University of the Sciences in Philadelphia

Medical Information Residency

Philadelphia College of Pharmacy at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
In conjunction with
Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC
Titusville, New Jersey

Introduction

Introduction

The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP) is an independent institution of higher education with a commitment to excellence in teaching, research and service.  The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy (PCP) at USP in conjunction with Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs (OMJSA) offers two positions in a one-year post-graduate training program.  The Medical Information Residency is organized to provide in-depth experiences leading to advanced professional skills and knowledge in communication of medical and scientific information.  The goal of the program is to provide advanced training to pharmacists wishing to pursue a career in drug information in the pharmaceutical industry or academic setting thus setting the foundation for future leaders in this area of specialty.  

Residents receive an appointment at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia as Clinical Instructor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacy Administration and participate in both didactic teaching on campus and experiential course work at the practice site.

OMJSA offers an opportunity for Doctor of Pharmacy professionals to gain experience in the pharmaceutical industry with a focus in the areas of pediatrics, psychiatry, and neurology through its medical information support of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.  Positions currently lie within pediatrics, psychiatry and neurology therapeutic tracks. While working at OMJSA, the pharmacist will be an integral team member of the Medical Communications group and develop expertise in literature analysis, writing of standard response materials, and verbal communication with healthcare professionals.  The resident will partner with key business units to share scientific knowledge, and be responsible for selected special projects.  At OMJSA, the resident will serve as an advanced clinical practice experience preceptor.
           
At PCP, the resident will complete the Resident and Fellow Teaching Certificate program.  Didactic teaching skills and literature evaluation skills will be developed through participation as an instructor in the Entry-Level Doctor of Pharmacy program.  These may include the Research Design and Drug Information, Seminar in Professional Practice and Professional Communications courses are offered to 4th year students. The Teaching-Learning Center at USP serves to provide developmental support to faculty and residents through workshops and round-table discussions.  The campus enhances student learning through the use of technology such as classroom audiovisual systems, Sympodium, and ANGELTM web page. 

Goals

1. To provide a structured environment for acquisition of knowledge and experience in the provision of drug information services.
2. To develop teaching skills through participation in formal and informal training of pharmacy students, pharmacists, and other health care professionals.
3. To develop knowledge about the organizational structure and function of departments and divisions within a pharmaceutical company.
4. To develop writing skills through activities such as preparation of written responses to drug information requests, review articles, and research results for publication.
5. To develop research skills through the development, completion, and presentation of a residency research project.
6. To provide the resident with a sense of professional responsibility through interactions with other health care practitioners and involvement in professional pharmaceutical organizations.
7. To develop oral presentation skills by preparing and delivering a residency project presentation at both residency sites (PCP and OMJSA) as well as regional and national professional meetings.

Objectives

By the completion of the residency, the resident will be able to:

Drug Information Activities

1. Demonstrate solid product and therapeutic area knowledge within OMJSA- supported CNS franchises (pediatrics, psychiatry, and neurology.)
2. Succinctly and accurately summarize review articles and clinical trials relevant to therapeutic areas supported by OMJSA CNS franchises.

3. Write a monograph summarizing scientific literature for a new product or new therapeutic indication for an approved product (Minimum of 5).
4. Write a summary of a review article or clinical trial (Minimum of 40).

5. Review promotional materials for scientific accuracy.
6. Understand Standard Operating Procedures for drug information databases.

7. Demonstrate proficiency in the software applications used to create and update drug information materials.
8. Create and update standard responses for product information database (minimum of 30).

9. Write response letters for healthcare professional inquiries (minimum of 50).
10. Develop medically-based training materials for ongoing sales force education.
11. Understand Standard Operating Procedures for customer handling.
12. Demonstrate proficiency in handling live telephone inquires as assigned.
13. Demonstrate proficiency in handling complex inquiries and sales representative inquiries.
14. Participate in Medical Information Booth activities at a national meeting.
15. Demonstrate proficiency in product complaint handling.
16. Demonstrate proficiency in handling adverse events reports.

