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Residency Project Guidelines and Policies

CPRB 2.2.2.5: There shall be a defined process for initial selection, ongoing review, and support of the residency project.

CPRB 3.5.4: The resident shall demonstrate scholarly writing skills. 

CPRB 3.6.1.2.3: The resident shall be involved in project development, data collection, analysis and interpretation; the resident shall prepare a written report of the project in a format suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal; the resident shall present and defend the outcomes of the project.

 

Project Suitability Criteria

Research projects meeting the following criteria will be considered for potential residency projects:

  1. The Principal Investigator for the project is an Interior Health pharmacist
  2. The project has the potential to meet all of the relevant CPRB Standards and Requirements as listed above
  3. The project can be completed within a 10 month time-frame, in addition to all of the other requirements of the residency program
  4. The project is of value to patient care, the pharmacy department, hospital, health authority and/or the pharmacy profession
  5. The project aligns with one or more of the following research themes, as outlined in the Interior Health Pharmacy Services Research Framework:   
  • Innovation in pharmaceutical care delivery across Interior Health
  • Prioritizing clinical pharmacy services to optimize value across Interior Health
  • Supporting clinical pharmacists' professional practice across Interior Health
  • Creating, sustaining and increasing quantity/quality of pharmacy experiential rotations and other teaching across Interior Health
  • Determining/promoting/optimizing evidence-based best practices in pharmacotherapy across Interior Health
  • Interprofessional research related to medication management and pharmacotherapy
  • Patient and family-centred research related to medication management and pharmacotherapy.
  • Reduce health care and health disparities in equity-deserving groups.

Please note the following:

  • The Interior Health Pharmacy Residency Program supports residency projects of a variety of methodologies and interest areas, provided they meet the above criteria.  This includes, but is not limited to, retrospective chart reviews, prospective studies and systematic reviews and research studies that pertain to issues in clinical practice, pharmacy practice or pharmacy operations.
  • In general, research projects that require external funding are not suitable for residency projects.  Submitting applications for funding is beyond the scope of the residency project due, in part, to the strict timelines that must be adhered to.   

Project Solicitation, Evaluation and Approval Process

  1. The process for solicitation, evaluation and approval of residency project proposals will be coordinated by the Pharmacy Research Director in consultation with the Program Coordinator.
  2. The Pharmacy Research Director will host a Research Incubator meeting in February.  This meeting is an opportunity for pharmacist researchers to put forward residency project ideas for discussion and to solicit feedback in an informal, collaborative and collegial setting.
  3. In March, the Pharmacy Research Director will send out a call for residency project proposals from IH pharmacist researchers.
  4. Pharmacist researchers will complete a project outline to provide an overview of their residency project proposal for consideration by the Pharmacy Research Director and Program Coordinator.
  5. The Pharmacy Research Director and Program Coordinator will host an Annual Research Half Day in the Spring.  This meeting is attended by pharmacist researchers.  Project proposals will be reviewed, discussed and evaluated at this meeting.  In advance of attending this meeting, the pharmacist researchers will complete an assessment of each project proposal using the FINER criteria using an electronic survey.  The results of the assessment will be provided to the pharmacist researcher who put forth the proposal and are discussed as feedback at the meeting.
  6. The pharmacist researcher will take the feedback from the Annual Research Half Day and finalize their project proposal for submission.
  7. The Pharmacy Research Coordinator and Program Coordinator will review and discuss each project proposal to ensure that it meets the Project Suitability Criteria and aligns with the Interior Health Pharmacy Services Research Framework. 
  8. Final project proposals will then be made available to the residents.

 Resident Project Selection Process   

  1. The residency project proposals will be posted in advance of the first day of the Program for review by residents during their Program Orientation Rotation.
  2. During the Program Orientation Rotation, the residents will have the opportunity to meet with potential project preceptors to learn more about their proposed residency projects.
  3. At the end of the Program Orientation Rotation, the residents will submit to the Program Coordinator a list, ranked in-order of preference, of all project proposals.
  4. The Program Coordinator will then match the residents to the projects as per the criteria below and will notify the residents and project preceptors immediately thereafter.  The Program Coordinator will enlist input from the Pharmacy Research Coordinator during the matching process, as required.
  5. After receiving notification of the match, it is expected that the residents and project preceptors will immediately begin work on their projects.
  6. The following criteria will be used when matching the residents and projects: (a) the project preferences of the residents, (b) project distribution amongst preceptors.

