Drug Information Residency Program
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Location Heading link
The residency is hosted by the Drug Information Group (DIG) within the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Pharmacy. The UIC College of Pharmacy is the #1 college of pharmacy in Illinois and the #7 college in the US ranked by US News & World Report. The DIG is an academic and consultative unit within the College and provides clinical support to various organizations. The goals of the Group are to provide evidence-based medical information, to enhance the skills of health care professionals through training and education, and to serve as a resource for health care professionals involved in patient care.
Program Information Heading link
The drug information residency is an unaccredited 1-year program, which provides flexibility in training a resident to pursue a career outside traditional hospital-based drug information practice. The goal of the residency is to enhance the resident’s clinical skills and expertise in:
– efficient retrieval and critical evaluation of the biomedical literature
– communication of evidence-based information
– medical writing
– formulary management/prior authorization
– didactic and experiential teaching
Program
The drug information residency is an unaccredited 1-year program, which provides flexibility in training a resident to pursue a career outside traditional hospital-based drug information practice.
General
Purpose of residency
The purpose of the program is to prepare a resident to function as an advanced drug information practitioner in managed care, pharmaceutical industry, medical communications, or an academic environment.
Goals of the residency
The goal of the residency is to enhance the resident’s clinical skills and expertise in:
- efficient retrieval and critical evaluation of the biomedical literature
- communication of evidence-based information
- medical writing
- formulary management/prior authorization
- didactic and experiential teaching
- performing systematic reviews or drug information-related research
Key components:
Drug information practice:
The resident will participate in the delivery of drug information services to various clients of the DIG (eg, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical industry, managed care organizations, medical communication companies, and others). The residency offers an opportunity to complete on-site or off-site rotations tailored to the resident’s interests.
Teaching and learning:
The resident will contribute to didactic and experiential instruction of drug information-related materials to pharmacy students, residents, and other healthcare professionals. The resident will further develop teaching skills by precepting pharmacy students and other learners.
Publications:
The resident will have opportunities to publish articles within pharmacy journals and participate in scholarly activities.
Required elements:
- Drug information center coverage
- Completion of at least 1 formulary review
- Preparation of 2 publication-quality manuscripts
- Completion of at least 2 medical writing projects for Drug Information Group clients
- Preparation and presentation of a didactic lecture in the UIC College of Pharmacy curriculum
- Preparation and participation as a team-based learning/recitation facilitator
- Completion of the teaching certificate program
- Preparation and presentation of an ACPE-accredited seminar
- Co-precept pharmacy students and/or PGY1 residents
- Presentation of an effective poster at a national or state meeting
- Participation in the activities of the prior authorization and academic detailing units of the DIG
Beyond required elements, the program design is flexible in order for the resident to have further interest-based elective experiences in academia, pharmaceutical industry, medical communications, or managed care, including off-site rotations.
Training Site & Facility
Required Experiences (all located at the UIC College of Pharmacy)
- Drug information inquiries
- Medical writing
- Formulary management
- Pharmaceutical industry
- Teaching
- Research project
Elective Opportunities
- Academic experiential – UIC College of Pharmacy
- Academic detailing – UIC College of Pharmacy
- Clinical research – UIC College of Pharmacy
- Clinical informatics – Vizient
- Medical communication – Precision for Value
- Medication safety/pharmacovigilance – VA Center for Medication Safety
- Pharmaceutical industry – Astellas, Horizon
- Poison information – Illinois Poison Center
- Prior authorization – UIC College of Pharmacy
- Medication Policy – U of I Health
- Medication Safety (hospital) – U of I Health
- Additional elective experiences available based on individual interest
Preceptors
Faculty and Preceptor Information at the DIG:
Rachel Brunner, PharmD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Drug Information Pharmacist
Director, Drug Information Residency Program
Michael Buege, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Assistant Professor, Drug Information Pharmacist
Christie Denton, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Assistant Professor, Drug Information Pharmacist
Assistant Director, Drug Information Residency Program