Instructional Activities

17. Provide formal educational services to entry level and flexible Doctor of Pharmacy students by serving as an experiential preceptor at the OMJSA practice site and conducting lectures, small group teaching and lab activities at PCP. 
18. Provide informal educational services by giving in-services to pharmacists and other health care professionals. (PCP and OMJSA)
19. Participate in ongoing call center training on topics relevant to therapeutic areas supported by McNeil Pediatrics/OMJSA.

Patient Care Activities

20. Develop an educational presentation or project on health literacy, medication adherence, or assessing patient’s knowledge of medications or conditions. 
21. Effectively counsel patients on proper medication use by integrating knowledge of health literacy and medication adherence in a patient care setting.

Health-System Drug Information Services

22. Effectively handle drug information inquiries within a health-system.
23. Assess and document adverse drug events and/or medication errors.
24. Attend and contribute to a Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee meeting.

Professional Growth and Development

25. Attend Medical Communications and Brand meetings at OMJSA or Ortho-McNeil-Janssen, Inc. as appropriate.
26. Completion of the PCP Resident and Fellowship Teaching Certificate program.
27. Attend professional meetings including the American Society of Health-System Pharmacist’s Mid-Year Clinical meeting, Drug Information Association Medical Communications Workshop, and other ad hoc meetings.
28. Completion of Drug Information Association’s on-line Medical Communications Certification Program or equivalent and University of Minnesota Applying Medical Literature in Practice.
29. Coordinate American Pharmacists Month Activities at OMJSA.

Administrative Activities

30. Attend Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacy Administration meetings at PCP.
31. Proctor examinations in Entry-Level Doctor of Pharmacy courses.

Research and Other Scholarly Activities

32. Design an investigational protocol which meets specific requirements for the institutional review board at USP; Develop a long-term project requiring data collection and analysis at OMJSA.
33. Complete data collection for the residency project.
34. Critically evaluate and analyze research results of the residency project using a computerized statistical software package.
35. Prepare and submit an abstract research report of residency project results for presentation at a local and a national meeting.
36. Facilitate the implementation of, and data collection for, research protocols initiated by other investigators.  (PCP and OMJSA)
37. Prepare a manuscript that is suitable for submission to a refereed journal. Options include the research project or a review article.
38. Give a presentation of research results to faculty and students and the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacy Administration.

Other Opportunities in Pharmaceutical Industry

Meetings with the following key business partners are strongly recommended to further enhance the residents’ knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry.  Participation in projects in support of these areas is open to the resident with facilitation by the preceptor.

 
EXTERNAL MEETINGS

• Drug Information Association Medical Communications Workshop
• American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
• Eastern States Residency Conference
• Ad hoc Professional meetings

Faculty

Gary Sloskey, PharmD
Associate Professor of Pharmacy
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy
Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration, Box 34
600 South 43rd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Erica Heverin, PharmD
Associate Director, Medical Communications                                                   
Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC.                                     
Supporting Pediatrics
1125 Trenton-Harbourton Road, PO Box 200
Titusville, NJ 08560-0200

Lew Manera, MS
Associate Director, Medical Communications                                                   
Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC.                                     
Supporting Neurology
1125 Trenton-Harbourton Road, PO Box 200
Titusville, NJ 08560-0200

Kristin R. Reilly, PharmD
Associate Director, Medical Communications                                                   
Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC.                                     
Supporting Psychiatry
1125 Trenton-Harbourton Road, PO Box 200
Titusville, NJ 08560-0200

Facilities

Facilities

The primary sites for the Drug Information and Education Residency are Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC Medical Communications (supporting CNS businesses within Ortho-McNeil-Janssen, Inc.) and PCP.  The Resident will spend approximately 4 days per week at the OMJSA facility in Titusville, NJ.  One day per week the resident will be on the PCP campus.  Residents will participate in a weekly half-day experience in a clinical Drug Information site in the Philadelphia area for a 3-month longitudinal experience.

Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC (OMJSA)
OMJSA is one of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies.  It was created to provide a full range of scientific and medical affairs services to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical companies, including Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, Inc., Janssen LP, McNeil Pediatrics, Ortho-McNeil, Inc., PriCara, and Ortho Women’s Health & Urology.

