The pharmacy practice residency programs are offered by the University of Southern California (USC) School of Pharmacy in conjunction with the LAC+USC Medical Center Health Network, Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, Huntington Hospital, Clinicare, Ralph’s Community Pharmacy, USC Campus Pharmacy, USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital, Keck Hospital of USC, Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, and various Community/Safety Net Clinics in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. PGY1 and PGY2 programs offered by USC Mann for the 2023-2024 residency year include the following:

Erin Yamanaka

What attracted you to the residency program at USC?

“At USC, pharmacists are able to practice at the top of their license and truly be independent providers, such as being able to initiate, monitor, modify and discontinue medication regimens, order labs/diagnostic tests and place referrals for other specialized care. Pharmacists at USC sites are valued as integral members of the healthcare team and have the autonomy to practice how they see is clinically fit. As a resident interested in ambulatory care, being able to have these types of clinical experiences was truly at the top of my list of why I wanted to choose USC.” 

Erin Yamanaka

PharmD ‘22 (UCSD)

PGY1 Pharmacy in the Ambulatory Care setting
Alison Flores

What has been your favorite part about your residency so far?

“Having a large group of co-residents outside of my immediate program and having the opportunity to interact with them on a weekly basis has been one of my favorite aspects thus far. It has been nice to have so many co-residents to lean on and support each other as we go through our residency journey.” 

Alison Flores

PharmD ’22 (USC)

PGY1 Pharmacy in the Ambulatory Care setting
Nisha Bhavsar

Do you have any advice to prospective residents thinking about relocating to California for their residency?

“Relocating to California for residency at USC is an opportunity I would not think twice about doing again. As an out-of-state resident, my advice is to take the opportunity to relocate if you can. Embrace your residency year, as it will go by so fast! When applying, reach out to current residents at the program for information about the best places to live, the commute to rotation sites, California licensure information, and lastly, all the fun things to do in town.”

Nisha Bhavsar

PharmD ’21 (Rutgers)

PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy

Postgraduate Year 1

Residents in this program will be trained in acute care pharmacy practice and teaching, while increasing their clinical skills through direct patient exposure. Residents receive extensive clinical experience in primary, secondary, and tertiary care settings. Through various rotations, residents refine their clinical skills, develop expertise as drug therapy specialists, and become proficient in running a de-centralized pharmacy operation. Residents will develop their teaching skills in both a clinical setting as well as in the classroom. Supplemental projects will aid in developing administrative, research, and analytical skills, in addition to improving the residents understanding of pharmacy practice in the hospital setting.

Clinical practice at Keck Hospital of USC

Opened in May 1991, Keck Hospital of USC is a modern academic center owned and operated by USC; staffed by the faculty of the USC School of pharmacy, and the Keck School of Medicine at USC. Keck Hospital of USC is a quaternary medical facility, ranked as the 21st best hospital in the nation by U.S. News & Report magazine in July 2010. Additionally, the hospital ranks in the top 50 in the nation for ophthalmology, pulmonology, orthopedics, neurology and neurosurgery, and gynecology. The hospital offers expertise and sophisticated medical technology, combined with a personalized approach to health care in a comfortable, caring environment.

Statistics at Keck Hospital of USC

The hospital has 401 beds dedicated as follows:

  • Medical/Surgical Acute Care: 307
  • Intensive Care/Coronary Care: 94

Visits per year:

  • Outpatient Visits: 69,571
  • Admissions: 8,317
  • Average daily census: 175

Clinical Practice at LAC + USC Medical Center

LAC + USC Medical Center opened a new state of the art hospital in 2008 with approximately 600 beds. The medical center is a Level 1 trauma service hospital, which provides medical and surgical care services in obstetrics, gynecology, pediatrics, general medicine, burn ICU, and a specialized level III neo-natal ICU. LAC + USC Medical Center also offers psychiatric services for adults, adolescents and children. LAC + USC is one of the leading resources for health training of physicians, pharmacists, and allied health care personnel in the United States.

