Nutrition Support Pharmacy Practice
The Specialized Residency in Nutrition Support Pharmacy Practice is a 12-month program, with accreditation by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. The purpose of this program is to train selected, highly motivated and qualified pharmacists to become outstanding specialized practitioners in the area of nutrition support. This specialized residency program adheres to the standards developed by AHSP.
Program Objectives
Upon completion of the residency program in nutrition support, the resident shall be able to:
- Demonstrate competence in performing nutritional assessment.
- Identify and treat specific types of nutritional disorders.
- Develop patient-specific nutritional regimens and monitoring plans for patients receiving enteral and parenteral nutrition support, both inpatient as well as outpatient.
- Monitor drug therapy, especially regarding how nutritional status can affect drug therapy and how drugs may affect nutritional therapy.
- Provide patient and family education and counseling concerning nutritional therapy.
- Understand the organization and effective roles of a multi-disciplinary nutrition support team.
- Develop and perform a research project in an area of nutrition support
- Utilize current medical literature as a guide to appropriate nutrition and drug therapy.
- Teach pharmacy students and other health professionals about nutritional support.
Training Site
The resident's principal training will occur at University Medical Center. The resident will become an integral member of the multidisciplinary nutrition support team which provides consultation and monitoring services to all adult patients and pediatric blood and marrow transplant (BMT) patients requiring nutritional support.
The resident works with clinical pharmacists, dietitians, physicians and nurses in providing nutrition support. The nutrition support team follows a large number of patients, especially critically ill, intensive care unit patients and BMT patients. The resident will be exposed to a variety of types of patients, including surgery, trauma, cancer, internal medicine, adult and pediatric BMT and pediatric and neonatal patients. The resident also will work with the Home Health Service which trains and monitors home parental nutrition patients.
Responsibilities
The design of the program provides flexibility to allow the resident to complement and enhance his/her career goals. In general, the majority of experience will be gained with inpatient parenteral nutrition support. Experience in enteral nutrition and home health also will be provided. The resident is allowed up to three months of electives. The resident will assist in various administrative and quality assurance functions. Since nutrition support is an important therapy used in critically ill patients, the resident may choose to participate in a combined nutrition support/critical care program if it is mutually agreeable with the resident and the preceptors. Specific rotations and responsibilities would be altered somewhat by selection of the combined residency. Oncology is another possible area of focus.
In addition to nutrition support activities, the resident will participate in the weekly clinical pharmacy on-call schedule. The resident is expected to become familiar with TPN compounding methods and issues.
Teaching experience is provided to the resident in several ways. The resident will precept pharmacy students and pharmacy practice residents who are monitoring TPN patients. The resident also will be expected to provide formal lectures to pharmacy students and will assist in the training of dietetic interns, medical students and physicians.
The resident is required to develop and successfully complete a project related to nutrition support. The project should be of such quality as to merit presentation at a national meeting or publication in an appropriate journal.
Preceptors
The primary preceptor for the residency is Carol Rollins, MS, RD, PharmD, BCNSP, coordinator for the nutrition support team at University Medical Center. The other major preceptor for the program is Brian Erstad, PharmD, FASHP, BCPS, clinical pharmacist for surgery and director of the Critical Care Pharmacy Residency.
Fringe Benefits
Group health and life insurance, vacation and sick leave, and financial support to selected professional meetings
Number of Positions: One
Applicant Qualifications
The applicant for the residency in nutrition support pharmacy practice should have completed a clinically oriented pharmacy residency. An advanced degree, either PharmD, or clinically-oriented M.S., is preferred, though all qualified candidates will be considered.
Applicant Information
Inquiries and applications should be directed to:
Carol Rollins, MS, RD, PharmD, BCNSP
Department of Pharmacy Services
Box 245009
University Medical Center
1501 N. Campbell Ave.
Tucson, Arizona 85724
(520) 694-4618