BWFH’s commitment to training the next generation of caregivers continues with new residency program

Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital has a long history of training the next generation of caregivers while providing world-class healthcare to our patients. From our medical residents to our newly licensed nurses, new to practice staff can be found throughout the hospital, learning from seasoned colleagues. Soon, new graduates will also be found in the Pharmacy with the launch of the hospital’s PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency Program.

“For years we have taken students in their last year of pharmacy school and clinical rotations. It’s part of the students’ educational requirements, but it’s also a growth opportunity for our pharmacists to take on an educational role,” says Raul Santiago, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Infectious Diseases and Director of the PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program. “Our new residency program is the natural evolution of that same thought process, only we’re providing a higher level of training for people who have already completed their last year of pharmacy school.”

Santiago says the residents—the first of whom will join the team in July of 2022—will focus on quality improvement projects and increasing the pharmacy’s services while they learn the ins and outs of working in the hospital. “Our resident pharmacists will learn from our pharmacists how to function in this setting and offer a high-level of patient care. They will do this by gaining experience across a number of areas,” he says.

Director of Pharmacy Services Joshua Guerin, PharmD, MBA, says, “Post-graduate pharmacy residency training is similar to what physicians go through after completion of medical school. The program is very structured—divided into a series of four- to six-week rotations. Rotations include Emergency Medicine, ICU, Infectious Diseases, Administration, Informatics and Internal Medicine as well as several elective rotations for those who want to explore other areas.” Guerin will serve as preceptor for the residents’ Administration rotation.

At Mass General Brigham education is a core mission pillar, one that BWFH is proud to support. “We are thrilled to offer this opportunity to the bright young minds who will shape the future of our work,” says Santiago. “I very much look forward to welcoming our first cohort of residents this summer.”