Clinical based practice

The residency consists of eight 6-week long rotations. The program consists of the following rotations:

  • Pharmacy Operations management, with the opportunity to choose a variety of preceptors who work in different management roles.
  • Ambulatory care: Variety of options, including but not limited to, HIV clinic, cystic fibrosis clinic, primary care clinic, anticoagulation clinic, etc.
  • Introduction to Hospital Practice

Rotations at the hospital sites may include, but are not limited to, infectious disease (at Keck Hospital of USC and LAC + USC), medical ICU, cardiac ICU, liver disease and transplantation, neurology and neurosurgery, psychiatry, cardiothoracic surgery, pulmonary medicine, and oncology. The program  allows the resident to be flexible when setting their rotation schedule for the program year. Residents will work in close contact with the residency director, primary preceptors, and pharmacy staff to establish a schedule individualized to each residents’ interest.

For the resident with an interest in infectious diseases, there is an opportunity for the resident to track into multiple rotations at LAC+USC Medical Center which will provide the foundation to pursue a PGY2 Residency in Infectious Diseases or practice in infectious disease setting. The candidate can indicate this interest at the time of the application.

Teaching

Residents will serve as adjunct professors and are required to lead weekly Therapeutic Modules for second and third year students through the school of pharmacy. Each resident is given the opportunity to take an active participatory role in the case conference process by designing a case conference scenario, and providing a general overview of the topic to co-residents. Residents will also have the opportunity to earn their teaching certificate through providing classroom lectures, such as over-the-counter drugs, and ACLS training. Additionally, residents will act as co-preceptors for the fourth year pharmacy students while on their clinical clerkships. These opportunities will not only be beneficial for the students, as they seek out the residents’ expertise, but it will provide the necessary training for residents to hone their education skills in a teaching scenario, as well as clinical educators.

Research

Research classes and seminars are provided to residents. During the year, residents are required to:

  • Complete a residency project
  • Present the project’s findings at the Western States Conference for Pharmacy Residents, Fellows and Preceptors.
  • Submit a manuscript for publication prior to the end of the residency

Contact us

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact:

Kevin Forrester, PharmD
Program Director, USC Pharmacy Practice Residencies
Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
Keck Hospital of USC
1500 San Pablo Street
Los Angeles, CA 90033
Telephone: (323) 442-8584
Fax: (323) 442-8638
Email: kforrest@usc.edu

Lisa W. Goldstone, MS, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
Director of the Residency Programs
Program Director, Academic Pharmacy Fellowship
Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy
USC Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
1985 Zonal Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90033
Phone: (323) 442-1354
Email: lwgoldst@usc.edu

The purpose of the PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program at the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy is to build on the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) education and outcomes to contribute to the development of clinical pharmacists who are responsible for medication-related care of patients with a wide range of conditions, eligible for board certification, and eligible for postgraduate year two (PGY2) pharmacy residency training.

This program provides residents with comprehensive pharmacy practice training and focused experience in a variety of ambulatory care settings and prepares residents to:

  • Implement or advance outpatient comprehensive medication management programs in any setting including community/safety net clinics, government-run healthcare organizations, outpatient pharmacies, hospital-based clinics, remote telehealth programs, accountable care organizations and health-maintenance organizations by aligning organization needs with appropriate clinical pharmacy services and resources.
  • Serve as an adjunct professor in a school of pharmacy and progress towards joining the faculty of a school of pharmacy. Completion of this residency program will result in the development of skills in clinical practice, teaching (including a teaching certificate), and research, all of which are key elements of university employment.
  • Enter a PGY2 Residency Program or fellowship program to continue developing skills and knowledge necessary for specialty practice and related expertise.

Additionally, residents will learn to manage care transitions between inpatient and outpatient, while providing therapeutic recommendations to interdisciplinary teams in inpatient internal medicine service.

Graduates of the program have pursued careers in a broad variety of organizations including safety net clinics, government health care systems, community hospitals, teaching medical centers, private physician practice groups, managed care organizations, health-maintenance organizations, accountable care organizations, pharmaceutical industry, and academia.

