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Pharmacy Residency Program

The American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists (ASHP) is a professional membership organization that has taken responsibility for accrediting pharmacy postgraduate year one (PGY1) and post graduate year two (PGY2) residency training programs for the pharmacy profession. A PGY1 pharmacy residency training is an organized, directed, accredited program that builds upon knowledge, skills and abilities gained from an accredited professional pharmacy degree program. The first-year residency enhances general competencies in managing medication-use systems and supports optimal medication therapy outcomes for patients with a broad range of disease states.

Residents in PGY1 residency programs are provided the opportunity to accelerate their growth beyond entry-level professional competence in patient-centered care and in pharmacy operational services, and to further the development of leadership skills that can be applied in any position and in any practice setting. PGY1 residents acquire substantial knowledge required for skillful problem solving, strengthen their professional values and attitudes, and advance the growth of their clinical judgment.

PGY2 pharmacy residency training is an organized, directed, accredited program that builds upon the competencies established in postgraduate year one of residency training. The program is focused in a specific area of practice. The PGY2 program increases the resident’s depth of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and abilities to raise the resident’s level of expertise in medication therapy management and clinical leadership in the area of focus. In those practice areas where board certification exists, graduates are prepared to pursue such certification.

Pharmacy Residency Program

RWJBarnabas Health offers an American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP)-accredited PGY1 and PGY2 pharmacy residency programs. Residents are given the opportunity to work in interdisciplinary care teams to enhance their skills in evidence-based, patient-centered medication management, and to perform pharmacy practice research that is presented at ASHP’s Midyear Meeting and at the Eastern States Residency Conference. Learning experiences are offered in the following areas:

Administration
Ambulatory Care
Cardiology
Community Outreach
Critical Care
Drug Information
Emergency Medicine
Research
Medication Safety
General Hospital Pharmacy
Hospital Dispensing/Staffing
Infectious Disease
Internal Medicine
Oncology
Pediatrics
Perioperative Services
Transplant

As of 2023, each RWJBarnabas Health Facility offers the following number of PGY1 pharmacy residency positions per year:

As of 2023, each RWJBarnabas Health Facility offers the following number of PGY2 pharmacy residency positions per year:

Behavioral Health Center: One – Psychiatry
Community Medical Center: One – Critical Care
Corporate Pharmacy: One – Ambulatory Care
Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center: One – Geriatrics

Additionally, the following sites serve as primary training locations for the listed Rutgers University PGY2 Programs:

Monmouth Medical Center: One – Neuropsychiatric
RWJUH New Brunswick: Two – Emergency Medicine
RWJUH New Brunswick: Two – PGY2 Medication-Use Safety and Policy Residency
Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center: One – Pediatrics

RWJBarnabas Health has made a substantial investment to the education of future pharmacy
practitioners by expanding the residency programs throughout the health system. The graph below highlights
the historical milestones of our program.

RWJBarnabas Health Pharmacy Residency Growth