PGY2 Specialized Residency: Critical Care

Welcome



Positions for the 2025-2026 residency year have been filled through early commitment.


 

Critical Care Resident Emily Sabour

Emily Sabour


Purpose

The UCSF PGY2 residency program builds upon Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) education and PGY1 pharmacy residency training to develop pharmacist practitioners with knowledge, skills, and abilities as defined in the educational competency areas, goals, and objectives for advanced practice areas. Residents who successfully complete PGY2 residency programs are prepared for advanced patient care or other specialized positions, and board certification in the advanced practice area, if available

Description

The critical care residency is a 53-week specialty residency that allows the resident to practice in a university-affiliated tertiary care, academic teaching hospital with 690 beds and five adult intensive care units on the main Parnassus campus. UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco, part of UCSF Health, are recognized by U.S. News and World Report as top 20 hospitals in the nation. We are a primary stroke center and have 24-hr cardiac catheterization labs. The program is affiliated with the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, a Level 1 trauma center, where the resident will have the opportunity for offsite rotation experiences. Additional off-site rotation experiences are available based on resident interest.

The focus of the critical care pharmacy residency is to develop specialty expertise in critical care clinical practice in a variety of intensive care settings, where the resident will serve as a key member of the interdisciplinary care team. Teaching is also an integral component of the program as UCSF Medical Center is closely affiliated with the UCSF School of Pharmacy (SOP). The resident will have the opportunity to teach Doctor of Pharmacy students in SOP courses, including a critical care pharmacotherapy elective, and to precept Doctor of Pharmacy students and residents on critical care rotations and in high fidelity critical care simulation labs. The resident will also have the option to complete teaching and research certificate programs.

Learning Experiences

Rotations

Rotation Schedule

At a minimum, each resident will spend two-thirds of their time involved in direct patient care activities. Residents must complete 7 core rotations and 2 electives. Longitudinal learning experiences are over the course of the entire residency year and they include research, teaching, a quality improvement project, and operational staffing.

Sequencing of Learning Experiences

Learning experiences are sequenced such that the resident completes onsite core learning experiences prior to electives and teaching focused learning experiences. Various electives are offered, including those off-site (UC Davis).

Core Rotations

  • Medical ICU (5-6weeks)
  • Surgical ICU (5-6 weeks)
  • Cardiac ICU (5-6 weeks)
  • Neuro ICU (5-6 weeks)
  • Emergency Medicine (5-6 weeks)
  • Trauma and Surgical ICU (5-6 weeks)
  • Clinical Teaching and Preceptorship (5-6 weeks)

Electives

  • Heart and Lung Transplant  (4-5 weeks)

  • Hematology and Oncology (4-5 weeks)

  • Infectious Disease (4-5 weeks)

  • Cardiac Pediatric ICU (4-5 weeks)

  • Pediatric ICU (4-5 weeks)

  • Burn ICU (4-5 weeks)

Staffing

Critical Care Resident Emily Sabour and Program Director Dexter Wimer

Operational Training

All residents receive comprehensive training in each of the operational areas during orientation, including formalized training in sterile compounding and aseptic technique. At the beginning of the residency year, residents are paired with an experienced preceptor who will oversee their operational staffing learning experience through the year and provide residents with feedback.

Staffing Areas

Operational staffing occurs longitudinally and takes place approximately every third weekend spanning throughout the residency year for a total of 16 weekends, in addition to one major holiday and two minor holidays. Residents staff in 2 areas:

Role Weekends
Emergency Department 4
ICU clinical/ ICU order verification 12

Research

Project Selection

The Residency Program Director collects project proposal submissions from clinical pharmacists for consideration as a resident research project on an annual basis in the Spring. Projects are reviewed for feasibility, appropriateness of timeline, potential value that may focus on clinical pharmacist services, quality improvement initiatives such as drug safety, optimal medication use, cost effective drug use, and efficient, safe and effective medication preparation, delivery and administration. The Residency Program Director will reach out to the residents in early summer to start discussion of project selection.

Research Training

PGY2 residents participate in the UCSF Research Certificate Program and will gain skills in: adhering to a research timeline, creating an appropriate study design and methodology, completing data collection and analysis and summarizing research findings. Residents are enrolled in the Designing Clinical Research course (or equivalent) that is part of the Summer Clinical Research Workshop. This interprofessional curriculum within the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics guides residents through modification of their research proposal and creation of a version suitable for submission to the UCSF Institutional Review Board. For projects requiring more advanced statistics, residents also receive support to work with the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) in order to complete analysis.

