PGY1 Community-Based Residency

Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy Services

Upcoming Recruitment Events

We will be hosting virtual informational sessions for candidates to learn more information about our residency program. These sessions will include a brief overview of our program and a question-and-answer session with the current resident and residency program director.  All candidates interested in the program are highly encouraged to sign up. Registration is required (see links below). 

Virtual Information Sessions (MS Teams Platform)

Showcase

We will also be participating in the following residency showcase events:

Residency Purpose Statement

PGY1 residency programs 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 PGY1 residency programs 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.

Program Description

This residency is a full-time program, with a minimum of 52 weeks long continuous enrollment, and is designed and structured to offer opportunities to develop skills and abilities to successfully practice as a pharmacist that include one or more of the following areas: chronic disease management, MTM services, prescription fulfillment, specialty pharmacy services, underserved-population primary care and clinic-based care. Training focuses on access, dispensing, adherence, and clinical counseling and management of a range of therapies in specialty pharmacy and chronic diseases.  Additionally, the program provides exposure to the fundamentals of pharmacy administration, research, accreditation, and quality improvement.  Research, education and teaching, pharmacy staffing, dispensing and operations, MTM, community care clinic and practice management are longitudinal learning experiences, while specialty pharmacy chronic disease management is experienced in extended block rotations. Community service along with health and wellness event participation is also a core component of this residency.

Program Setting

This residency is based in the Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy (VSP) at Vanderbilt University Hospital, a national leader in Health-System Specialty Pharmacy Practice. VSP holds both URAC and ACHC accreditation distinctions in pharmacy practice standards as well as being the home of many nationally Certified Specialty Pharmacists. There are 2 dispensing pharmacies this residency works with, The Vanderbilt Clinic Pharmacy which services walk-up prescription management and the Vanderbilt Integrated Pharmacy which services mail-order centralized prescription management with advanced pharmacy automation. The majority of our clinical pharmacists are decentralized and practice in an integrated health care team model located in over 15 provider offices which provide direct linkage to pharmacy care to our centralized state-of-the-art, cold-chain equipped fulfillment pharmacies. Additionally, the residency includes team based primary care in two settings: a population health setting with MTM management and a free care clinic for underserved patients with an on-site dispensary. This residency offers the opportunity to practice in a fully integrated clinical outpatient specialty pharmacy model which is an optimal environment to learn and participate in the pharmacists’ patient-centered care process as outlined by The Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners.

Learning Experiences

Program Details

Selected Specialty Pharmacy Publications

The PGY1 Community-Based resident will work with the Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy Health Outcomes and Research Team (http://www.vspoutcomesresearch.com/) on high quality and comprehensive quality improvement and outcomes research in health-system specialty pharmacy.  Here are projects from previous residents of our program.

Development and implementation of a laboratory monitoring dashboard to reduce treatment gaps in inflammatory bowel disease

Implementing a Specialty Pharmacist Led Vaccine Screening and Assessment Program for Biologic Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (bDMARDS) in an Integrated Outpatient Rheumatology Clinic

A cross-sectional analysis of persistence to disease-modifying therapies in treatment naïve and experienced patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis at a health-system specialty pharmacy

Our Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

The mission of VUMC Diversity & Inclusion is to intentionally integrate and utilize our diverse workforce at all levels of the organization to deliver on VUMC’s mission through the cultivation of teams reflective of our population, maximizing the potential of the organization and every individual. VUMC Office of Diversity and Inclusion

Application Information

Number of Positions: One
Approximate Residency starting date: June 30, 2025
Paid Time Off (PTO) including sick and holidays: 16 days
Estimated stipend - approx. $54,101  *info not verified

Application Requirements

Graduate of an ACPE Doctor of Pharmacy Program or have a Foreign
Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Committee (FPGEC) certificate from the 
National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP)
(The residency program is NOT able to sponsor visas for pharmacy residents.)

Pharmacist Immunization Delivery Certification
CV, Letter of Interest, Transcripts for Pharmacy Coursework
Three (3) letters of recommendation (minimum of two letters from clinical preceptors)
Ability to obtain pharmacist licensure in Tennessee by July 31 of the residency year applying for.

Applicants invited for an interview will be asked to give a 10-minute presentation
on a specialty pharmacy topic to the interview team.

Submit application in PhORCAS application portal by January 2 deadline.
ASHP Program Code: 54074.

Submit application in PhORCAS application portal

Contact Information

Cori Edmonds, PharmD, BCPS, CSP
PGY1 Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program Director
Telephone: 615.343.6593
Email: cori.edmonds@vumc.org
Department of Pharmacy  |   Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy Services
1211 Medical Center Dr. B131 VUH  |  Nashville, TN 37232-7610

Institutional Information

Private, non-profit hospital/clinic | Teaching/Tertiary/Integrated Health System Model
Specialty Pharmacist Staff = 76  |   Specialty Non-Pharmacist Staff = 70
Specialty Clinic Areas Served = 25  |   Average  Specialty Rx  Volume/Month = 10,200