PGY-1 Managed Care Pharmacy Residency

Residency Purpose

From ASHP’s Accreditation Standard: PGY1 residency programs build upon Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) education and outcomes to develop pharmacist practitioners with knowledge, skills, and abilities as defined in the educational competency areas, goals, and objectives. Residents who successfully complete PGY1 residency programs will be skilled in diverse patient care, practice management, leadership, and education, and be prepared to provide patient care, seek board certification in pharmacotherapy (i.e., BCPS), and pursue advanced education and training opportunities including postgraduate year two (PGY2) residencies.

Clarest Health Program Highlights

Clarest Health provides comprehensive Medication Management to improve population health. Our flexible, comprehensive services integrate technology, human engagement and proven processes to identify vulnerable segments, simplify complex medication regimens, manage costs, comply with regulations, manage risk and capture untapped revenue.

The Clarest Health PGY1 Managed Care Pharmacy Residency Program develops pharmacists with the background and skills required to design, implement, manage, measure, and market comprehensive clinical pharmacy programs.

General Information

  • One year, one day appointment
  • In-person position (requires relocation in Buffalo, NY area)
  • Start Date: July 1
  • Number of Positions: 2
  • PhORCAS Application Deadline: December 31
  • Interview required for final candidates

Eligibility

Requirements of eligibility for this program include:

  • Graduation from a school of pharmacy with active ACPE candidate or accreditation status, OR have a Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC) certificate from the NABP
  • Active pharmacy license OR eligible for licensure in any U.S. state or territory

Core Rotations

Longitudinal

Patient Assessment
The pharmacy resident will obtain a foundational understanding of the concepts of patient engagement, motivational interviewing and patient / prescriber consultation and a guided experience for honing engagement, interviewing and consultation skills.

The resident will develop an expert level of proficiency in provision of both written drug related consults to prescribers. The resident will also develop a foundational understanding regarding the concepts for scaling prescriber consults and communications such that therapy gaps can be identified across large populations and distributed through large networks of prescribers.

Accreditation/Quality
The pharmacy resident will apply lean principals and participate in accreditation assessment activities, root cause analysis and process redesign of incident types and workflow redesign and optimization.

Residency Project
The pharmacy resident is required to complete a research project, including:

  • topic selection and development
  • IRB approval
  • data collection and analysis
  • project presentation at a national meeting (AMCP Annual)
  • manuscript development and submission to JMCP.

Modules

Orientation
The pharmacy resident will be involved in company orientation, residency orientation, and pharmacy orientation during this experience. The resident will work within the pharmacy department to develop a baseline comfort level with the roles that pharmacists have. The resident will review and understand residency policies and procedures and company policies and procedures. The resident will be trained on proper usage of PharmAcademic.

Managed Care 101
The pharmacy resident will gain didactic education and application activities within fundamental concepts of managed care through two venues: AMCP’s “The Fundamentals of Managed Care Pharmacy Certificate Program – Professional Version”, and through guided preceptor discussions.

Clinical Program Development
The pharmacy resident will be provided with a framework for clinical program development, along with a shadowing experience followed by direct responsibilities with the clinical team to understand how the program framework is utilized to design, implement, and update clinical programs.

Drug Information
The pharmacy resident will demonstrate skills in retrieving medication and disease information from evidence-based sources, formulating a medication management strategy within the context of an evidence-based consensus guideline, and develop an understanding of mapping clinical text into database format such that it can be queried and used for computerized clinical decision making.

Inappropriate Medication Use – Intervention Development
The pharmacy resident will develop and apply drug class reviews and drug management strategies targeted around inappropriate use of medications based on distinct patient population factors.

Formulary & Benefit Management
The pharmacy resident will develop drug monographs and medication transition proposal strategies for assigned drugs/drug classes to become knowledgeable and proficient in formulary and benefit development and management.

Available Electives

Account Management (longitudinal)

Clarest Health’s Client Success department serves as the liaison between Clarest operations and client contacts. The pharmacy resident will gain exposure to relevant aspects of data analysis and reporting to Centers of Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) for the Medication Therapy Management (MTM) program.

Teaching Certification (longitudinal)

Clarest Health has an academic affiliation with D’Youville University School of Pharmacy for completion of the Teaching Certificate program.