Residents participate in a research certificate whereby they attend structured research sessions throughout the year in guiding the successful completion of the research project.

Poster & Platform Presentations

All projects are of a scope suitable for publication. Projects are presented as posters at the UCSF Department of Clinical Pharmacy Spring Research Poster Session. They are also presented as posters at the Vizient residency session that precedes the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting in December. The final presentation occurs in spring as a platform presentation at the SCCM NorCal Spring meeting and UC Collaborative Conference in California (both usually in May). Final research project write up should be in a format suitable journal submission.

Examples of Previous PGY2 Critical Care Research Projects

Liz Staub Effect of restarting psychotropic home medications on ICU delirium
Dexter Wimer Effects of ACEI and ARB on GI Bleed in LVAD patients

Kristine Keller

Anti-Xa versus aPTT monitoring for heparinized patients with left ventricular assist devices

Krupa Bhatt

Effects of a clonidine taper on the incidence of dexmedetomidine withdrawal in patients being weaned off of prolonged dexmedetomidine infusions

Sue Lee

Impact of antipsychotic therapy on QTc prolongation in critically ill patients

Joanne Smith

Quetiapine for ICU delirium: continuation at transition of care

Kristine Widboom

Use of activated recombinant factor VII (rFVIIa) for major bleeding in adults undergoing cardiothoracic surgery

Teaching

Teaching Instruction

Teaching is a focus of the residency at UCSF, and residents receive a Teaching Certificate upon program completion if they complete the required elements of the program. The certificate recognizes the significant contributions and skills that are attained during the residency year. Residents receive training in teaching methodology, precepting and small group conference facilitation through a variety of educational seminars that are planned during the year.

Teaching Experiences

Teaching opportunities may include the following:

  • Precepting of PGY1, APPE, and IPPE students on clinical rotations and project-based work
  • Interprofessional education through ICU Noon Conference and other non-pharmacist lectures
  • Small and/or large group teaching
  • Course coordination of the high-fidelity simulation lab
  • Northern California Critical Care Journal Club webinar presentation

Code Response

Overview

PGY2 Pharmacy residents are integral members of the interprofessional emergency response care team. All PGY2 Pharmacy will become certified in Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), and receive hands-on code training. Residents respond to Code Stroke, Code Sepsis and Code Blue to ensure appropriate drug selection and administration, timeliness of medication retrieval and preparation, adjusting medication dosages and monitoring for response.

Simulation

The UCSF Residency Training Program has developed and implemented a longitudinal simulation curriculum for PGY1 Pharmacy residents to increase confidence and competence during various emergent situations. The program utilizes the Kanbar Center for Simulation and Clinical Skills, a high-fidelity simulation center within UCSF. Throughout the residency year, residents participate in 4 simulation lab sessions, each covering 4 cases. The clinical case scenarios become increasingly complex as the residency year progresses, and is intended to meet the advancing skill set of the residents. A clinical pharmacist content experts are invited to the sessions to lead the residents through a debrief of the simulation session and allow for discussion of advanced clinical topics.

Throughout the residency year, PGY2 resident will participate and then lead a total of 4 simulation lab sessions, each about 4 hours in length. The first session is an introduction for the PGY2 resident while the remaining three sessions is co-coordinated by the PGY2 resident. During the last session, PGY2 is responsible in writing a new case and also facilitating the debrief session.

 

Salary & Benefits

Salary

$74,000 annually, paid biweekly

Insurance

Medical/Dental/Vision Plan and Professional Liability Insurance

Vacation / Professional / Sick leave

All residents will participate in the UCSF Health Paid Time Off (PTO) program. Residents accrue PTO and Extended Sick Time (EST) based on the appointment type, number of hours on pay status, and years of qualifying service. Residents will earn approximately 21 days of PTO per year and approximately six days of EST. Additionally, residents receive 10 days of paid professional leave which may be used to attend professional meetings or professional job interviews. 

Travel Stipend

All residents are provided with a stipend to support travel, lodging, and registration fees for the purposes of professional conferences. The amount of the stipend is determined each year and may not cover all travel and registration expenses.

