Health System Pharmacy Administration and Leadership Residency

Thank you for your interest in our 2-year combined PGY1/PGY2/MS health-system pharmacy administration and leadership residency program. Our program is designed to provide a strong clinical experience and equip graduates with the essential leadership skills necessary to assume high-level managerial, supervisory and leadership responsibilities throughout their career.

The health system pharmacy administration and leadership residency program at The University of Kansas Health System was established in 1969 by Harold N. Godwin. Since that time, we have graduated 150 HSPAL residents, some of whom have gone on to establish their own HSPAL residencies in health systems across the country.

The University of Kansas Health System HSPAL Program Specific Manual

PGY1 residency programs build upon a 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 2 (PGY2) residencies.

PGY2 residency programs build upon a 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.

PGY1 learning experiences:

PGY1 Selective options

• Acute care selective:
• Cardiology
• Internal medicine
• Specialty acute care:
• Adult hematology/oncology
• BMT
• Cystic fibrosis
• Neonatal ICU
• Neurology
• OR/surgery
• Pediatrics
• Pulmonary hypertension
• Psychiatry
• Rehabilitation
• Solid organ transplant
• Ambulatory care selective: See PGY2 Ambulatory Pharmacy Residency for specific clinic options
• Comprehensive care clinics: Pharmacist evaluates complete patient, not specific disease or medication
• Primary care clinics: Pharmacist-led medication management services; patients referred by providers
• Specialty care clinics: Pharmacists focus on specialized diseases and medications

PGY2 learning experiences:

*The learning experiences scheduled during Thanksgiving and midyear will be lengthened by 1 week from listing.

Brief learning experience description:

• Administrative longitudinal management track: This experience is designed for the resident to become oriented to their assigned area in order to complete the learning objectives and goals associated with the longitudinal learning experience throughout the PGY2 year. Administrative longitudinal management track experiences vary year to year based on interests of the resident and department needs. Examples of past longitudinal tracks include inpatient clinical, inpatient operations, ambulatory, cancer care and pharmacy informatics. Learning objectives include:
• Serve as the direct supervisor for a group of employees
• Create agenda, record minutes and lead team meetings
• Manage all human resources-related activities including performance evaluations
• Coordination of track-specific duties within the residency program
• Facilitation of projects in cooperation with the management-track preceptor
• Completion of longitudinal implementation project
• Longitudinal service commitment: Residents are required to complete a longitudinal service commitment experience throughout the residency year. This experience includes training in the longitudinal area during administrative longitudinal management track experience followed by weekend and holiday staffing.
• Pharmacy informatics: Residents will gain basic understanding of the language and concepts of information technology (IT), thereby equipping the resident to function in the interdisciplinary environment of informatics project teams to advance the professional duties and responsibilities of a pharmacy informatics specialist. The rotation also provides exposure to Health Information Technology Services (HITS), its daily activities, policies and procedures, and management.
• Acute care management: This rotation will provide experiences to develop an understanding of clinical services management, medication distribution systems and process, sterile and nonsterile compounding, perioperative pharmacy services, formulary management, employee engagement, change management, professional relationship development and leadership principles within a large academic medical center. The resident will become familiar with a variety of leadership roles and responsibilities through active participation in committees, meetings and projects. The resident will develop leadership and pharmacy management skills in an academic medical center and will develop a strong foundation in clinical pharmacy services through experiences in clinical management, medication distribution systems and processes, formulary management, information technology, medication management and employee education.
• Ambulatory and specialty pharmacy services: This experience is intended to provide residents with the opportunity to experience and understand ambulatory clinical services management, operations management and the business of specialty and retail pharmacy. Residents will have an opportunity to collaborate with ambulatory leaders throughout the rotation on various projects. They will also have the opportunity to learn how the ambulatory pharmacy department communicates with executive leadership at an academic health system.
• Pharmacy supply chain and system support: The experience is designed to provide the resident with exposure to financial analysis as it relates to the economics of a health-system based pharmacy. Specifically, this includes a review of pertinent financial statements, analysis of contractual opportunities, budget preparation and compliance, and review of contract compliance. Other activities include exposure to inventory management techniques, backorder/shortage management, and interaction with pharmaceutical industry representatives. Additionally, residents will work with the various members of system support team to develop understanding of strategic pharmacy system support and improvement. Residents should expect small, introductory projects within those focused learning opportunities as well as at least one opportunity to implement a system-wide pharmacy change.
• Cancer care, infusion and investigational drug services: This experience is designed to provide the resident with exposure to pharmacy leadership in the care of cancer patients involving a continuum of care from the inpatient to outpatient setting. In addition, the rotation involves the care of non-oncology infusion and research patients. The resident will gain exposure to similarities and differences in pharmacy practice in these areas compared to the acute hospital setting. Daily operations involve sterile compounding with a focus on hazardous drugs and clean room maintenance to assure timely patient care.
• Pharmacy executive leadership: This learning experience is designed to provide HSPAL residents the opportunity to spend time with senior pharmacy leaders and the vice president of Health Professions. The resident will have a variety of experiences related to pharmacy and outside of pharmacy within their preceptor’s service lines.
• Administrative elective learning experience: Residents will have an opportunity to complete an elective learning experience in an area of their choice. Residents are encouraged to select a learning experience that affords them experience in the area in which they wish to pursue a career. Learning experience descriptions will be developed when the elective is determined, but the following are available: acute care central automation and distribution management, regulatory and compliance, cancer care operations and continuous improvement in healthcare leadership.
• Master’s research: Residents are required to complete a master’s research project for both residency and master’s coursework requirements. Research days are scheduled throughout the residency year and include Academic Fridays. See page 14 for more information on residency research.