Practice Settings 

Chronic disease state management training is acquired in a variety of unique training sites including: (1) Edward R. Roybal Comprehensive Health Center (ERRCHC), (2) Keck Medical Center of USC Internal Medicine Clinic, (3) Los Angeles County (LAC) Primary Care Clinic, Endocrine Specialty Clinic, Pharmacy, and Internal Medicine Inpatient Unit, (4) QueensCare Family Clinics (safety net), (5) Los Angeles County (LAC) Maternal Child and Adolescent/Adult Center (MCA) for Infectious Diseases and Virology, (6) Los Angeles County (LAC) Adult Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic, and (7) UCI Senior Health Center at University of California, Irvine (UCI) Medical Center. These sites expose residents to the challenges of managing high-risk patients with a complex set of chronic conditions. Residents will gain experience managing a broad range of chronic conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, asthma / COPD, heart failure, anticoagulation, HIV, pain management, psychiatric conditions, and cystic fibrosis.

Additional emphasis is placed on managing chronic illnesses for patients who cannot afford to pay for medical services or medication. Residents will learn to overcome challenging socioeconomic and cultural barriers. Our safety net clinics have been recognized by 3 national organizations for clinical pharmacy practice excellence (ASHP, APhA, AACP). Our program developed a tool that is being used nationally by healthcare organizations to track medication therapy interventions and describe the medication-related problems (including medication safety issues) identified and resolved by pharmacists. Residents in this program are consistently involved in the development and enhancement of clinical pharmacy services in new and established practice settings. Each year brings new opportunities for growth and practice expansion.

Required Learning Experiences

CLINICAL LEARNING EXPERIENCES

All residents in this program will rotate through LAC+USC primary care east clinic, pharmacy management, endocrine specialty clinic, MCA HIV clinic, Roybal community health clinic, and Keck ambulatory care pharmacy services clinic. Each clinical rotation is scheduled 1 to 4 days per week for 13 to 26 weeks, depending on the availability of clinics and individual resident’s schedule.

TEACHING LEARNING EXPERIENCES

All residents in the school program participate in teaching and educational activities every Thursday of the week for the entire residency year. These activities include:

  • Assisting faculty mentors with course coordination
  • Providing didactic lectures and conducting small group discussions for undergraduate and pharmacy students
  • Serving as a preceptor, role model, and discussion leader for students during IPPEs and APPEs

In addition, a teaching certificate is offered which requires specific teaching activities and evaluation of these activities. The teaching certificate offered by USC is consistent with national pharmacy education standards.

Resident Training Seminars

Residents in the USC programs receive expert training on a variety of important topics through weekly residency seminars. These seminars include:

  • Instruction on being an effective teacher and small group discussion leader
  • Research design and methodology, including presentation skills
  • Updates on recently approved medications or therapeutic controversies
  • Overview of healthcare reform initiatives and legislation and the impact of clinical pharmacy practice
  • Grantsmanship

RESEARCH LEARNING EXPERIENCES

Research classes and seminars are provided to residents to assist them in developing high quality clinical research projects. Residents and preceptors collaborate on the selection and development of their research project. During the year, residents are required to:

  • Complete a residency project
  • Present the project’s findings at the Western States Conference for Pharmacy Residents, Fellows and Preceptors
  • Submit a manuscript suitable for publication prior to the end of the residency

Elective Learning Experiences

Elective learning experiences are available both within USC and its affiliates. The included sites are as follows: LAC+USC Adult Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic, Keck Pain Clinic, Keck Cystic Fibrosis Clinic, Keck Travel Clinic, QueensCare Health Centers, and UCI Senior Health Center. Some of these elective learning experiences are embedded in the resident’s schedule based on the individual’s interest. Others that are not already included in the resident’s schedule can be added for 6 weeks in the latter half of the residency program up to 2 times.

Contact Us

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact:

Michelle Chu, PharmD, BCACP, APh
Residency Program Director
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
1985 Zonal Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90089-9121
Telephone: (323) 442-1556
Email: lee118@usc.edu

Lisa W. Goldstone, MS, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
Director of the Residency Programs
Program Director, Academic Pharmacy Fellowship
Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy
University of Southern California
USC School of Pharmacy
1985 Zonal Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90033
Phone: (323) 442-1354
Email: lwgoldst@usc.edu

Purpose

To build upon the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) education and outcomes to develop community‐based pharmacist practitioners with diverse patient care, leadership, and education skills who are eligible to pursue advanced training opportunities including postgraduate year two (PGY2) residencies and professional certifications.

Program Description

The Post-Graduate Year One (PGY1) Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program (CPRP) at USC Mann was established in 1999. It is one of the oldest and largest accredited community-based pharmacy residency programs in the nation.