Jessica Elste, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Assistant Professor, Drug Information Pharmacist
Patricia Hartke, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Assistant Professor, Drug Information Pharmacist
Heather Ipema, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Assistant Professor, Drug Information Pharmacist
Honey Joseph, PharmD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Drug Information Pharmacist
Laura Koppen, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Assistant Professor, Drug Information Pharmacist
Courtney Krueger, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Assistant Professor, Drug Information Pharmacist
Faria Munir, PharmD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Drug Information Pharmacist
Ryan Rodriguez, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Associate Professor, Drug Information Pharmacist
Katherine Sarna, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Assistant Professor, Drug Information Pharmacist
Rita Soni, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Assistant Professor, Drug Information Pharmacist
Current Residents
- 2022 – 2023 Justyna Fydrych, PharmD
History
Since 1969, over 300 pharmacists successfully trained in our ASHP-accredited first-year post-graduate residency program. In addition, we have graduated over 100 individuals in our various specialized pharmacy residencies that encompass a wide range of specialties. Our diverse faculty, in combination with the numerous progressive practice sites, provides our residents with an experience like no other. Our residency alumnae hold prominent positions within pharmacy academia, industry, and professional organizations nationwide and are leaders in the world of pharmacy practice. We are proud of our tradition, our outcomes and our graduates and with the increasing expectations of the public and other health professionals to improve the lives of patients, we are confident that our residency programs will grow and develop to meet this challenge.
The drug information residency is a novel program led by DIG faculty and targeted towards pharmacists desiring to pursue a career in academia, pharmaceutical industry, medical communications, or managed care. The DIG has over 20 years of experience in training drug information residents with the majority of program graduates pursuing very successful careers in a variety of practice settings.
Past Residents
- 2000 – 2001 Huong Luu, PharmD
Pharmacist-in-Charge and Owner
CURA Pharmacy, Tustin, CA - 2003 – 2004 Carissa E. Mancuso, PharmD
Drug Information Clinical Pharmacy Coordinator
The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City, NY - 2009 – 2010 Irene Reilly, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Buffalo School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Science, Buffalo, NY - 2009 – 2010 Heather J. Ipema, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, Chicago, IL - 2010 – 2011 Sherilyn J. VanOsdol PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Staff Pharmacist
Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, San Luis Obispo, CA - 2011 – 2012 Lara K. Ellinger, PharmD, BCPS
Medication Safety and Drug Information pharmacist; PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program Director
Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL - 2012 – 2013 Michelle Bryson, PharmD, BCPS
Medical Information and Review Manager
Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Greater Detroit area, MI - 2012 – 2013 Shadi Ghaibi, PharmD, BCPS
Formulary and Utilization Management Coordinator
Kaiser Permanente, Seattle, WA - 2013 – 2014 Aparna Reddy, PharmD, BCPS
Director of Pharmacy
HCA Healthcare, Conroe, TX - 2014 – 2015 Nicole Rashid, PharmD, BCPS
Currently: maternity leave
Previous position: Sr. Medical Information and Review Manager with Takeda Pharmaceuticals - 2014 – 2015 Carol Poskay, PharmD
Medical Information Senior Manager
Avexis, Greater Chicago area, IL - 2014 – 2015 Samantha Spencer, PharmD, BCPS
Drug Information Group Assistant Director; Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, Chicago, IL - 2015 – 2016 Katherine Sarna, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, Chicago, IL - 2015 – 2016 Patricia Hartke, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, Chicago, IL - 2016 – 2017 Laura Koppen, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, Chicago, IL - 2016 – 2017 Jasmine Shah, PharmD
Senior Scientific Associate
Precision for Value, Chicago, IL - 2017 – 2018 Kathryn Loeser, PharmD
Medical Information Manager
Horizon, Greater Chicago area, IL - 2017 – 2018 Elana Nelson, PharmD
Laboratory Instruction Coordinator/Instructor
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, Chicago, IL - 2018 – 2019 Amanda Gerberich, PharmD
Senior Clinical Pharmacy Writer
DynaMed, Philadelphia, PA - 2019-2020 Kaitlin Miles, PharmD
Academic Detailing Pharmacist/Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, southern IL region - 2020 – 2021 Rachel Brunner, PharmD
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, Chicago, IL - 2021 – 2022 Honey Joseph, PharmD
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, Chicago IL