Welcome
UCSF has long been nationally recognized as one of the founding fathers for clinical pharmacy services, which was established at UCSF in 1965. Graduating the first pharmacy resident in 1963, the UCSF Pharmacy Residency Program has a longstanding commitment to developing the leaders of tomorrow, and boasts an alumni of over 900 graduates. The UCSF Pharmacy Residency Program is sponsored by UCSF Health, one of the top 10 medical centers in the nations as recognized by U.S. News & World Report. The cornerstones of our training programs include an emphasis on innovative research, a commitment to teaching, and the promotion of interprofessional care delivery to a diverse patient population.
Pharmacy Enterprise
Vision
Leading value-drive, equitable healthcare in pharmacy practice
Mission
Provide safe, accessible and patient-centered medication therapy across the continuum of care
Our Teams
Business Services
- Finance
- 340B Program Management
- Data Analytics
- Procurement & Contracting
- Informatics, Automation & Technology
Regulatory & Compliance
- Medication Safety
- Regulatory
Ambulatory Care
- Ambulatory Care Clinics
- Specialty Pharmacy
- Investigational Drug Services
- Infusion Centers
Pharmaceutical Decision Support
- Medication Outcomes Center
- Pharmacy & Therapeutics
Acute & Institutional Services
- Owens Production Facility
- Central Pharmacies
- Satellite Pharmacies
Acute Care Clinical Services
- Adult Clinical Services
- Pediatric Clinical Services
- Code Response
- Transitions of Care
- Meds to Beds
Pharmacy Personnel
- 27 Pharmacy Residents
- 200 Pharmacy Technicians
- 200 Pharmacists (70% Board Certified)
Technology
- EPIC | Electronic Health Record
- Pyxis MedStation | Drug Dispensing Cabinet
- PLX | Inventory Management
Clinical Program
- Pharmacist Prescribing Privilege
- Renal Dose Adjustment
- IV:PO Conversions
- Dose Rounding
- Therapeutic Drug Monitoring
- Laboratory Orders
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Commitment
Our Commitment
Diversity, equity, and inclusion have been longstanding core values of the UCSF institution and residency program. We formalized our efforts with the UCSF Pharmacy Residency Diversity Council where residents have the opportunity to contribute. We are committed to training clinicians who are dedicated to building a broadly diverse community, nurturing a culture that is welcoming and supportive, and engaging diverse ideas for the provision of culturally competent education, discovery, and patient care.
UCSF PRIDE Values
Our values define us – how we work, learn, interact, and fulfill our mission.
UCSF PRIDE values are the cornerstone for everything we do and unite our faculty, students, researchers, caregivers, and staff in building a culture of collaboration that inspires us be our best today and in the future. The acronym PRIDE, stands for Professionalism, Respect, Integrity, Diversity and Excellence. These are important core values for everyone who works, learns, teaches and discovers at UCSF.
P - Professionalism: To be competent, accountable, reliable and responsible, interacting positively and collaboratively with all colleagues, students, patients, visitors and business partners.
R - Respect: To treat all others as you wish to be treated, being courteous and kind, acting with utmost consideration of others.
I - Integrity: To be honest, trustworthy and ethical, always doing the right thing, without compromising the truth, and being fair and sincere.
D - Diversity: To appreciate and celebrate differences in others, creating an environment of equity and inclusion with opportunities for everyone to reach their potential.
E - Excellence: To be dedicated, motivated, innovative and confident, giving your best every day, encouraging and supporting others to excel in everything they do.
UCSF Office of Diversity & Outreach
To learn more about UCSF's commitment to paving the way toward a more diverse, equitable and inclusive UCSF for all, visit the Office of Diversity & Outreach (https://diversity.ucsf.edu/).
Application & Interviews
Class of 2023
The UCSF Pharmacy Residency Program provides utilizes a Holistic Review strategy for our recruitment and selection practices. The AAMC defines Holistic Review as a flexible, individualized way of assessing an applicant’s capabilities by which balanced consideration is given to experiences, attributes, and academic metrics. These factors are considered in combination with how the individual might contribute to pharmacy practice and their embodiment of the UCSF PRIDE values (https://diversity.ucsf.edu/about/pride-values).