OMJSA Medical Communications Department is divided into therapeutic areas that align with the commercial pharmaceutical companies.  These include, Neurology, Psychiatry, and Pediatrics franchises on the Titusville, NJ campus and Anti-infectives, Primary Care, and Cardiovascular franchises on the Raritan, NJ campus.    The Department is staffed by health professionals who are recognized as internal experts in product and therapeutic knowledge.  Through analysis, interpretation and communication of accurate scientific information, the Department strives to impact appropriate patient care.

Philadelphia College of Pharmacy

The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy is the oldest College of Pharmacy in the United States.  Since its origin in 1821, the College has continued to be a leader in pharmacy education providing a Baccalaureate in Pharmacy degree, Entry-Level Doctor of Pharmacy degree, and Flexible Doctor of Pharmacy degree programs. Other pharmacy-related baccalaureate programs are offered in the areas of pharmaceutical technology and pharmaceutical marketing and management.  The College also offers graduate degrees in Pharmaceutics, Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Pharmacy Administration.  Additional post-graduate pharmacy training programs offered by the College include clinical residencies in pharmacy practice,  pediatrics, and cardiology.

Components of the Program

Drug Information Skill Development

These activities will include 60-70% of the resident’s time.

The resident has primary responsibilities to provide drug information services to Medical Communications, OMJSA.  This resident will develop written and verbal communication skills through developing written response letters, summary reports, and training materials.  The resident will respond to inquiries from healthcare professionals, present scientific topics during training sessions, participate in departmental meetings, and serve as an information resource at the company booth at national professional meetings.

The resident will enhance analytical and critical-thinking skills through a variety of means.  The resident will be expected to become an expert in an assigned OMJSA therapeutic area.  When working in Medical Communications, the resident will review, analyze, and interpret the scientific literature relevant to their designated area and utilize this information in preparation of internal and external customer communications.

Teaching

These activities will include 15-20% of the resident’s time.

At PCP, the resident has teaching-related responsibilities to develop skills related to preparation and delivery of lectures on topics such as drug information, medical information, database searching, applied literature evaluation, and biomedical writing.  The resident will also participate in supervising in-class learning-centered activities such as shared problem-solving, journal clubs, and workshops. 

The resident will have teaching-related responsibilities to develop skills related to mentoring students individually and in small groups on instruction related to development of the professional seminar presentation. Teaching activities will involve a minimum of 350 hours of student contact and teaching preparation time which is calculated based upon the following effort:

Lecture
Contact time = number of lecture hrs
Prep time = number of lecture hrs x 20

Professional Seminar (per section per semester)
Contact time = 14 hrs
Prep Time = 28 hrs

Therapeutics Lab (per section per semester)
Contact time = 28 hrs
Prep time = 28 hrs

Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPES) (per 5-week rotation)
            1 student – 75 hours
            2 students – 100 hours
            3 students – 120 hours

Patient Care Clinical Skills Development

The resident will gain a better understanding of the knowledge and skills needed to effectively communicate with patients during their longitudinal clinical drug information experience.  There will also be opportunities to counsel patients through participation in brown-bag sessions or community education fairs.

Health-System Drug Information Services

Depending on availability, these activities will involve approximately 2.5% of the resident’s time.

The resident will gain an understanding of drug information services by completing a rotation at a drug information center in a health-care system.  This experience will include half-day or full-day attendance once weekly for a total of 50 hours at a drug information center.  The resident will learn about the drug information service, medication safety surveillance & policy development, and formulary management.

Scholarly Activity / Research

These activities will involve approximately 5-10% of the resident's time.

The resident will be completely responsible for development, management, and implementation of a longitudinal project.  Under the direction of OMJSA faculty, the resident will prepare, complete and present their project results internally, at the Eastern States residency meeting, and Drug Information Association. 

The resident will complete an intermediate project associated with didactic teaching or direct patient care.  This may be a descriptive project related to teaching methodologies or outcomes.  It may also involve a project related to patient care such as the development of a self-assessment survey.