Our program balances experiences in traditional ambulatory care, pharmacy operations, teaching, project management, and pharmacy administration. We offer unique perspectives on the practice of pharmacy and emphasize areas such as clinical practice, teaching, research and project management, collaborative practice development, entrepreneurship, leadership, and community service.

The mission is to develop pharmacists who are skilled patient care providers, educators, scholars and leaders in advancing the practice of pharmacy. Community-based pharmacy practitioners and advanced practice pharmacists are community-focused practice leaders capable of improving the health of patients within the communities they serve wherever health and medication needs arise.

Due to the broad range of experiences, our residents have obtained positions in academia, ambulatory care, community pharmacy management, pharmacy administration, and community pharmacy ownership.

Our program is a multisite program with primary practice site locations across the Los Angeles and Orange County areas:

When applying for the PGY1 community-based pharmacy residency program at USC Mann, you may apply to any of our sites when selecting your designations in PhORCAS. You will be charged only one fee from PhORCAS, even if you apply to multiple sites within our program.

About the Program

Practice Sites

In addition to the primary practice site, the resident will rotate through a variety of community and ambulatory care practice settings, such as:

  • 986 Pharmacy – Rosemead
  • CliniCare Pharmacy & Internal Medicine Offices
  • Community/Safety-Net Clinics
  • Edward R. Roybal Comprehensive Health Center
  • Keck Medical Center of USC
  • Keck Medicine of USC Specialty Pharmacy
  • Ralphs Corporate Division
  • Ralphs Pharmacies
  • UCI Senior Health Center/UCI Medical Center
  • USC Campus Pharmacies (USC Pharmacy, USC Health Center Pharmacy, USC Medical Plaza Pharmacy, and USC Verdugo Hills Professional Pharmacy)
  • USC Community & Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Clinics
  • USC International Travel Health Clinic
  • USC Medication Management Center (MMC)
  • USC Pain Center
  • USC Student Health Centers
  • Wynn Medical Center
Clinical Services
  • Compounding
  • Disease State Management
    -Anticoagulation, Diabetes, Dyslipidemia, Hypertension
  • Geriatric/Senior Health Care
  • Health and Wellness Screenings
  • Immunizations
  • Internal and Family Medicine
  • International Travel Health
  • Medication Management Services
    -Medication Therapy Management (MTM)
    -Comprehensive Medication Management (CMM)
  • Medicare Part D Enrollment
  • Medication Reconciliation
  • Pain Management
  • Smoking Cessation
  • Specialty Pharmacy Services
  • Student Health
  • Transitions of Care
  • Transplant Medication Management
  • Tuberculosis (TB) Screening and Latent TB Infection Treatment

To learn more about the primary practice sites and the clinical services provided, please visit each site’s dedicated webpage.

Recruitment Flyer | Recruitment Open House Slides | List of Learning Experiences | Sample Program Calendar and Structure  

Contact Us

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact:

Richard H. Dang, PharmD, APh, BCACP
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
Director, PGY1 Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program
Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy
USC School of Pharmacy
University of Southern California
1969 Zonal Ave, SRH 302
Los Angeles, CA 90089
Tel: (323) 442-0097
Email: rdang@usc.edu

Lisa W. Goldstone, MS, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
Director of the Residency Programs
Program Director, Academic Pharmacy Fellowship
Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy
University of Southern California
USC School of Pharmacy
1985 Zonal Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90033
Phone: (323) 442-1354
Email: lwgoldst@usc.edu

This specialty residency is offered jointly by USC Mann and Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. This program centers on developing the competencies necessary to provide pharmaceutical care to patients with infectious diseases by providing balanced training in patient care, teaching, and clinical research in the area of infectious diseases pharmacotherapy.

Graduates from this program have successfully obtained clinical pharmacist specialist positions, clinical faculty positions, or advanced research fellowship training.

Clinical/Practice Management

The resident will provide clinical services with a focus on anti-infective therapy through participation in medical system committees and patient care rounds on the Infectious Disease Consult Service, Critical Care Service, and Outpatient HIV/AIDS clinic. Huntington Memorial Hospital will serve as the primary training site for the resident. The hospital is a 600-bed community teaching hospital affiliated with USC Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine.

