By Roberto Hugo Gonzalez
It was called “A milestone event” when Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance announced that they had partnered with Texas A&M Health Science Center Irma Rangel College of Pharmacy to establish a new Post Graduate Year 1 Pharmacy Practice Residency Program in the Rio Grande Valley.
This affiliation is timely, as this pharmacy residency program will serve as an essential resource for the UTHSC/UTRGV Medical School Residency Programs at DHR.
Ron Ozuna, Pharm.D. Clinical Pharmacist and Clinical Coordinator for the Pharmacy Department for the last six years, told Mega Doctor News that he has had the opportunity to be involved in this facility’s expansion and advancements to ensure the highest-quality of care to our patients. “This is due fundamentally to our DHR leadership and administrative support.” He also said; “Leadership has strongly supported our DHR pharmacy services and has allowed our DHR staff pharmacist to precept pharmacy students from five Colleges of Pharmacy throughout the state.”
He also pointed out that since 2011, Texas A&M Rangel College of Pharmacy has placed 23 student-pharmacists at DHR for introductory and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiential rotations.
Ozuna took the opportunity to thank DHR leadership, first and foremost, for the formation of this partnership that will assist in continuing to provide advanced pharmacy services to the patients.
He also thanked Texas A&M Rangel college of Pharmacy administration for their efforts and in selecting DHR, as the site for the Pharmacy Residency Program.
Ozuna emphasized that this partnership marked the opportunity to embark on a journey along with Texas A&M in creating two Faculty/Staff pharmacist positions whose goals are to assist with inpatient pharmacy services and to develop a first-class, ASHP-accredited Pharmacy Residency Program. The residency program will attract highly trained pharmacists and residents from the Rio Grande Valley area, around the state and the country to assist us in continuing to provide first-rate patient care.
There are over 1000 pharmacy residency programs across the country with the closest PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency Program located in the Corpus Christi area. This relationship will create the only PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency Program in the Rio Grande Valley scheduled to begin in 2015.
Texas A&M Rangel College of Pharmacy opened its doors to students in 2006 to meet a critical need in the South Texas community. The Texas-Mexico border region has a population-to-pharmacist ratio that is 32 percent higher than the statewide ration. Today 103 our 309 of the college’s graduates have returned to South Texas to help underserved populations.
The college is ranked in the Top 50 pharmacy programs in the country and it continues to advance the profession of pharmacy to enhance the quality of peoples’ lives in South Texas.
It was also said that with the expanding role of pharmacists, the partnership will allow for extended patient-care services including but not limited to the following: enhancing our ongoing inpatient clinical care services, high-cost drug review, antimicrobial stewardship, medication reconciliation, Medication Therapy management, innovative research, patient education programs and transition of care. “We will also be able to provide additional community services such as, immunization drives, screenings, drug take back programs, and health fairs,” Ozuna said. MDN
