Pharmacy Residency Program
The Deaconess Hospital, Inc. Postgraduate Year One Pharmacy Residency is a hospital-based one-year residency program with two positions for Pharmacy postgraduates. Upon completion of the Deaconess Hospital, Inc. Pharmacy Residency, the Residents will be prepared to practice as a clinical pharmacist in a variety of settings, to complete a PGY2 Pharmacy Residency, or to obtain a position as faculty in a college of pharmacy.
PGY1 Residency Program
PGY1 Program Purpose: PGY1 pharmacy residency programs build on pharmacy education and outcomes to contribute to the development of clinical pharmacists 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.
Graduates of our program will be skilled to:
- Manage and improve the medication-use process
- Provide evidence-based, patient-centered medication therapy management with interdisciplinary teams
- Exercise leadership and practice management skills
- Demonstrate project management skills
- Provide medication and practice-related education/training to health care professionals, students, and patients
- Continually monitor and improve performance through ongoing self evaluation
ASHP Accreditation
Residency Program Details
Benefits
Among the benefits of the program:
- Competitive salary of $52,000
- 15 days PTO
- Free parking
- Free membership to fitness facility
- Medical, dental and life insurance available
- Resident office space
- Paid professional membership fees for ASHP
- Retirement savings option
Experiences
Our past residents have chosen this program due to the variety of experiences available to them. The program has several required and elective experiences:
Required
- Orientation (6 weeks)
- General Medicine (7 weeks)
- Critical Care (6 weeks)
- Infectious Disease (4 weeks)
- Cardiology (4 weeks)
- Longitudinal: Practice Management & Drug Information
- Longitudinal: Residency Project
- Longitudinal: Staffing
- Longitudinal: Medication Safety – Medication Events
- Longitudinal: Medication Safety – Adverse Drug Reactions
- Longitudinal: Teaching Experience
Elective
- Administrative
- Advanced General Medicine
- Ambulatory Care
- Ambulatory Care Chronic Disease State
- Nephrology
- Neuro Critical Care
- NICU
- Oncology
- Pediatrics/NICU
- Indiana Pharmacy Teaching Certificate
Staffing Requirements
Residents are required to staff every 3rd weekend. This weekend staffing involves working:
- Friday evening (3 PM - 9 PM)
- An 8-hour shift on Saturday
- An 8-hour shift on Sunday
In addition to the weekend staffing, the residents are also responsible for working the following shifts:
- Thanksgiving and Christmas Staffing
- One Resident will work Thanksgiving and the day after
- The other Resident will work a Christmas holiday shift
- Both residents will staff the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day
- Staff two days during the local Spring Break
Successful Completion of the Residency Program
The residency is considered a 12-month full time commitment. The requirements and expectations for successful completion of the PGY1 Residency Program are listed in the Residency Manual. All residents will be provided with a Resident’s Manual containing all necessary information related to the Residency Program. If requirements listed in the Residents Manual are not met in a timely manner, then remedial action will result as outlined in the manual.
Meet our Residency Team
Our Residents interact with everyone on our pharmacy team, including both pharmacists and technicians. The entire department works as a team to ensure an optimal outcome in all aspects of our daily practice. Each rotation has a primary preceptor, but we work as a team to ensure all learning objectives are met.
Meet our Current Residents
Blake Heck, Pharm.D., M.B.A.Blake.Heck@deaconess.com
Blake is originally from Houma, Louisiana, and graduated from the College of Pharmacy at the University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM COP) in Monroe, Louisiana in May of 2025 with his Doctor of Pharmacy and Master of Business Administration degrees. His interests include infectious diseases, emergency medicine, and health-systems administration. Upon completion of his residency, Blake hopes to either pursue a pharmaceutical industry fellowship or obtain a clinical pharmacist position and become a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS).
Residency Graduates
Applying for PGY1 Pharmacy Residency
Deaconess requirements for application
Graduate of an ACPE-accredited Doctor of Pharmacy Program
Licensed or eligible for licensure in the state of Indiana
Assessment of Residency Applicants
Those interested in applying for one of these two positions please submit the following by January 15th:
Complete application in PhORCAS with
At least 3 of the PhORCAS standard letters of recommendation
Letter of intent
During the interview, the candidate will be review a case and present their answers to the focus questions to the core interview group.
Candidates will be evaluated on the following criteria:
Completed application packet
GPA
Prior work experience
Clinical, leadership, teaching, and communication skills
Assessment of formal interview
You are welcome here!
This residency site agrees that no person at this site will solicit, accept, or use any ranking-related information from any residency applicant.
Deaconess Health System, which includes Deaconess Hospital PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program, offers equal employment opportunity to all applicants for employment and to all employees regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, citizenship, sexual orientation, ancestry, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition or status as a disabled veteran or a veteran of the Vietnam era or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
Diversity and inclusion are valuable elements of the Deaconess Health System Pharmacy and the Deaconess Hospital Inc PGY1 residency program . We value diversity in all its varied expressions, including but not limited to gender, race, ethnicity, physical ability, sexual orientation, and gender identity. As our workforce becomes more diverse we embrace the opportunity to find ways of enabling people of many different backgrounds to make valuable contributions in our organization, thus increasing the quality of care we deliver to our patients . Our strive in our post graduate training program is to provide a diverse educational environment that fosters success of learners to provide culturally competent care, become inclusive of the population we serve and create a clinical environment that provides high quality care to our community.
For more information contact us.
