More information and questions?
Hannah Palmer Russo, PharmD, BCPS
Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center
6720 Bertner Avenue; MC 2-230
Houston, Texas, 77030
Email: hpalmer@stlukeshealth.org
P: (832) 355-3114
F: (832) 355-4794
What is the Infectious Diseases Pharmacy
Fellowship?
The
Infectious Diseases Fellowship will combine infectious diseases clinical
practice and research in a two year program.
The fellow will be trained as a clinical practitioner in the St. Luke’s
Center for Antimicrobial Stewardship with patient care, monitoring, research,
and teaching components. The first year
will focus more heavily on clinical activities and progress into the second
year with an extensive research focus.
Research will be conducted in collaboration with expert faculty
researchers from the University of Houston College of Pharmacy.
What is the history of the residency program
at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center?
An
ASHP-accredited residency in hospital pharmacy was first initiated at BSLMC
(formerly St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital) in 1972. It continued for some time, producing many
graduates who have since assumed significant positions in all areas of the
country. Full accreditation for the new
program at BSLMC was awarded by the ASHP Commission on Credentialing in
September 1992. As of the fall of 2013,
we have had 62 graduates of the current program and six in training. Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center has several
other residency opportunities. We have a
post-graduate year 2 (PGY2) Critical Care Residency which was accredited in
2003 and has seventeen graduates and one in training. We also have a PGY2 Cardiology specialty
residency program started in July 2008 and received full accreditation
2011. Also in 2008, we established a two
year Infectious Diseases Fellowship in conjunction with the University of
Houston College of Pharmacy. We have had
five fellows complete the program. There
are currently two in the program. Most
fellows have stayed on to complete a third year. Lastly, we have a PGY1/PGY2 MS and Pharmacy
Administration residency in conjunction with the University of Houston
that was established in July 2009 and received full accreditation in 2011. We have had four graduates in the program and
two in training. In 2012, we expanded
the PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency to 6 positions. In addition, we added a PGY2 Solid Organ
Transplant Residency program, which has had two graduates, one in training and
received full accreditation in 2013.
How is the infectious diseases fellowship
offered at St. Luke’s?
The fellowship
is a full-time (2 years) program which requires a commitment of 40-48 hours per
week. The fellowship is conducted
through the accomplishment of formal learning objectives, consistent with the
accreditation standards of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
(ASHP). The program has an established
core of learning activities but may also be custom tailored to each resident’s
background, experiences, and personal goals for the program.
The start
date of the fellowship is around July 1st. Earlier or later start dates may be arranged
based on individual circumstances. Ample
time is given off to take the licensure exam if that is an issue. ID Fellows staff every third weekend and can
expect to cover one major and one minor holiday during the year, in addition to
a clinical practice rotation. Two weeks
of paid vacation are available during the year, and are given as additional pay
if not used.
Tell me more about “staffing experiences”.
We knew
you’d ask. Staffing experiences mean
that the resident will be dedicated to working as a clinical practitioner here
at BSLMC -- this is a critical component to the program as often times, this is
your first opportunity to be an independent Pharmacist. Residents complete their staffing component
through every third weekend assignments and a 4 week required rotation
(Clinical Practice). While staffing,
residents rotate through positions focused on patient centered services as well
as centralized prospective order review.
We believe that such staffing experiences are a very important part of
meeting practice residency goals and objectives and that the absence of such
experiences diminishes the resident’s growth and practice maturity in the
program.
It is our
belief that meaningful staffing experiences are absolutely necessary in the infectious
diseases fellowship. We are, after all,
focused on training competent practitioners who will provide pharmaceutical
care to acutely ill and critically ill patients. Staffing experiences gives the fellow the
opportunity to function independently as a practitioner by conceptualizing and
integrating accumulated experience and knowledge and transforming it into
improved pharmaceutical care for patients who are acutely and critically
ill. The absence of such experiences
diminishes the fellow’s growth and practice maturity in the program.
What is the stipend and what benefits are
included?
The current
stipend per year is $ 47,760. Fellows are entitled to the same benefits as
clinical pharmacists. St. Luke’s has a
“choice plan” for insurance benefits, with many options available to fit the
individual or family situation.
Baylor St.
Luke’s Medical Center allocates “benefit dollars” to employees, who then can
spend them on the benefits of their choice.