Clinical services include drug therapy monitoring and consultation to pharmacy and medical staff, and patient and staff education with an emphasis on anti-infective therapy. The resident will actively participate in the institutional antimicrobial stewardship program to identify trends in anti-infective use as well as optimizing antimicrobial therapy in individual patients. Results from the stewardship program and recommendations for change in policies will be made to the appropriate medical systems committees as part of the ongoing effort for continuous quality improvement in anti-infective use. The resident will partake in formulary management through the development and implementation of policies and procedures related to antimicrobial utilization.

Research

The resident will actively participate in all aspects of a clinical investigation related to infectious diseases which include research study design, IRB submission, data collection, data analysis, submission of manuscript for publication, and presentation of findings at a national meeting of a professional organization.

Teaching

Teaching activities and responsibilities are available for residents throughout USC Mann curriculum. These include participating in the education of USC School of Pharmacy students by leading group discussions with Year 2 and 3 students and by precepting Year 4 infectious diseases APPE students as well as students on research electives. In addition, opportunity will be given to provide didactic lectures in Infectious Diseases Therapeutic Module.

Contact Us

For further information or an application packet, please contact:

Annie Wong-Beringer, PharmD, FCCP, FIDSA
Program Director
Infectious Diseases Residency
Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
Associate Dean for Research
USC School of Pharmacy
1985 Zonal Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90089-9121
Telephone: (323) 442-1356
Email: anniew@usc.edu

or

Lisa W. Goldstone, MS, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
Director of the Residency Programs
Program Director, Academic Pharmacy Fellowship
Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy
University of Southern California
USC School of Pharmacy
1985 Zonal Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90033
Phone: (323) 442-1354
Email: lwgoldst@usc.edu

This specialty residency is a 12 month postgraduate program offered by USC Mann and the affiliated practice of Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center. This program is designed to give the resident a broad range of experiences in infectious diseases pharmacotherapy, research, and teaching.  The LAC+USC Medical Center is a 600-bed academic teaching hospital, Level-One Trauma Center, with a diverse range of critical care units.  It primarily serves a medically underserved population, including a large immigrant population, thus the resident will be exposed to a diverse variety of cases including common and unique infectious diseases.

Upon completion of the program, the resident should be able to pursue an infectious diseases clinical pharmacist position.

Clinical Practice

The resident will be an active participant in Infectious Diseases related clinical services to the institution including providing patient care and administrative services. Patient care services include: Infectious Diseases Consult service, Antimicrobial Stewardship service, and other elective rotations, including critical care or internal medicine. During each rotation, the resident will be attending daily rounds with the physician teams, critically assessing clinical and therapeutic management of patients, and attending grand rounds or case conferences.

The resident will also participate in institutional administrative meetings for Antibiotic Subcommittee and Infection Control/Epidemiology. At the meetings, the resident will present data on antimicrobial use within the institution, recommendations for formulary changes of anti-infectives, antibiogram trends, and policies or protocols developed to improve effective antibiotic use within the institution.

Learning Experiences

The resident will receive coursework and seminars in the following areas:

  • Teaching methodology culminating with a Teaching Certificate
  • Physical assessment
  • Advance Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
  • Research methods
  • Review of clinical therapeutics
  • Professional development and leadership workshop

Teaching

The resident will lead case conference discussion as part of the Therapeutic modules at USC Mann. Other teaching opportunities include, but are not limited to:

  • Didactic lecture at USC Mann in the Infectious Diseases Therapeutics module
  • Developing case studies for the Infectious Disease module
  • Co-precepting pharmacy students and PGY 1 Pharmacy Practice Residents on clerkship rotations
  • Providing regular education or inservices to the housestaff

Research

The resident will be involved with all aspects of conducting research, including development of study design, IRB submission, data collection and analysis, manuscript submission for publications, and abstract submission for national infectious diseases meetings.

