An Academic Multihealth System PGY2 Pediatric Pharmacy Residency Program.

We describe a novel multihealth system pediatric pharmacy residency program through the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University. Pediatric clinical pharmacy is a growing field that has seen an increase in demand for practitioners. Practice sites include freestanding children's hospitals, children's hospitals within adult hospitals, and pediatric units within adult hospitals. To accommodate a residency program in a region with no freestanding children's hospital, the pediatric faculty members at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University developed a multihealth system postgraduate year 2 (PGY2) pediatric pharmacy residency program with 6 pediatric faculty members functioning as preceptors at their 5 respective practice sites. The multihealth system setup of the program provides the resident exposure to a multitude of patient populations, pediatric specialties, and pediatric pharmacy practices. In addition, the affiliation with Rutgers University allows an emphasis on academia with opportunities for the resident to lecture in small and large classrooms, facilitate discussion periods, assist with clinical laboratory classes, and precept pharmacy students. The resident has the unique opportunity to develop a research project with a large and diverse patient population owing to the multihealth system rotation sites. A multihealth system PGY2 residency in pediatric pharmacy provides the resident a well-rounded experience in pediatric clinical practice, research, and academia that will enhance the resident's ability to build his or her own pediatric pharmacy practice.