicant must possess a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree from an accredited college of pharmacy and must be eligible for Texas licensure. Completion of an ASHP-accredited PGY1 Pharmacy Residency is required.

Applicants must also submit:

  • Letter of Intent
  • Current Curriculum Vitae
  • Three recommendation forms
  • Official College Transcript

2024 Recruitment Information Sessions: Pre-Midyear

Baylor University Medical Center Pharmacy Residencies Open House

We will be hosting a virtual open house for interested candidates. Further information will be posted on our PGY1 Residency webpage.


ASHP Midyear PPS Interviews

We will be participating in PPS in-person from December 3-6, 2023. To schedule an interview, please contact RPD Lisa Fuller (Lisa.Fuller@BSWHealth.org) and RPC Raksha Patel (Raksha.Patel@BSWHealth.org).


2024 Interviews

Our PGY2 Solid Organ Transplant program will conduct on-site interviews during the 2024 recruitment season.

  • Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

    Baylor University Medical Center, Graduate Medical Education (GME) is committed to advancing and passionately promoting a training environment where all feel welcomed and valued.
    A culture of inclusion encourages innovation, and is a catalyst for building dynamic teams that serve our communities.

Frequently Asked Questions

The PGY1 pharmacy residency program at Baylor University Medical Center was established in 1903 and officially accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) in 1990.
We understand applying to Residencies can be a daunting task. We want you to stand out on paper so this is what we look for:
  • Grades: In order to ensure you have a solid clinical knowledge base a GPA of 3.0 is our cutoff.
  • Leadership and Professional Involvement: Demonstrates your ability to lead and multitask throughout school. If you were involved in organizations outside of Pharmacy be sure to include those (e.g. student athlete). Explain your contribution to the organization or activity.
  • Research: It’s extremely had to get published as a student. However, the journey to publication is a valuable learning experience. Some research questions are drawn from an MUE or quality improvement project. Ask for these experiences if your rotations do not offer them.
  • Presentations: We look for presentations that are given beyond your rotation experiences (e.g. CE, professional meetings, grand rounds, etc.)
  • Projects: Highlight formulary reviews, MUEs, development of clinical services.
  • Work and Volunteer Experience: Include not just Pharmacy and research related work as we value diverse experiences.
  • Rotations: We have applicants from across the country so we don’t know how all Rotations are laid out. Ensure your experiences are highlighted in your CV. Preference is given to those candidates who take challenging patient care directed clinical rotations.
  • Letters of Recommendation: We look for letters where it is clear the writer knows the candidates. Verify they can comment on your strengths and opportunities beyond a numerical score. If you are passionate about a Specialty and have taken that rotation then preference would be to have that preceptor write a letter. Ensure your letter writer has enough time to complete and will submit your Letters of Recommendation on time. We only evaluate letters submitted via Phorcas. Do not have your letter writers email additional content.
  • Letter of Intent: Make these FUN! Don’t just transcribe your CV or information you’ve found on our website. Communicate your “Why” and how your experiences set you apart from other candidates. We want to get to know you! Keep letters to about a page.

Absolutely. The resident must communicate this intention to the respective residency program director (RPD) and submit a written letter of intent. Pursuant to the receipt of the application, the RPD will conduct an interview of the candidate and follow ASHP Residency Matching Program guidelines. Candidates not choosing to early commit or those who are not offered early commitment by the PGY2 program may still apply to the PGY2 program but are required to participate in the ASHP Match.
We accept applications from non-US citizens, but we are unable to sponsor visas or green cards for residents. In order to apply, a candidate must be able to secure an appropriate visa for employment, as well as ensure they will be qualified to take licensure examinations.
Yes, please ensure your transcripts include an explanation of grades so it can be compared to a 4.0 scale. We strongly suggest you have preceptors write robust letters of reference (in Phorcas) detailing your drug knowledge, clinical experience and accomplishments in addition to sending your undergraduate transcripts.
We ask for a letter from you supervisor/manager is order to assess your ability to follow a schedule, work with others and be a team player outside of school, manage conflict and work through problems not in a guideline or on a test. Some options for letter writers include: volunteer supervisor or research advisor.
PharmAcademic will be utilized for all formal residency related evaluations. A customized development plan is created based on the resident's initial interests, career goals, and prior experience as well as the resident’s strengths and opportunities for improvement during orientation. The development plan is evaluated quarterly and adjusted when needed to ensure resident growth and progression. Each preceptor will evaluate the resident based on the learning experience goals and objectives and the level of improvement from the last performance assessment. For each learning experience the residents will be responsible for assessment of their own performance, the preceptor, and learning experience. All assignments, including journal clubs and presentations will be evaluated by attendees.
Yes, the residents have a dedicated office space with a personal computer, phone and printer.
Unfortunately, due to the number of requests we are not able to offer onsite visits at this time. However, we want to ensure that all your questions are answered regarding our program so we are available at recruiting events as well as via email or phone. Please don't hesitate to reach out!
BUMC is a community teaching hospital affiliated with Texas A&M College of Medicine. The Pharmacy department is not associated with a particular College of Pharmacy, but we do have longitudinal P4 students from University of Texas, University of North Texas and Texas Tech rotating throughout the year. Despite its name, the hospital it is no longer affiliated with Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
Our program is tailored to help residents achieve their career goals. Some of our residents have pursued specialized PGY2 programs, while others have become clinical specialists, managers, coordinators, and directors of pharmacy. While some of our residents have stayed with BSWH as clinical pharmacists, others have chosen to impact patient care across the country.

Contact Us

Preceptors and Current Resident

Preceptor Bios

 

Contact our Team

Lisa Fuller, PharmD, BCTXP, BCPS
Inpatient Transplant Pharmacy Specialist
PGY2 Residency Program Director - Solid Organ Transplant
Email: Lisa.Fuller@BSWHealth.org

Raksha Patel, PharmD, BCPS
Inpatient Transplant Pharmacy Specialist
PGY2 Residency Program Coordinator - Solid Organ Transplant
Email: Raksha.Patel@BSWHealth.org

Ann Kataria, PharmD, BCPS
Outpatient Transplant Pharmacy Specialist
Email: Ann.Kataria@BSWHealth.org

Brenda Astorga, PharmD
Outpatient Transplant Pharmacy Specialist
Email: Brenda.Astorga@BSWHealth.org

Nicole Wilson, PharmD, Msc, BCTXP
Inpatient Transplant Pharmacy Specialist
Email: Nicole.Wilson1@BSWHealth.org

Taylor Zurick, PharmD
Inpatient Transplant Pharmacy Specialist
Email: Taylor.Zurick@BSWHealth.org

Pamelia Ijeoma, PharmD
Outpatient Transplant Pharmacy Specialist
Email: Pamela.Ijeoma@BSWHealth.org

Sabrina Fischer, PharmD
Solid Organ Transplant Pharmacy Resident 2023-2024
Email: Sabrina.Fischer@BSWHealth.org

 


Location

Department of Pharmacy
Baylor University Medical Center
3500 Gaston Ave.
Dallas, TX 75246

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