Contact Us

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact:

Emi Minejima, PharmD, BCIDP
Infectious Diseases Program Director
Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
University of Southern California
School of Pharmacy
1985 Zonal Ave
Los Angeles, California 90089-9121
Telephone: (323)-409-6644
Email: minejima@usc.edu

Lisa W. Goldstone, MS, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
Director of the Residency Programs
Program Director, Academic Pharmacy Fellowship
Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy
University of Southern California
USC School of Pharmacy
1985 Zonal Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90033
Phone: (323) 442-1354
Email: lwgoldst@usc.edu

USC Mann offers a PGY2 Residency Training Program in Oncology Pharmacy Practice (one position) at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital and our affiliated Ambulatory Infusion Center and Clinics in Pasadena, Arcadia and Newport Beach. This program offers an extensive hands-on experience in a well-balanced structure with the resident actively participating in:

  • Clinical Oncology Practice (both Inpatient and Ambulatory Care)
  • Teaching (Case conferences group discussion and Didactic)
  • Research (Prospective and/or Retrospective Clinical Practice-based)
  • Administration (Drug Use Policy and Practice Management)
  • Investigational Drug Services and Clinical Trial Unit

Residency learning experiences’ schedule and training are tailored and individualized, based on the interest and clinical experience of the resident.

Located on the USC Health Science Campus, the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital is one of 51 Comprehensive Cancer Centers designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) devoted to cancer treatment, research, prevention and education. The USC Norris Cancer Center and Hospital is a 60-bed adult tertiary care facility, including a 15-bed Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit, a 6-bed Clinical Trials Unit and a 7-bed Intensive Care Unit. The outpatient facility has a 24-chair, 12-bed Day Hospital Infusion Center with 6 Outpatient Clinics and a Breast Center. The Outpatient Clinics and Day Hospital provide services to over 4,000 patients a month. The Norris Pasadena (8-chair, 1-bed), Arcadia (12-chair, 3-bed) and Newport Beach (23-chair) Clinics are off-site community Hematology-Oncology practices with Ambulatory Infusion Centers and Pharmacies.

Clinical Oncology Practice

The PGY2 Oncology Residency Program at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital offers hands-on clinical practice learning experiences at both the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital and our affiliated Ambulatory Infusion Center and Clinics in Pasadena, Arcadia and Newport Beach. Required learning experiences are completed at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital with one optional elective 4-6 weeks rotation completed at USC Health Science Campus or other off-site facilities.

Required – Clinical Oncology Practice learning experiences at USC Norris Cancer Center and Hospital

  • Inpatient – Medical Oncology (8 weeks)
  • Inpatient – Hematology/Bone Marrow Transplantation (8 weeks)
  • Ambulatory Care – Hematology/Oncology Infusion Center (8 weeks)
  • Ambulatory Care – Hematology/Oncology MD Clinics (6 weeks)
  • Oncology Administration and Practice Management (Longitudinal)
  • Pharmacy Practice Operations (Inpatient and Ambulatory Care) (Longitudinal)
  • Research and Teaching (Longitudinal)

Elective – Learning experiences at USC Health Science Campus or other off-site facilities

  • Investigational Drug Services (4-6 weeks)
  • Pharmacy Informatics Technology (4 weeks)
  • Specialty Pharmacy – Hematology/Oncology Service (4-6 weeks)

Teaching

The PGY2 Oncology resident receives a faculty appointment as a lecturer with USC Mann for the 12-month period. Teaching responsibilities include co-precepting Level IV PharmD students in their APPE clinical clerkship rotations throughout the year. Facilitate clinical case conferences in the Clinical Therapeutics Series for Level III students and assist PGY1 residents with preparation of 2-clinical case conferences with Hematology/Oncology focus during the Spring Semester. The PGY2 Oncology resident is also required to provide 1-2 hours of didactic teaching and 2-clinical case conferences in Oncology Clinical Therapeutics Module. A teaching certificate is optional for the PGY1 resident interested in pursuing teaching and academia, but is a requirement for the PGY2 Oncology resident.