In addition, preparation and presentation of the residency research project to the Department of Pharmacy Practice during the Seminar in Professional Practice series is required. 

Professional Growth/Service

The resident will spend the majority of the time at the Titusville campus and will participate in departmental activities and committees as part of a membership in the Medical Communications Department at OMJSA.  There will also be opportunity to attend faculty meetings at the Department of Pharmacy Practice/Pharmacy Administration as scheduling allows.  The resident will be expected to lead American Pharmacists Month activities on the Titusville campus to increase awareness of the pharmacy profession.  The resident is encouraged to attend professional meetings. 

Proposed Schedule

The residency term would be from July 1, to June 30.  It is anticipated that the resident will spend a minimum of 2000 hours annually in program-related activities.  An individualized schedule will be tailored to the needs and interests of the resident.  Goals and objectives will be developed for each rotation.  The clinical practice experience will include half-day attendance weekly for 6 months in an ambulatory care clinic.

Evaluation

An advisory committee shall be named for the resident within the first month of the program. Membership for the committee shall consist of the primary preceptor and at least two other individuals.  The function of the advisory committee is to review and approve the objectives of the residency program, review and approve the schedule of activities, meet to evaluate the data information in the quarterly reports, and provide verbal feedback to the preceptor and resident which can assist them in completing program objectives.

Within the first 2 months of beginning the program, the resident shall submit a copy of the residency objectives detailing rotations and preceptors, educational activities, and scholarly activities, that were reviewed and approved by the advisory committee, to the Chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacy Administration. For evaluation purposes, the resident will submit a quarterly report to the advisory committee, which will meet with the resident quarterly.  An evaluative summary, written by the preceptor, must accompany each report.  Copies of the quarterly reports and evaluative summaries will be given to the Chair of the Department.  The resident will verbally report his/her activities to the Department at the January Department meeting.

At the end of the residency, a summary of accomplishments and an evaluation of the experience will be completed by the residency.  After review by the advisory committee, this document should be submitted to the Chair of the Department by June 30th.

Qualifications And Application Requirements

1. Doctor of Pharmacy degree
2. Completed Application
3. Personal Letter
4. Professional Writing sample (portfolio)
5. Three letters of reference
6. Official college transcripts of all college work completed
7. Curriculum vitae
8. On-site interview
9. Must become licensed in the State of New Jersey by the end of the second quarter.

Salary and Benefits

The resident will be an employee of the USP and will receive an annual stipend distributed over the 12-month period of the program by the payroll department at the USP ($42,000).  Health, dental, disability and life insurance will be provided through the plan available to employees of the College.  Nine standard University holidays, 8 vacation days, 2 floating holidays and 5 sick days will be provided during each 12-month period of the program. The resident will not be financially compensated for unused leave time.  The resident will attend several professional meetings and will receive annual travel support of $6,450.  The resident will receive an appointment as Resident and Clinical Instructor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice/Pharmacy Administration.

The resident is invited to participate, at no cost, in course work and continuing education programs sponsored or provided through the USP.  Coursework may be taken as a non-matriculated student with the approval of the preceptor and advisory committee.

Secretarial support for typing of resident-related materials and correspondence will be provided.  Audiovisual services will be available through the Information Science Department at the Joseph W. England Library of USP.  These services include portable video projector and lap top computer, overhead transparency materials, poster and lettering supplies, as well as access to a collection of tapes and slides.  In addition to audiovisual services, the Library provides Internet access, e-mail accounts, literature searches, photocopy services (300 copies/month), and an extensive collection of journals and references.

Through the Department of Pharmacy Practice/Pharmacy Administration and USP, the resident has access to a wide variety of computer software programs.  Departmental and USP holdings include several word processing, spreadsheet, database, statistical, and pharmacokinetics programs.  The department has an IBM compatible computer and laser printer that the resident may use.  Additional IBM hardware and software are available in the England Library Learning Resource Center.

Certification

Upon approval of the primary preceptor, advisory committee and Department Chair, the resident will be awarded a certificate of completion from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

11/10/09