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Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital is a 408-bed facility located in Winfield, Illinois. It is one of 10 Northwestern Memorial Healthcare Corporation hospitals, and it is the second largest hospital after the downtown campus. It is a Level II Trauma Center and one of the first medical centers in Illinois to earn the Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center designation. Central DuPage Hospital is one of the top regional destinations for oncology, neurology, pediatrics and cardiovascular care. The hospital has also achieved Magnet^® recognition, the gold standard for excellence in nursing care. In addition, Central DuPage Hospital received grade A from the Leapfrog Group, indicating the highest rating for safety practices. Our affiliation with Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago provides access to more than 140 Lurie Children’s board-certified pediatric specialists, allowing for comprehensive pediatric care.

The pharmacy department at Central DuPage Hospital is an integral part of patient care. Every pharmacist in our department has both clinical and operational responsibilities. Clinical pharmacist coverage spans over all shifts, which allows for a continuous patient care.

Our pharmacists are members of interdisciplinary teams including:

• Internal medicine
• Infectious diseases
• Hematology/oncology
• Emergency medicine
• Critical care
• Pediatric and neonatal care

Our pharmacists provide the following clinical services:

• Warfarin and heparin dosing
• Aminoglycoside and vancomycin dosing
• Parenteral nutrition
• Admission medication histories and reconciliation
• Discharge medication review and counseling
• Preoperative antibiotic surgical prophylaxis ordering
• Antimicrobial stewardship review
• Oncology services (inpatient and outpatient)
• Cardiac arrest, stroke, trauma and Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT)

Pharmacy practice residency graduates will:

• Learn to be a confident practitioner with the expertise, professional judgment and values of an experienced clinician.
• Develop problem-solving skills in a variety of practice areas.
• Exert a unique professional influence to obtain goals in the patient's best interest.
• Understand the importance of evidence-based medicine.
• Learn how to critique and apply literature and design, including how to execute studies to solve relevant pharmacy-related issues.
• Be dedicated to personal education and to the education of others to improve the safety of medication use.
• Serve as a leader in developing pharmacy practice.
• Serve as a preceptor to both Introductory to Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) students.

The purpose of the residency program at Central DuPage Hospital is to build upon Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) education and outcomes to develop pharmacist practitioners with knowledge, skills and abilities as defined in the educational competency areas, goals and objectives. Residents who successfully complete the PGY1 residency program will be skilled in diverse patient care, practice management, leadership and education, and be prepared to provide patient care, seek board certification in pharmacotherapy (i.e., BCPS,) and pursue advanced education and training opportunities including postgraduate year two (PGY2) residencies.

The program begins with a four-week Pharmacy Practice orientation. Residents will review department policies and procedures, become certified in Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), and review key longitudinal responsibilities. Residents will also be trained to practice within the pharmacy department. In addition to the Pharmacy Practice orientation, there are nine required rotations and two elective rotations to complete throughout the year. Each rotation experience spans from three to five weeks, with the option of making certain rotations longitudinal experiences that extend over the course of the residency year.

During orientation, residents will coordinate preliminary rotation schedules with each other and the residency program director. Most rotations are offered throughout the year and residents have flexibility to change their schedule anytime during the residency. It is our goal to customize the learning experience based on each resident's interests. Certain advanced experiences have prerequisites. For example, residents must complete the general oncology rotation prior to participating in ambulatory oncology rotation.

Team-Based precepting: Central DuPage Hospital operates as a team-based integrated pharmacy practice model. Each rotation has a designated primary preceptor who coordinates the rotation experience. Residents usually spend time with multiple pharmacists on the same clinical team throughout the month. Residents have the opportunity to experience different precepting styles and learn from more than one preceptor.

Layered learning model: Learning at Central DuPage Hospital is handled in a layered fashion, from attending level clinical pharmacist preceptor to resident to student. During some rotations, residents will have the opportunity to teach and mentor pharmacy students.

Evaluation: The Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program utilizes PharmAcademic to evaluate the progress of residents. Preceptors and residents are required to complete evaluations for each rotation experience. Residents also receive both formal and informal feedback from preceptors throughout the rotation. Finally, one-on-one quarterly progress discussions are scheduled with the Residency Program Director (RPD) and each resident.

Training Experience

Residents may complete required rotations at any time throughout the year with the exception of the Pharmacy Practice Orientation, which is always completed in July.

