LOCATION:
San Antonio, Texas
LENGTH OF RESIDENCY:
1 year
START DATE:
July 1
REQUIREMENTS:
U.S. citizen
Pharm.D. degree from ACPE-accredited institution.
Eligible to practice pharmacy in Texas.
An accredited Pharmacy Practice Residency.
STIPEND:
Competitive salary plus an attractive benefits package, vacation (13 days) and sick leave (13 days). Health insurance is available.
CONTACT:
Cynthia Mascarenas, Pharm.D., M.S., BCPP
South Texas Veterans Health Care System
Audie Murphy Division (119)
7400 Merton Minter Blvd.
San Antonio, TX 78284
Cynthia.Mascarenas@va.gov
This Specialty Practice Residency in Psychiatry is designed to provide a challenging training opportunity for individuals desiring to develop clinical competency in the specialized area of psychiatry pharmacotherapeutics. The 12-month training period incorporates both outpatient and inpatient rotations devoted to the development of skills essential for the delivery of pharmaceutical care with a primary focus on psychiatry.
The resident will participate in clinical pharmacy activities at both the Audie L. Murphy (ALM) Hospital and Frank M. Tejeda VA Outpatient Clinic (FTOPC). Practice areas include: 1.) inpatient psychiatry service, 2.) FTOPC Behavioral Health Outpatient Services, and 3.) ALM PRIME Psychiatry. The PRIME Psychiatry Clinic is a multidisciplinary team comprised of psychiatrists, psychiatry residents, psychologist, nurses, social worker, women’s health, and psychiatric pharmacy specialists.
The resident spends a minimum of three months as an active member of one of the ALM inpatient psychiatry teams. The facility has two 25-bed inpatient psychiatric units, each covered by two different teams. The patient population on these units is largely comprised of those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, as well as detoxification/substance abuse. As a member of the Team, the psych pharmacy resident is responsible for participating in the design and implementation of appropriate therapeutic regimens, monitoring outcomes, assisting in the application of pharmacokinetic principles to individualize therapy as needed, and the provision of patient, disease and drug specific information to other members of the team.
The resident spends a minimum of three months rotating through outpatient psychiatry clinics, including Behavioral Health clinics at FTOPC, Smoking Cessation Clinic, Clozapine Clinic and Psych Pharmacotherapy Clinic. This experience allows the resident to gain ambulatory care experience in a variety of patient populations. In these settings the psychiatric pharmacist is responsible for patient assessment and pharmacologic management of patients' mental illnesses.
A monthlong neurology rotation is required. The resident will participate as a member of the inpatient Neurology Service at University Hospital. In addition to the patients on the Neurology Service, the team is also responsible for caring for patients on the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, where patients undergo continuous EEG monitoring with videotaping. During the rotation the resident is required to participate in Neuroseizure Clinic at ALM for one-half day per week.
The resident participates as a member of the PRIME Psychiatry team for the duration of the residency. The multidisciplinary team meets weekly to discuss PRIME patients. As a member of the team the resident is required to provide inservices on psychopharmacology, drug information, treatment guidelines, literature updates, pharmacoeconomics, and other information as requested.
In addition to the monthly rotations, the resident is assigned to an outpatient psychiatry clinic of the resident’s choice for one half-day a week for the duration of the residency. During this longitudinal experience the resident learns how to care for patients with mental illness in an ambulatory care setting, observing the natural progression of various psychiatric conditions and its therapy. The resident is responsible for participating in the design and implementation of the appropriate therapeutic regimens, monitoring the outcome of therapy, and intensive patient counseling.
Elective rotations are offered to individuals based on the particular strengths and weaknesses of the trainee. Areas where elective rotations are provided include: child and adolescent psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, neuropsychiatry, forensics, psychiatric emergency services, substance abuse, clinical research, and the research laboratory. Such flexibility makes the residency able to provide important experience and training in selected areas that will enable the resident to be broadly functional and competitive for future career options.
The resident will be responsible for conducting an independent research project and is required to present his or her project as a research poster at ASHP, TSHP, or CPNP as well as a platform presentation at ALCALDE. In addition, he or she is expected to participate in ongoing collaborative research projects.
During the residency, the resident is expected to submit two manuscripts for publication in a professional journal or text. This can be a book chapter, case report with literature review, review article, or original research article.
The resident is jointly appointed as a Clinical Instructor in the School of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and the College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin. In this capacity, the resident participates in the supervision of Doctor of Pharmacy students assigned to the psychiatry/selective elective rotation, as well as in didactic lectures in psychiatry therapeutics to pharmacy students and psychiatry residents. In addition, the resident participates in pharmacy staff development programs as assigned.
To ensure that the goals and objectives established for each resident are being met, the resident meets regularly with the primary preceptors to discuss patients, assigned topics for discussion, or other issues as necessary. During the course of the year, readings in the major topics in psychiatry will be assigned and discussed with the resident. The resident also participates in the weekly Psychiatric Pharmacy Journal Club and weekly case conference discussions, and attends a number of other available conferences, such as Psychiatry Grand Rounds, Seminars in Pharmacotherapy and Pharmacotherapy Conference. The resident is required to present at Pharmacotherapy Conference.
The residency will follow the Psychiatry specific Specialty Residency Standards and Objectives established by ASHP.
The resident is an employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs, directly responsible to the Chief, Pharmacy Service. Daily guidance and supervision will be provided by the resident's clinical preceptor, Dr. Cynthia Mascarenas, as well as the physicians affiliated with the practice site. An affiliated appointment with the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy is available.
PREVIOUS RESIDENTS INCLUDE:
Jodie V. Malhotra, Pharm.D. (2005-2006) Assistant Professor, The University of the Incarnate Word Feik School of Pharmacy, San Antonio, Texas
Troy A. Moore, Pharm.D., M.Sc., BCPP (2004-2005) Clinical Research Fellow, Schizophrenia Division, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
The University of Texas at Austin and its affiliated institutions are an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Qualified women and minorities are encouraged to apply. Security sensitive; conviction verification conducted on applicant selected.