Research

Research classes and seminars are provided to residents. During the year, the PGY2 Oncology resident is required to:

  • Complete a residency research project
  • Present the project’s findings at either the Western States Conference for Pharmacy Residents, Fellows and Preceptors or at a national conference
  • Submit a manuscript of the completed project for publication in a peer-viewed journal prior to end of the residency

Contact Us

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact:

Samantha Y. Shi, PharmD, BCOP
Program Director, PGY2 Oncology Practice
USC Norris Cancer Hospital
1441 Eastlake Avenue, Norris Topping Tower 2409
Los Angeles, CA 90033
Telephone: (323) 865-1120
Email: samantha.shi@med.usc.edu

Amir Ali, PharmD, BCOP
Program Coordinator, PGY2 Oncology Practice
Hematology/Oncology Clinical Pharmacist Specialist
Adjunct Assistant Professor | USC School of Pharmacy
USC Norris Cancer Hospital
1441 Eastlake Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90033
Email: amir.ali@med.usc.edu

Lisa W. Goldstone, MS, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
Director of the Residency Programs
Program Director, Academic Pharmacy Fellowship
Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy
University of Southern California
USC School of Pharmacy
1985 Zonal Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90033
Phone: (323) 442-1354
Email: lwgoldst@usc.edu

PGY2 pharmacy residency programs build on Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) education and PGY1 pharmacy residency programs to contribute to the development of clinical pharmacists in specialized areas of practice. Our PGY2 residency in psychiatry provides residents with the opportunities to function independently as practitioners by conceptualizing and integrating accumulated experience and knowledge and incorporating both into the provision of patient care for individuals with mental health diagnoses and in other advanced practice settings. Residents who successfully complete our accredited PGY2 pharmacy residency are prepared for advanced patient care, academic, or other specialized positions, along with board certification in psychiatric pharmacy.

Clinical Practice

Residents provide clinical services including: drug therapy monitoring, drug consultation to staff and patient education. Each resident also acts as primary therapist for a caseload of patients for the entire year. The residency’s major training sites include the LAC+USC Medical Center Psychiatric Hospital and Clinic, Keck Medical Center of USC and the VA West Los Angeles. LAC+USC psychiatric hospital has 50 adult beds and 10 adolescent beds. The LAC+USC adult psychiatry clinic (AOPC) has approximately 750 active cases and the PGY2 psychiatry resident’s caseload ranges between 20 to 30 patients. The PGY2 psychiatric pharmacy resident spends 6 weeks learning neurology pharmacy at the VA West Los Angeles.

Responsibilities of the resident include provision of clinical services (e.g. drug therapy monitoring, drug consultation to staff and patient education). Currently, the PGY2 resident provides CMM to a designated caseload of patients at LAC+USC AOPC throughout the year. The PGY2 resident collaborates with AOPC rehabilitation staff to lead a monthly Medication Education Series throughout the year on topics including managing medication side effects and incorporating healthy life habits (exercise, sleep, mindfulness) for good mental health. Residents contribute to promoting safe medication use in children and adolescents by participating in the development of the LAC Department of Mental Health’s Pediatric Psychotropic Guidelines.

Additional Requirements

Beyond the coursework provided to all pharmacy residents at USC, PGY2 psychiatric pharmacy residents attend didactic seminars and conferences offered by the Department of Psychiatry. In addition, residents participate in regularly scheduled psychiatric pharmacy business meetings for program planning. Residents also select from a range of selective options in psychiatric pharmacy- related areas, including:

  • Acute Care Psychiatry
  • Child/Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic
  • Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatry
  • Emergency Psychiatry
  • Geriatric Psychiatry
  • Pharmacogenomics
  • Correctional Psychiatry
  • Substance Use Disorders/Addiction Medicine

Teaching

Residents are actively involved in the Therapeutics curriculum for teaching PharmD students by providing didactic lectures and developing psychiatric case studies with preceptor supervision.

Dr. Lisa Goldstone, Associate Director of Residency Training in collaboration with Dr. William Gong, has designed a curriculum of teaching seminars to train residents on best practices in teaching and learning. Each resident is responsible for developing a case conference on a therapeutics topic for P2 pharmacy students during their CNS module. The PGY2 psychiatric pharmacy resident leads an interactive clinical case review for ~30 resident colleagues to teach them how best to lead the case conference for students. Residents receive peer review of their performance in case development and case delivery. Residents have the opportunity to achieve a teaching certificate at the end of residency training.

While at the clinical site, residents are responsible for student supervision, including pharmacy rounds, participation in teaching conferences and participation in oral examinations. PGY2 residents develop clinical teaching skills by serving in a supervisory role for fourth year PharmD students during one – 6-week block.

Residents are actively involved in providing education (lectures and discussions) to physicians, psychologists, social workers and other allied health care practitioners on the pharmacotherapy of psychiatric disorders.