• Rick Couldry, RPH, MS, FASHP, vice president of pharmacy and health professions
• Sarah Daniel, PharmD, MS, BCPS, senior director of ambulatory pharmacy services
• Kat Miller, PharmD, MHA, DPLA, FASHP, senior director of acute care pharmacy services
• Leigh Anne Scott, PharmD, MBA, senior director of cancer care and infusion pharmacy services
• Chris Loucks, PharmD, MS, director of pharmacy supply chain

Resident presentations

PGY1 residents follow the PGY1 program structure for presentations.

• Grand rounds: 45-minute presentation in first half of the year
• CE grand rounds: 60-minute presentation in second half of the year with CE credit
• Leadership topic discussion: 45-minute resident facilitated discussion

PGY2 year

• The resident is required to conduct one 45-minute presentation during the PGY2 residency year for pharmacy department leaders. The presentation will take place as scheduled by residency leadership. The resident will select their own topic, but it must be relevant to pharmacy leadership.

PGY1 and PGY2 year

• The resident is required to present a poster presentation for their PGY1 or master’s research.
• 20-minute oral practice presentation of PGY1 or master’s research at HSPAL RAC.
• 20-minute oral presentation of PGY1 or master’s research at selected residency conference.

General presentation objectives

• Demonstrate a thorough knowledge for topic presented.
• Compose, present and communicate information that is brief, well-structured and error-free.
• For clinical presentations:
• Analyze patient cases for pertinent pathophysiologic processes, pharmacotherapy and drug-related problems
• Interpret drug response and evaluate risk/benefit in patient cases
• Identify controversial issues involved in patient cases and develop a therapeutic plan
• Apply critical literature evaluation skills to medical literature

Residents will earn a Master of Science in pharmacy practice from the University of Kansas as part of the residency program. A minimum of 30 hours of coursework is required to be completed during the 2-year residency. Classes are taught through the Health Policy and Management Department, College of Business, College of Pharmacy and by administrators in the pharmacy department. The majority of classes take place during the evenings to avoid interference with clinical learning experiences. Graduate student tuition is paid for by The University of Kansas Health System. Residents who drop classes after the drop/add period in which no refund is awarded by The University of Kansas may be required to reimburse the health system. Similarly, any tuition reimbursement refunded to a resident must be forwarded on to the health system.