Resident Benefits

  • Competitive stipend
  • Health Insurance
  • PTO leave
  • Annual leave
  • Holidays
  • Travel funds and educational leave for professional meeting
  • Individual workstation distributed by Clarest
  • Personal computer
  • Office supplies
  • Library access through D’Youville University

Application Instructions

ASHP Code: 22066
Candidates should complete and submit a standard application in PhORCAS including:
  • Letter of intent
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Academic Transcripts
  • Three (3) Letters of Recommendation

For further information or questions, please contact:

Stephanie Englert, PharmD, BCGP
Director of Clinical Development, Current Program Director
701 Seneca Street, Suite 602
Buffalo, NY 14210
[email protected]

Maxwell Schmidt, PharmD
Lead Clinical Pharmacist, Program Care Coordinator
701 Seneca Street, Suite 602
Buffalo, NY 14210
[email protected]

Meet the 2024-2025 Residents

Dr. Ashurina Amanuel, PharmD

I’m from Central Valley, California. I attended California State University Stanislaus for my undergraduate studies where I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences in 2021, then I attended University of Pacific School of Pharmacy and earned my PharmD in 2024. I moved to Buffalo, New York in 2024 to pursue PGY-1 Managed Care Pharmacy Residency at Clarest Health. After completion of my residency, I would like to continue working in managed care pharmacy. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding our residency!

 

Dr. Ragini Rangan, PharmD

I am originally from the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago but completed my pharmacy education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy with a concentration in Pharmacy Business Administration (Class of 2024). I am currently completing my PGY-1 Managed Care Residency at Clarest Health from 2024-2025. My current pharmacy practice interests include managed care and the pharmaceutical industry. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding our residency!

Meet the 2023-2024 Residents

Dr. Nikolet Gorgiz, BS, PharmD

Originally from a small city in California, I earned my Bachelor of Science in Biological Science (2020) from the University of California, Merced. I later went on to pursue my Doctor of Pharmacy (2023) at the University of Pacific, Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy. I moved to Buffalo, New York in July (2023) to complete my PGY1 Managed Care Pharmacy Residency at CSS Health, now Clarest Health. My current areas of interest include academia and managed care pharmacy. I would like to continue working in the managed care pharmacy field after completing my residency. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding our residency!

Post Residency: Clinical Pharmacist with Clarest Health, email: [email protected]

 

 

Dr. Andrea Weaver, PharmD/MBA

Born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia and I went to West Virginia University for pharmacy school. I knew during my P4 year that I wanted to do a managed care residency, so I went into the match. I moved to Buffalo, New York in July (2023) to complete my PGY1 Residency at CSS Health/Clarest AI. My current interests in pharmacy include managed care pharmacy and after my residency I would like to continue to a career in managed care pharmacy. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding our residency!

Post Residency: West Virginia University Medicine Home Infusion Pharmacist, email: [email protected]

Meet the Residency Directors

Dr. Stephanie Englert, PharmD, BCGP – Residency Program Director, Director of Clinical Development

Welcome to Clarest Health! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our PGY-1 Managed Care Residency Program. Our program and our preceptor team are committed to putting our residents’ professional and personal goals, objectives, and well-being at the heart of your activities, and we are excited to help you learn and grow in your pharmacy career.

As a Western New York native, I’ve had a strong connection to Buffalo throughout my life. I received my pharmacy education at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Albany, New York, and returned home to Buffalo in 2014 to complete my PGY-1 residency with Clinical Support Services, which was also one of my APPE rotation sites. Since then, I have seen Clinical Support Services become CSS Health, and most recently, we have joined Clarest Health in 2023. In the (almost) decade of tenure I’ve had, I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by an extremely talented and knowledgeable team that puts our patients’ health first.

We spend a lot of time together during the residency year, but a couple of the key learning experiences I heavily precept are the Clinical Program Development and Accreditation/Quality. Your clinical, problem-solving, and analytical skills will be put to the test with me, but I have a passion for teaching and learning and look forward to growing and developing with you throughout the residency year and beyond.

Last but not least, Go Bills!

Dr. Maxwell Schmidt, Pharm D – Residency Care Coordinator, Lead Clinical Pharmacist in Clinical Operations.

I’ve lived in the Western New York/Buffalo area for my entire life and received my pharmacy education at D’Youville College School of Pharmacy (now University) in Buffalo New York in 2017. I completed an APPE Rotation under Stephanie when I was a P4 and was in a part time role in the company in 2017 and transitioned to a full-time role in 2018. I also am a previous pharmacy manager at Walgreens and still work per diem in the community pharmacy setting. Like Stephanie mentioned, I have seen the company grow from Clinical Support Services (CSS) to CSS Health to Clarest Health and I am excited for the future and how we will be able to positively impact on our patients’ lives.

We spend a lot of time together during the residency year, but a couple of the key learning experiences I heavily precept is the Patient Assessment, Inappropriate Medication Use and Drug Information. Your abilities to interact effectively with patients and analyzing patient profiles and medication to best optimize therapy will be tested. I enjoy passing on the knowledge and wisdom I have gained in my pharmacy career to help develop and grow my students and residents.