Research

Residents may collaborate with any of the psychiatric pharmacy faculty in their ongoing research or choose another topic of interest. Psychiatric faculty research interests include:

  • Psychiatric pharmacy services/expanded roles (Dr. Dadiomov, Dr. Goldstone and Dr. Dopheide)
  • Adult and pediatric psychiatry (Dr. Dopheide)
  • Substance use disorders (Dr. Dadiomov and Dr. Franson)
  • Teaching and learning (Dr. Goldstone and Dr. Franson)

Dr. William Gong, the overall residency program director, offers a research seminar series to guide the resident’s project development and completion along with their primary preceptor. Residents work with USC’s senior biostatistician, Ms. Mimi Lou, for guidance on project development, implementation and data analysis. Residents are required to submit a poster for presentation at the College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists Annual meeting.

Contact Us

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact:

David Dadiomov, PharmD, BCPP
Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice | Clinical Coordinator | Whole Person Care Clinical Pharmacy Program
Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy
University of Southern California
USC School of Pharmacy
1985 Zonal Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90033
Email: dadiomov@usc.edu

Lisa W. Goldstone, MS, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
Director of the Residency Programs
Program Director, Academic Pharmacy Fellowship
Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy
University of Southern California
USC School of Pharmacy
1985 Zonal Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90033
Phone: (323) 442-1354
Email: lwgoldst@usc.edu

Purpose

The residency programs offered through the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy are primarily designed to train and develop advanced skills in pharmacy practice, teaching, and research while increasing the resident’s knowledge base through direct exposure. Depending on the area and the resident’s focus, the resident will receive extensive clinical experience in primary, secondary, and tertiary care settings.  In the various practice setting learning experiences, the resident will refine their skills and develop expertise as a medication therapy specialist through the provision of patient care services. Teaching skills of the resident will be developed in both the clinical and classroom settings. A Teaching Certificate program is available for residents interested in a career in academia or working in settings which involve teaching (e.g., precepting student pharmacists/residents/other healthcare trainees, education of staff). Elective and assigned projects, including the required longitudinal residency research project, will enable the resident to develop administrative, analytical and research skills.

Applicant Requirements

For an application to be considered by the USC Pharmacy Residency Programs, the following criteria, at minimum, must be met:

  • Graduate or candidate for graduation from an ACPE accredited degree program or one in the process of pursuing accreditation
  • Minimum of a 3.0 GPA (or equivalent for programs without GPAs)
  • Licensed or eligible for licensure in the state of California
  • For PGY2 residencies, in process of completing or has completed an ASHP-accredited or candidate-status PGY1 pharmacy residency

Other broad criteria for selection to USC Mann residency program include leadership abilities, professional development, professional competence including in clinical situations, communication skills, scholastic achievements, and dependability and ability to work with others. Consistent with USC Mann strategic plan, the USC Pharmacy Residency Programs specifically seeks candidates from underrepresented minority populations and from outside the state of California with the goal of having a diverse and inclusive residency class each year.

Resident Benefits

Some of the benefits available to residents as full-time USC employees include the following:

  • Annual salary of approximately $61,000 for PGY1 and $67,000 for PGY2 residents
  • Vacation, sick, and professional leave
  • Paid holidays
  • Fringe benefits including health care insurance
  • Adjunct voluntary faculty appointment
  • Discounts associated with the USC identification card (e.g., bookstore, events)

Reimbursement for some professional meeting expenses

Leadership Opportunities and Awards

There are multiple leadership opportunities for residents within the USC Pharmacy Residency Programs including the following:

  • Resident Representatives
  • Resident Social Chairs
  • Resident Wellness Committee
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Liaisons
  • Resident Leadership Council

All residents are eligible to be nominated and selected for the following awards which are presented at the Residency Banquet which occurs at the end of the residency year in June:

  • Resident of the Year
  • Excellence in Teaching
  • PGY1 Resident Project of the Year
  • PGY2 Resident Project of the Year

A description of the resident leadership opportunities and awards can be found in the USC and USC Affiliate Pharmacy Residency Program Manual. The most recent version of this manual (2022-2023) is posted on USC Mann Residency Programs webpage.

Residency Training Program Manual

Residency Program Manual 2022-2023