The allocation covers the needs of the individual employee, with payroll
deduction for increased individual coverage or family/dependent plans. Parking is provided for free at a remote
lot with access to Metro Transit (Metrorail) and free, air-conditioned shuttle
service at all hours.
Funded
meetings are the ICAAC and the Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists
annual seminar and Alcalde Southwest Leadership Conference. Presentations of projects are required to be
given at Alcalde; abstract submission is required for ICAAC.
The fellow has
dedicated desk space with access to a personal computer with all contemporary
software and printing. Full internet
access is provided, with e-mail services.
What
other opportunities are available with the Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center fellowship?
A major advantage
in taking the fellowship program at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center is its
location in the Texas Medical Center (TMC).
The TMC is the largest medical center in the world, and is more than
twice as large as the second largest medical center. It occupies over 500
acres, including twelve major hospitals representing over five thousand beds,
and has a large central medical complex.
It is home to nine academic institutions including two colleges of
medicine, two colleges of pharmacy, several colleges of nursing, dentistry, and
other medical disciplines. TMC is
adjacent to the Rice University campus and the Hermann Park/Museum complex of
the City of Houston. BSLMC itself is
home to the world renowned Texas Heart Institute®. The first human heart transplant in the United
States was performed here; more open heart surgical procedures have been
performed here than anywhere else in the world, and St. Luke’s has the largest
cardiac catheterization facility in the world.
Houston is the
fourth largest city in the nation and has an abundance of recreational
opportunities. Immediately to the south of
the Medical Center is the large Reliant Park complex, featuring Reliant Stadium
and the Astrodome Stadium. Evenings out
can include events such as the Houston Astros, Texans, Rockets or Dynamo games. The beaches and attractions of Galveston
Island are less than an hour away. Other
activities include multi-cultural activities such as opera, the ballet,
symphony or musicals. In addition, there
are many places to eat and try new foods.
What about the Department of Pharmacy?
The
Department of Pharmacy at St. Luke’s consists of approximately 180 staff
members, of which nearly 100 are pharmacists.
All contemporary services are provided.
We emphasize being a “pharmacist-centered pharmacy in a patient-centered
hospital.” Our distribution model uses
unit based automation with decentralized clinical pharmacy services. We have automated carousels and automated
repackaging in Central Pharmacy.
Pharmacy Services are available 24/7 in Central Pharmacy. We have four pharmacy satellites in the operating
room (OR), Cardiovascular OR, Outpatient OR Satellite, and Emergency Department
Satellite.
The hospital
itself has 850 available beds, of which 157 are intensive care. It has forty-four operating rooms and ten
cardiac catheterization labs.
What is desired in an applicant for the Baylor
St. Luke’s Medical Center Fellowship?
We are looking
for a mature individual who has made a career decision to become a leader in
health-system or institutional pharmacy.
The candidate must be prepared to make a serious commitment to
satisfactorily complete all requirements of the program, as planned in
advance. This commitment includes
attendance at required meetings, programs, presentations and trips, and the
availability and willingness to participate in any function of the Department
of Pharmacy on a 24-hour basis. The fellowship
is tailored to each individual, and regular evaluations of accomplishment must
be satisfactory. This is a mature
program for mature individuals who are serious about the profession as a
lifelong career, and cardiology as a specialty practice. Applicants should hold the PharmD degree and
complete an ASHP-Accredited PGY1 Residency in Pharmacy Practice prior to
starting the Specialty Residency. Texas
licensure is a mandatory requirement.
How does one apply and what about
interviews?
Our
application procedures are described on a separate document but include a
curriculum vitae, college transcripts (if less than five years
post-graduation), letters of recommendation along with the ASHP-developed
recommendation form and completion of a professional and career assessment
cover letter. A previous
ASHP-Accredited PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency, or comparable career
experiences, is a prerequisite for the program. The application deadline is January 5th
An on-site
interview is considered very important and is required for a complete
application. All applications will be
screened by our Residency Advisory Council, and all applicants chosen for
interview will be contacted by the end of January. The on-site interview is generally a full
day, and will include a fifteen minute presentation on an ID
pharmacy/pharmaceutical topic of your choice to a group of
pharmacists. You will interview with two
groups of Clinical Coordinators and Pharmacy Executives as well as
Residents. The last date for interviews
is normally one week before the ASHP match list submission date. Financial assistance for the on-site
interview is not available, but we will work with you in any way we can to
reduce expenses.
