What are your application requirements? What is your application deadline?

See PhORCAS for most current requirements/deadlines

In order to be eligible for one of St. Peters’ three residency positions, applicants must:

  • Be a graduate of an ACPE accredited Doctor of Pharmacy degree program
  • Meet requirements for employment at St. Peter’s Hospital
  • U.S. citizenship

The following material must be submitted to PhORCAS by the first Monday in January of each year:

  • Letter of intent that includes why you chose to apply to the St. Peter’s residency program
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Official pharmacy school transcripts

Do you hire your residents after program completion?

Several of our previous residents have been hired on to stay at St. Peter’s Health after graduation. If there is a good fit with the resident and job availability, we typically try to prioritize hiring residents after graduation whenever able. We currently have multiple previous residents on staff. They have varying roles in our department, including helping with projects and acting as preceptors for the residency program.

What do you look for in a residency candidate? What makes your residents successful?

A positive attitude and strong work ethic help residents be the most successful. We appreciate it when a candidate is excited about the learning opportunities that our program offers as a community hospital in Montana. Preceptors place a lot of value on a resident who is self-motivated and willing to soak up knowledge from all of the experiences presented to them throughout the year. Organization and time management will also be very beneficial to a resident’s year, but we are willing and able to help with the development of those skills.

Is there scheduled project time?

Typically a resident has one schedule “Project Day” about every month. There are also three to four scheduled Admin/Project weeks spaced throughout the year. This time is expected to be ~50% assigned administrative assignments and then about ~50% resident project time. Project time is typically used by the resident to work on longitudinal assignments, including their research project.

What electives do you offer?

We currently offer 12 weeks of elective time during the year. Typically this is three rotations that are 4 weeks each. Residents can choose from already established electives or work with the program to develop a custom elective based on interest. See the “Residency Structure” page for more details.

What are research project options?

Every year, our program typically comes up with a list of research project options that are in line with a resident’s area of interest. Residents are also welcome to help come up with possible ideas. Research projects are intended to be mutually beneficial to the resident’s learning and the department/institution advancement. Projects have often been centered on developing or expanding a newer pharmacy service. For more details see the “Previous Residents and Research Projects” page.

What do you do for resident wellness?

As a program, we understand this year can be stressful and challenging in a variety of ways. Residents meet with the Program Director for weekly or bi-weekly check-ins to assess workload and wellness. Residents are paired with a Preceptor Mentor for the year. All employees have a free membership to the Capital City Health Club which is a great place to get regular exercise. St. Peter’s Health offers an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which offers free counseling services if the need should arise. Residents are encouraged to establish with a Primary Care Provider in case of any medical concerns.

What are your preceptor’s qualifications?

Our department currently has more than 25 preceptors providing quality education to pharmacy students and residents. Most of our preceptors have BCPS certification, including specialty credentials in infectious disease, critical care, ambulatory care, pediatrics and geriatrics. Approximately two-thirds of our preceptors have completed residency training. Our preceptors work towards meeting and maintaining the rigorous ASHP standards set forth for preceptor qualification

What is the staffing requirement?

Residents are required to staff an average of 32 hours per month. Typically residents are scheduled to staff the evening shift (1230-2100) on Friday/Saturday/Sunday every third weekend. Residents will train with a preceptor for the first few months of the year and then typically start staffing shifts autonomously by mid-October. The Monday following a staffing weekend is usually scheduled as a day off.

How much time off do residents get? Do they work holidays?

Residents are allotted 10 days of vacation for the year. Residents are also allotted 5 days of sick time and 3 days of professional time for the year. Residents are assigned to work 2 holidays for the year.

How has COVID-19 impacted your program?

Fortunately, the impacts of the pandemic have been relatively minimal to our program. Residents have continued to complete planned rotations with limited modifications. Residents are still practicing on-site and working with preceptors for all rotations. As with every program, our residents have been impacted by travel restrictions but we look forward to participating in conferences whenever possible. Certainly, things continue to change and evolve but for the most part, our residents continue to have a customary experience.