Required rotations include:

• Pharmacy Practice Orientation
• Internal Medicine
• Critical Care
• Infectious Disease/Antibiotic Stewardship
• Pediatrics
• General Oncology
• Emergency Medicine
• Transitions of Care
• Administration
• Drug Use Policy and Medication Safety
• Teaching and Precepting (longitudinal)
• Research (longitudinal)
• Staffing (longitudinal)

Elective rotations include:

• Neurocritical Care
• Ambulatory Oncology
• Outpatient Cardiology Clinic
• Ambulatory Care Clinic
• Advanced Antimicrobial Stewardship
• Neonatal Intensive Care

Residents will participate in either of two hospital committees throughout the year as needed. These committees include:

• Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee
• Antimicrobial Stewardship Subcommittee

Research: Residents are required to complete an independent research project with mentorship from clinical pharmacists and support from the Residency Advisory Committee. Residents can choose any research project proposed by a preceptor or define their own research question. Results of clinical research projects will be presented at a resident-specific spring conference.

Resident presentations: Residents are expected to give educational presentations to pharmacy staff, nurses, physicians or other clinicians throughout the residency year. Residents can choose any topic, including patient cases encountered during rotations, pharmacy hot topics and controversial grey areas of medical practice. Residents receive timely feedback from preceptors and the RPD.

Meetings: Residents will attend the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting, resident-specific spring meeting and the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists (ICHP) Annual Meeting. Residents will be reimbursed for registration and most expenses for these professional meetings. It also is not necessary for residents to use personal time off to attend these meetings. Residents are encouraged to attend other conferences of their interest. They can arrange for these opportunities with RPD and preceptors.

Required membership: Residents are required to be members of ASHP and ICHP.

Precepting opportunities: Each year, students from different colleges of pharmacy complete IPPE and APPE rotations at Central DuPage Hospital. Residents have ample opportunities to serve as an informal and formal preceptor to students throughout the year. The Central DuPage Hospital pharmacy department strongly promotes the layered learning model. Residents are expected to lead topic discussions and serve as a mentor for students.

Teaching certificate: Residents will obtain a teaching certificate from a local college of pharmacy in the Chicago area. We will introduce teaching certificate requirements during orientation.

The service component is an integral part of the development of a clinical pharmacist. Residents will staff two 8-hour shifts every third weekend (Saturday and Sunday) and one evening shift every week throughout the residency year.

Residents are required to work one major winter holiday during the residency year (Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s Day).

• Stipend: As above, paid biweekly; residents have the opportunity to work additional shifts at a pharmacist pay rate outside of their residency requirement.
• Vacation: The resident is allotted Paid Time Off (PTO) that is accrued at a rate determined by the Human Resources Department. PTO is accrued on a biweekly basis and cannot be used in advance of accrual. PTO encompasses both vacation and sick time (scheduled and unscheduled PTO, respectively). Prior approval by the RPD is required for scheduled PTO.
• Insurance: Residents will receive a comprehensive medical plan as a regular Northwestern Medicine employee. This includes prescription, dental and vision benefits.
• Workspace: All residents will have an individual workspace, computer and an internal mobile device. We also provide residents with a white coat and other office supplies.
• Library access: All residents have free access to online resources provided by Northwestern Medicine, which includes access to a large collection of medical journals.
• Extended leaves of absence: We understand emergent situations may occur during the residency year. Any resident requiring extended leaves of absence can discuss their circumstance with the RPD. All decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.

Eligible applicants include:

• Graduates or candidates for graduation of a Doctor of Pharmacy program from an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)-accredited school or college of pharmacy.
• Legal working status in United States to cover the entire period of residency training. We are unable to sponsor visas for residents.
• Eligibility for pharmacist licensure in the state of Illinois. Residents matched to our program shall obtain Illinois Pharmacist Licensure within 90 days of residency initiation.
• Hold an Illinois pharmacy technician license if not registered as a pharmacist in the state of Illinois prior to residency program start date.

All interested candidates should register with both the Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PhORCAS) and the ASHP Resident Matching Program. Complete the PhORCAS profile and submit the following items to PhORCAS directly:

• Curriculum vitae
• Letter of Intent
• Three letters of recommendation. Note that:
  • Reference letter writers should be preceptors, employers, professors or other professionals who can evaluate your skills and characters.
  • Reference writers should complete the standard reference form within PhORCAS. (We do not require additional narrative letters. Please do not mail or email separate reference letters to us as they will not be considered.)
• Pharmacy school transcripts

Application deadline: January 3, 2025