Residency Project Objectives

By the end of the residency year the resident will:

  1. Refine a pharmacy practice problem to be studied (CPRB 3.6.1)
  2. Develop a study protocol (CPRB 3.6.1)
  3. Collect study data (CPRB 3.6.1)
  4. Analyze study data (CPRB 3.6.1)
  5. Interpret study results (CPRB 3.6.1)
  6. Compose a written study manuscript suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal (CPRB 3.6.2)
  7. Explain and defend the results and outcomes of the project (CPRB 3.6.3) 

Required Activities and Expectations of the Resident

  1. Upon receipt of the matching results, the resident will contact the project preceptor to begin work on the project.
  2. The resident will use all scheduled project weeks wisely to work on their project.  In addition, the resident will work on the residency project at other times throughout the residency year, as required, to complete the required project activities and to meet deadlines.  This work should not detract from their other residency rotations and activities and will require time management and planning to ensure that deadlines can be met.
  3. The resident will be actively involved in all aspects of the residency project, including: literature search, study design, protocol development, data collection, data analysis, preparation of results, poster preparation and poster presentation, writing of a manuscript suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. 
  4. The resident will present their project protocol to the department in October/November.
  5. The resident will present their final project results to the department in May/June.
  6. The resident will complete a slide presentation and poster for presentation at the BC Resident Research Night.
  7. The resident will submit a completed manuscript suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal to the project preceptor no later than four weeks after the end of the Program.  This manuscript will be of sufficient quality (i.e. not a first draft).  Because the resident is responsible for writing the first version of the manuscript for publication, the resident is usually considered to be the “first author”.
  8. The resident will submit a copy of their completed manuscript to the Program Coordinator to be stored in the resident's learning portfolio.
  9. The resident will complete an evaluation of the residency project preceptor at the end of the residency year.
  10. The resident will submit a copy of the project manuscript in the required format to their project preceptor for submission to the BC-CSHP Awards Program in August.

Responsibilities of the Program Coordinator

  1. In March of each year, Pharmacy Research Director, in consultation with the Program Coordinator will solicit residency project proposals from all potential project preceptors.
  2. The project submissions will be reviewed at the Annual Research Half Day, coordinated and led by the Pharmacy Research Director.
  3. The Program Coordinator, along with the Pharmacy Research Director will review all residency project proposals to ensure that they meet the project suitability criteria.  The Pharmacy Research Director or Program Coordinator may ask for clarification or revisions to the proposed residency project to ensure that the project meets the suitability criteria.
  4. The Program Coordinator will provide the residents with the residency project proposals prior to the start of the Program.
  5. The Program Coordinator will organize opportunities for the residents to meet with the project preceptors during the Program Orientation Rotation.
  6. The Program Coordinator, in consultation with the Pharmacy Research Director will match the residents to the residency projects.
  7. The Program Coordinator will provide the resident with support and guidance with regards to their residency project throughout their residency year.  This will involve regular discussions with the resident as to their project progress and also providing support and guidance with regards to project-related issues, time management, and presentation and poster development, ect.
  8. The Program Coordinator will support the project preceptor throughout the residency project process and will provide guidance and support if challenges arise to ensure that the resident can achieve the goals and objectives of the residency project.
  9. The Program Coordinator will organize an opportunity for the residents to present their residency project protocols to the department in October/November and will organize an opportunity for the residents to present their project results to the department in May/June.
  10. The Program Coordinator will ensure that the residents have access to the standard residency project slide and poster templates for all project presentations and for the BC Resident Research Night.
  11. The Program Coordinator will coordinate the printing of the residency project posters for BC Resident Research Night.

Responsibilities of the Residency Project Preceptor

  1. As the Principal Investigator for the project, the primary project preceptor is responsible for the general oversight and conduct of all aspects of the project, including all ethics and administrative processes that are required.
  2. The project preceptor is responsible for ensuring that the resident has every opportunity to meet to the objectives and requirements of the residency project.  This will require substantial guidance and supervision of the resident throughout the residency project process.
  3. The project preceptor will assist the resident in preparing their presentation and poster for BC Resident Research Night.
  4. The project preceptor will attend all project presentations delivered by their resident.
  5. The project preceptor will inform the Program Coordinator when they have received the completed manuscript from the resident.
  6. The project preceptor will complete a summative assessment of the resident at the end of the residency that will assess the resident’s ability to meet the intended objectives of the residency project.

Responsibilities of Pharmacy Research Director

  1. The Pharmacy Research Director and Program Coordinator will review all residency project proposals to ensure that they meet the project suitability criteria and may ask for clarification or revisions to the proposed residency project to ensure that the project meets the suitability criteria.
  2. The Pharmacy Research Director will aid in the residency project match process and will provide support and guidance to pharmacy research teams as required throughout the residency year. 

 

-Last updated June 12, 2023