The supplemental essay and cover letter provide an opportunity to share challenges or constraints you've faced and what you've done to persevere. We are interested to learn more about your "distance traveled" - where you've come from to get where you are now.
Class of 2024
Resources
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Resident Stories
Through experiences at diverse rotation sites in San Francisco, residents in our program are exposed to the broadest possible range of patients and faculty, leading to an incredibly rich clinical experience.
Read the following interviews to learn what it's really like as a UCSF pharmacy resident:
Sarah Zeidat
Sarah is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants who instilled in her the values of community and education. She was born and raised in Houston, Texas, but spent almost every summer growing up in the Middle East. She attended the University of Houston for her pre-pharmacy coursework as well as pharmacy school where she continued to pursue her passions for social justice and diversity in healthcare.
As the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) Chapter Delegate, Sarah formulated and passed a resolution at the 2020 National Convention to bring Middle Eastern and North African health to the forefront of SNPhA’s mission. Sarah also established twice-a-year lectures provided by SNPhA members to middle and high school students at Houston Quran Academy on smoking cessation, diabetes, and mental health. She also spearheaded a study assessing COVID-19 infection and vaccination rates in the Middle Eastern community of Houston, Texas.
Outside of pharmacy, Sarah enjoys organizing for justice in Palestine, playing the Derbakkeh drum with the Aswat Middle East Ensemble in the Bay Area, and exploring the Bay’s restaurants and outdoors with their partner.
Lauren Tweedie
Lauren is a queer woman who spent most of her childhood near San Diego, California. She attended the University of California, Santa Barbara as an undergraduate studying physics, where she first began giving back to the queer and trans community, and came to UCSF to study pharmacy as a way of deepening her connection to her neighbors in the Bay Area through care work.
As a pharmacy student, Lauren was involved with the university's interdisciplinary transgender health elective, helping coordinate the course and mentor incoming students interested in gender affirming health under the guidance of the medical director of UCSF's Gender Affirming Health Program. Her experience with homelessness as an undergraduate inspired her to participate in the UCSF Pharmacy Homeless Clinic and to volunteer with local harm reduction organizations like the Homeless Youth Alliance.
Lauren hopes to continue working with the UCSF Gender Affirming Health Program as a resident through education to the student body and broader UCSF community, and to make gender affirming care for children and adolescents a part of her ongoing clinical practice. Her past research has focused on HIV and the accessibility of PrEP through state pharmacy law across the United States, and she continues her volunteer work with the local homeless community. She loves cooking for friends and loved ones, visiting local art galleries, and is never too busy for a dance party.
Chidinma Ahiarah
Chidinma is a first generation Nigerian-American and a third-generation healthcare worker. She is inspired by the legacy of her grandmother who worked as a nurse in Nigeria, and her mother who also was a nurse in Nigeria and in the United States before becoming a pharmacist. Passionate about health equity – Chidinma chose to pursue pharmacy as a means to close the gap between culturally competent care and underserved populations who have been systemically disenfranchised.
She was born and raised in Austin, Texas – and completed her pre-pharmacy requirements at Texas State University before obtaining her PharmD from Texas A&M’s School of Pharmacy. During her time at Texas A&M Chidinma served in a variety of leadership positions and strove to develop herself and those around her to be able to serve those around them and increase diversity in leadership. She also served on the National Board of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) as the National Mental Health Chair. During her tenure she created programs such as Black Mental Health Month – which drew attention to mental health disparities unique to Black Americans, connected SNPhA members to resources for community outreach, and educated pharmacy students on potential careers in psychiatric pharmacy.
As a resident, Chidinma invests her time in meaningful mentorship of other minority pharmacy students. She is also a member of the Residency Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee. Chidinma is hopeful that the future of pharmacy practice is moving in the direction of increased accessibility and cultural competency. She hopes to use her specialty training to continue to advocate for patients. In her free time Chidinma enjoys exploring Golden Gate Park, baking desserts, and listening to true crime podcasts.