Expanding Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency Education Through a Multisite University-Affiliated Model

Introduction: As the health-care system evolves and shifts to value-based payment systems, there is a recognized need to increase the number of ambulatory care trained pharmacists. Objective: The objective of this article is to describe the administrative structure of the University of Minnesota Postgraduate Year 1 (PGY1) Pharmacy Residency program and to encourage adoption of similar models nationally in order to expand ambulatory care residency training opportunities and meet the demand for pharmacist practitioners. Program Structure: The University of Minnesota PGY1 Pharmacy Residency program is a multisite program centered on the practice of pharmaceutical care and provision of comprehensive medication management (CMM) services in ambulatory care settings. The centralized administration of a multisite academic-affiliated training model creates efficiency in the administration process, while allowing sites to focus on clinical training. This model also offers many innovative and unique opportunities to residents. Conclusion: A multisite university-affiliated ambulatory care residency training model provides efficiency in program administration, while successfully accelerating the growth of quality ambulatory care residency training and supporting innovative delivery of shared core learning experiences. Consequently, practice sites grow in their service delivery capacity and quality of care.