PGY1/PGY2 Health System Pharmacy Administration with Master Healthcare Administration

AdventHealth Orlando is currently seeking ambitious and committed individuals for the 2021-2023 PGY1/PGY2 Health-System Pharmacy Administration (HSPA) Residency. The core concept of this combined 24-month program is for residents to complete the clinical requirements of a PGY1 and the administrative requirements of the PGY2 HSPA, while concurrently completing a Masters of Healthcare Administration.

During the first year, training experiences equivalent to the PGY1 program train the resident in clinical practice, clinical leadership, and operational services and allow the resident to function as the ideal pharmacist generalist (clinician and leader) and be confident in providing evidence-based, patient-centered medication therapy management with interdisciplinary teams. The first year also provides extensive submersion into the roles of pharmacy leadership and project management because the resident manages and improves the medication-use process, exercises leadership and practice management, demonstrates project management skills, provides medication and practice related education and training, and utilizes medical informatics.

During the second year, the resident works collaboratively with the senior management group, leads process improvement projects, provides patient care in collaborative practice settings, works as a member of medical staff committees, and manages human and financial resources to develop advanced leadership skills. The longitudinal structure with selected concurrent rotations in the PGY2 year develops competence in high level managerial, supervisory, and leadership responsibilities. A high degree of resident involvement in the management of the pharmacy department is incorporated with decreasing supervision by advisors as the resident’s skills and knowledge increase. After a suitable training period has elapsed, the resident assumes direct supervisory experience of a select area of pharmacy operations.

The Master of Healthcare Administration is a two-year program offered by the AdventHealth University of Health Sciences, which includes a campus on the grounds of AdventHealth Orlando. This comprehensive program develops leaders who possess the values, knowledge, and skills needed to work in a highly-competitive, market-driven environment. Students learn about the management of healthcare from experienced administrators and develop a network of strategic healthcare leaders outside of the practice of pharmacy. Students learn to conceptualize, analyze, and apply vital concepts when dealing with multifaceted healthcare administrative issues. All classes are offered in the evening to accommodate residents as working professionals. For the pharmacy residents, the MHA program leaders have also created special online courses for the MHA prerequisites which residents complete during the first 8 weeks of the PGY1 residency. The MHA curriculum begins in the fall and continues over the next 20 months. The tuition for the MHA program is built into the benefits of the residency and thus tuition is paid by the program. Additional information about the MHA program can be found at https://www.ahu.edu/academics/master-of-healthcare-administration.

The primary goal of the PGY1/PGY2 HSPA program is to develop residents into independent practitioners and confident pharmacy leaders who possess in-depth therapeutic knowledge and integrated professional attributes. In both years the resident’s experiences are tailored to meet his/her individual goals and expectations. This type of program is really designed to train a complete pharmacist leader. Graduates are able to function as a clinical pharmacist but also highly competitive for a variety of hospital and health-system leadership positions including clinical managers, operational directors, and even specialty roles such as medication safety, pharmacy informatics, etc. The MHA aspect of the program provides the resident external credentials which are immediately valuable to any healthcare setting and with experience, positions the resident to be eligible to assume a variety of healthcare executive positions – Director of Pharmacy and beyond.