Additional Benefits

Residents will be provided with a stipend for departmental scrubs, a laptop, and access to the resident office workspace. Meal cards are provided with a value determined by the number of staffing hours assigned.

Application

General Information

Appointment

July 7, 2025 to July 12, 2026 (53 weeks)

Positions Available

PGY2 Critical Care (NMS 689452) - 1 position

Recruitment

This program participates in the University of California, System-Wide Early Commitment Process. 

The Residency Program Director, Program Coordinator and residents recruit potential residency applicants at the following events:

  • American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear Clinical Meeting
    • Residency Showcase
    • Personnel Placement Services (PPS)
      • Applicants are encouraged to participate in PPS if possible

Requirements

Requirements for Admission

Applicants must be eligible for licensure in California, posses a PharmD degree, completed or in the process of completing a PGY1 Pharmacy Residency program that is ASHP accredited, or in the process of accreditation (i.e. candidate or preliminary accreditation status).

Non-US and US Citizens from Foreign Schools of Pharmacy

Non-US citizens must be eligible to work and live in the US by obtaining an appropriate visa and must be eligible to work as a licensed pharmacist in California. We do not sponsor visas for foreign pharmacy residency applicants. Non-US and US citizens who graduate from a foreign school of pharmacy must first be certified by examination before the process of licensure in the US can begin. The Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Committee ™ (FPGEC®) certificate program operates under the auspices of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy®. The NABP® provides the FPGEC Certification Program as a means of documenting the educational equivalency of a candidate's foreign education, as well as the license and or registration to practice pharmacy. More information about this entire process is provided in these NABP® links: nabp.pharmacy.

How to Apply

  1. Match: All applicants must register for The Match – ASHP Resident Matching Program.
  2. PhORCAS: Applications will be accepted through PhORCAS (Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service), a web-based pharmacy residency application system. 
  3. Cover Letter: A cover letter describing why you decided to pursue critical care pharmacy, how a residency at UCSF will aid in your career, elements of the program that most interest you and how each element relates to your personal goals.
  4. Letters of Recommendation: We request a minimum of one (two is preferred) of your three references should come from a preceptor who you have worked with in a clinical setting, related to an APPE in acute or ambulatory care. The clinical preceptor should be able to comment on your scope of responsibility, total patient load, level of autonomy, clinical abilities, and organizational and time management skills. All 3-reference writers should use the standard PhORCAS template to submit their candidate recommendation. An uploaded letter of recommendation is optional and not required.

Interviews

Application Reviews

Each PGY2 applicant packet is screened and scored by members of the Critical Care team. Screeners assess the following: communication skills, clinical experience (breadth, performance, scope of activity), personal/environmental factors (maturity, confidence, motivation, and adaptability), and work experience, aggregate letters of recommendation, leadership/initiative, teaching (interest and/or experience), research (interest and/or experience), extracurricular involvement and academic performance. The screening score is used to determine if an on-site interview will be extended.

Interviews

The interview process is a full day which consists of panel interviews with program preceptors, a personal interview with a pharmacy administrator (if available) and a personal interview with the Residency Program Director. Applicants are also asked to present a 20-min PowerPoint presentation on a critical care topic.

 

Video

Contact

Dexter Wimer, PGY2 Critical Care RPD

Dexter Wimer, PharmD, BCCCP

Residency Program Director, PGY2 Critical Care
Residency Program Coordinator, PGY1 Pharmacy

Critical Care Clinical Pharmacist, UCSF Medical Center
Assistant Clinical Professor, UCSF School of Pharmacy

Education and Post-Graduate Training

Doctor of Pharmacy, Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY (2017)
PGY1 Pharmacy Practice, Stanford Health Care, Palo Alto, CA (2018)
PGY2 Critical Care, University of California, San Francisco (2019)

Contact

UCSF Box 0622
533 Parnassus Avenue
San Francisco CA 94143
FedEx only: use zip 94122
[email protected]

 

Claire Bainbridge, PGY2 Critical Care RPC

Claire Bainbridge, PharmD, BCCCP, BCGP

Residency Program Coordinator, PGY2 Critical Care
Critical Care Clinical Pharmacist, UCSF Medical Center

Education and Post-Graduate Training

Doctor of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco (2018)
PGY1 Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco (2019)
PGY2 Critical Care, University of California, San Francisco (2020)

Contact

UCSF Box 0312
505 Parnassus Ave, M39C
San Francisco CA 94117
[email protected]