Residents are required to complete research projects throughout the 2 residency years. Residents will have 3-4 weeks dedicated to research each year as well as Academic Fridays to ensure dedicated time to work on research projects.

Academic Fridays

• Occur every 2nd and 4th Friday of the month starting in August of PGY1 year
• Academic Friday content:
• Research project time including project meetings
• HSPAL RAC attendance
• Advanced Institutional Pharmacy Services (AIPS) class (may be scheduled on other dates pending instructor availability)
• 1:1 meetings with residency leadership
• HSPAL Team meetings
• Residents are expected to utilize Academic Fridays to minimize time away from learning experience due to research and other HSPAL obligations, especially during the PGY1 year.

PGY1 Projects

Reversed research model: PGY1 residents participate in leading 2 research projects throughout the year. Through the reversed model, PGY1 residents complete data collection/analysis and develop a poster and manuscript in the first 6 months of the program for a research project that was developed by a previous PGY1 resident. Starting in January of the residency year, PGY1 residents will develop a research question and design a research project by the end of the residency year that will be passed to the incoming PGY1 class.

Master’s project requirement

During the program, residents are required to complete a longitudinal project that suffices the master’s project requirement of their coursework. This project must be in alignment with the strategic goals for the department and organization and allow the resident to contribute to an area of pharmacy practice. The resident will be required to prepare a manuscript with intent to submit to a peer-reviewed journal.

Length of program:

24 months

Number of positions:

6 (3 PGY1, 3 PGY2)

Longitudinal service commitment: Weekends/holidays (8-hour pharmacist shift)

PGY1:

• First ½ of the year through December/holiday block: every other weekend on acute care pharmacist team
• Second ½ of the year starting in January (after holiday block):
• Every 4th weekend in retail pharmacy
• Evenings: 5-hour shift every other week in retail pharmacy (to be self-scheduled to ensure no overlap with MS coursework
• 3 holidays throughout residency year

PGY2:

• Every 4th weekend
• Staffing area determined by administrative longitudinal management track assignment
• 1 major or 2 minor holidays throughout residency year

Current benefits

• Annual salary
• PGY1: $52,000
• PGY2: $56,000
• Benefits include PTO, paid holidays and health/dental/life/liability insurance
• View more information

Conference attendance and travel

Conference attendance and travel is supported by the department based on availability of funds.

Additional pharmacy education and leadership opportunities

• Chief resident
• Precept pharmacy students from University of Kansas School of Pharmacy and University of Missouri Kansas City School of Pharmacy.
• Participate in local and national pharmacy organizations such as GKCSHP, KCHP, ASHP and ACCP.
• University of Kansas School of Pharmacy offers a teaching certificate for local residents.

Informational sessions

• Please see our social media pages below for virtual informational sessions
• Instagram: @tukhspharmres
• Facebook: @tukhspharmres
• LinkedIn: Pharmacy Residency at The University of Kansas Health System

Deadlines

• Application deadline: January 2, 2026
• Must have a valid pharmacy license in the state of Kansas 90 days after starting residency.

Checklist for application

• Letter of intent
• Curriculum vitae
• Pharmacy school transcripts
• 3 letters of recommendation: A letter from someone who has witnessed your leadership ability (administrator, boss, advisor) is encouraged.
• Supplemental materials as outlined in the ASHP residency program directory
• PhORCAS residency program application
• ASHP resident-matching program registration

Important dates after completion of match process

• June: Annual resident's meet-and-greet event and orientation

National matching services (NMS) code: 180718

We are an equal employment opportunity employer without regard to a person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation), national origin, ancestry, age (40 or older), disability, veteran status or genetic information.