Critical Care PGY-2 Residency
Thank you for your interest in our program. We accepted an early commit applicant for the 2025 Match cycle and have completed recruiting for this year.
Apply to our programClinical training at UW prepares residents for diverse practice settings.
Residents in our program deliver exceptional critical care to a high acuity and medically complex patient population at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics — ranked #1 in Wisconsin for 12 years in a row by U.S. News & World Report.
- Depth and breadth of clinical pharmacy services at UW
- 24 bed medical/surgical intensive care unit Level 1 Trauma Center
- Experienced critical care pharmacists with sub-specialties in sedation, cardiology, and renal dosing
- Flexibility in tailoring program to needs/interests
- Staffing in intensive care unit rather than production
- Academic medical center resources
- Extensive involvement with School of Pharmacy in didactic teaching and preceptorship of students
Aerial view of UW Health Campus
Why UW?
"Residency training at UW Health has allowed me to immerse myself in progressive pharmacy practice and become a member of a team that is dedicated to advancing our profession and positively impacting healthcare. We are highly involved in every aspect of patient care and our contribution are sought and valued. I am also in a learning environment that is not only conductive to my kinesthetic learning style but continuously challenges me to grow and will allow me to succeed as a critical care pharmacist."
Required Rotations
- Medical/Surgical Critical Care (minimum 3 rotations with first rotation being 8 weeks)
- Nutrition Support (2 weeks)
- Neurosciences /Neurocritical Care ICU
- Cardiac Medicine/Cardiothoracic ICU
- PICU/NICU
- ICU Infectious Disease
- Emergency Medicine
4 week rotations unless specified
Elective Rotations
- Toxicology (2 weeks)
- Medical/Surgical Critical Care (extra rotation) (4 weeks)
- Others based on resident interest
Residency Program Director
Jeffrey Fish
What makes UW Health's Critical Care Residency Program unique?
The PGY2 Critical Care residency program has been training critical care pharmacists since 1999. Clinical pharmacists are valued, integrated members of all critical care services at UW Health. Residents have the opportunity to learn by doing and independently staffing medical, neurosciences, burn, cardiac medicine, and cardiac surgery ICUs. Preceptors are invested in the growth and development of the resident and the program provides a lot of one-on-one instruction and layered learning.
What goals do you have for residents who complete your residency program?
My goal for residents who complete the PGY2- Critical Care program is that they can staff in any ICU in the country. Their training will allow them to handle any critical care situation and make a difference in patient care and outcomes.
What is your best advice for prospective residency candidates?
If planning to do a PGY2, do rotations in your areas of interest early in the residency year so you can choose your specialty prior to Early Commit deadlines or Midyear.
Contact Information
Jeffrey Fish, PharmD, FCCM, BCCCP
Clinical Pharmacist - Critical Care
PGY-2 Critical Care Residency Program Director
UW Health Department of Pharmacy
600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792
(608) 263-1290 | JFish@uwhealth.org
Christine Lee, PharmD, BCCCP
Clinical Pharmacist - Critical Care
PGY-2 Critical Care Residency Program Coordinator
UW Health Department of Pharmacy
600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792
(608) 263-1290 | CLee5@uwhealth.org
Clinical Activities
- Rounding with the critical care team daily
- Patient monitoring and problem solving
- Investigation of medication error reports and adverse drug reactions
- Drug information and literature searches
- Attending codes
- Contributing as a member of the critical care team
Teaching Opportunities
- Clinical instructor status at the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy
- Teaching assistant for Seminars in Critical Care class at School of Pharmacy
- Resident coordinator for critical care focused pharmacotherapy lab at School of Pharmacy
- Co-Preceptorship of 4th year students on elective clinical rotation at the hospital
- Help precept pharmacy practice residents on rotation
- Didactic lecturing at School of Pharmacy
- Optional teaching certificate program for residents through the School of Pharmacy
Other Training Experiences
- Assist in the development and update of guidelines and protocols
- Attend pulmonary and critical care grand rounds and journal clubs
- Code Review and Resuscitation Committee membership
- Safety event review for ICUs
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support training
- Opportunities to interact with other clinical and adminstration pharmacy residents
Stipend/Benefits
Travel
Support to attend one national conference
- Society of Critical Care Medicine Clinical Conference OR
- American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Conference
AND choice of one local conference
- Great Lakes Pharmacy Residents Conference OR
- Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin Educational Conference
UW School of Pharmacy
Example Previous Resident Projects
Assessed propylene glycol toxicity from lorazepam infusions
Developed enteral feeding / drug interaction table
Evaluated the use of a CRRT table for dosing of antibiotics and non-antibiotics
Assessed patients started on stress ulcer prophylaxis and then inappropriately prescribed them on hospital discharge
Evaluated pharmacist-obtained vs physician-obtained medication histories in the ICU
Evaluated the use of prolonged infusions of piperacillin/tazobactam and meropenem in the intensive care unit
Quetiapine use in a mixed medical/surgical intensive care unit
Evaluated the efficacy of a new dosage regimen for daptomycin
Antibiotic and PAD medication dosing in ECMO
Pharmacy Practice Model and Staffing
Pharmacy services are provided by teams of pharmacists within an integrated practice model. Decentral pharmacists provide care through interdisciplinary rounds, clinical monitoring, medication order review, admission histories, discharge teaching and care coordination, code and stroke response teams, drug information resource and medication use stewardship. The resident will staff as a decentral critical care pharmacist over the course of the residency year. On average, the resident will staff 24 hours every two weeks, including every other weekend.
Ready to Join our Resident Class?
Apply Now Application Deadline: Jan 6th, 2025Program Start Date: Jul 7th, 2025