University of the Sciences in Philadelphia

Pharmaceutical Industry Practice and Education Residency with Emphasis in Medical Information/Clinical Practice

Philadelphia College of Pharmacy at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
In conjunction with
Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC
Titusville /Raritan New Jersey and Horsham, Pennsylvania

Quick Links

• Overview
• Residency Sites
• Goals/Objectives
• Other Opportunities in Pharmaceutical Industry
• Program Preceptors
• Components of the Teaching Program
• Evaluation

Overview

The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USciences) is an independent institution of higher education with a commitment to excellence in teaching, research and service.  The Philadelphia College of Pharmacy (PCP) at USciences in conjunction with Janssen Scientific Affairs (JSA) offers positions in a two-year post-graduate training program. This multi-setting residency is organized to provide experiences leading to advanced professional skills in medical and scientific information for pharmacists wishing to pursue a career in drug information in the pharmaceutical industry or academic setting and experience in a clinical practice setting in a designated therapeutic area.

The Medical Information/Clinical Practice Residency is organized into 3 components:

• Pharmaceutical Industry Practice with JSA
  • Residents will be provided with in-depth experiences leading to advanced professional skills and knowledge in communication of medical and scientific information.
  • Residents will be an integral team member in the Medical Information and Communications department with a 6 month rotation at Janssen’s healthcare professional directed call center.
• Clinical Practice Rotation:  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

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

The Teaching-Learning Center at USciences serves to further professional development through workshops and round-table discussions held throughout the year.  Upon fulfilling the teaching responsibilities and completing the program’s requirements, the resident will be awarded with a Teaching Certificate.

Residency Sites

Within Janssen Scientific Affairs, (JSA), the resident can opt for various industry sites based on therapeutic area, including:

• Central Nervous System/Neurology franchise
  • 1125 Trenton-Harbourton Road, Titusville, NJ 08560

• Internal Medicine franchise
  • Raritan, NJ
• Immunology/Oncology franchise
  • Horsham, PA

The Resident will spend approximately 4 days per week at the JSA facility.  One day per week the resident will be on the PCP campus.  There will also be two, 3-month longitudinal Clinical Practice rotations at Mercy Suburban Hospital in East Norriton, PA.

Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC (JSA)

JSA 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.

JSA 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

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.

Goals/Objectives

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 JSA) as well as regional and national professional meetings.

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
  

Program Preceptors

University Preceptors

Gary Sloskey, PharmD
Industry Residency Program Director
Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy
Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration
600 South 43rd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Janssen Scientific Affairs Preceptors

Lew Manera, MS
Associate Director, Medical Communications

Tanya Nelson
Manager, Medical Communication

Kristin Goettner, PharmD
Associate Director, Medical Information

Components of the Teaching Program

Teaching

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.

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

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

The resident will be completely responsible for development, management, and implementation of a longitudinal project.  Under the direction of JSA 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 JSA campus and will participate in departmental activities and committees as part of a membership in the Medical Communications Department.  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 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. 

Evaluation

For evaluation purposes, the resident will submit a report to the advisory committee, which will meet with the resident quarterly.  The function of the advisory committee is to review and approve the objectives of the residency program, the schedule of activities, and provide verbal feedback to the preceptor and resident which can assist them in completing program objectives.