The Lt. Col. Luke J. Weathers Jr. VA Medical Center PGY2 Pharmacy Residency in Internal Medicine is a 12-month/52 week training program that aims to train highly motivated and qualified pharmacists to provide exceptional care for adult internal medicine patients. The practice setting is an approximately 200 bed VA hospital in Memphis, TN. The pharmacy resident will work as an integral member of the healthcare team, along with medical residents and fellows affiliated with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. The resident will have the opportunity to develop practice management skills, participate in educational programs, provide formal lectures, and precept pharmacy students. The resident will also participate in projects designed to improve patient care and outcomes. The residency program will start either the third week of June or first week of July. Appointment is within the Federal government, and residents are therefore subject to all regulations and requirements of the Federal system.

Type: PGY-2 Internal Medicine Pharmacy Residency

Duration: 12 months/52 weeks

Number of Positions: 2

Application Deadline: January 10

Estimated Stipend: $52,602  (2026-2027 PGY2 pharmacy residency stipend)     

Interview Required: Yes (with formal presentation)

Benefits

• Annual Leave (AL):  4 hours per pay period (13 days per year)
• Sick Leave (SL):  4 hours per pay period (13 days per year)
• Federal Holidays:  11 paid Federal Holidays
• Financial support for one professional membership, one professional meeting attendance, teaching certificate registration (if applicable), and local residency research symposium attendance. Additional requests for financial support will be reviewed on a case-by-cases basis. Funding may be limited by VA Federal Funding.
• Other: 3 administrative research days in December; leave for VA authorized travel (if meets VA requirements); interview leave for up to 3 days; participation in VA Plans/Programs (health, liability, Employee Assistance Programs, etc.); “comp day” following the weeks of being on clinical staffing 

Program Structure – Rotations and Learning Experiences:

Core rotations: 

• Orientation (varies)  

• Ambulatory Care (1 month) 

• Cardiology (1 month) 

• Critical Care (1 month) 

• Internal Medicine I (2 months) 

• Internal Medicine II (2 months) 

Elective rotations (1 month each)*: 

• Academic Detailing 

• Ambulatory Care II 

• Critical Care II and Nutrition Support 

• Geriatrics  

• Infectious Disease/Antimicrobial Stewardship 

• Internal Medicine III 

• Mental Health – Inpatient** 

• Mental Health – Outpatient** 

• Palliative Care 

• Spinal Cord Injury 

Additional required longitudinal learning experiences/activities: 

• Research project - IRB approved, including written manuscript, VA poster presentation (or other national conference), and MidSouth Pharmacy Residents Conference presentation 

• CE presentations / Pharmacotherapy Rounds (minimum 1.5 hours total) 

• Journal Club presentations (minimum 3) 

• Local/regional/national presentation/poster/abstract or case report (other than research project based) 

• Quality improvement project (drug policy/protocol/order set development) 

• Medication Safety and Formulary Review Longitudinal 

• Chief Resident (on a rotating basis with other residents) 
• Participation in Prior Authorization Drug Requests (PADRs) 
• VADERs/ARTs 

• Staffing - clinical staffing (minimum of 5 shifts) and inpatient pharmacy + transitions of care staffing (minimum of 5 shifts) 

• Participation in Resident-Preceptor Mentor program 

• Teaching Certificate Program (optional, if not completed PGY1 year) 

*Other elective opportunities may be available depending on time of year and with advance notice based on resident interest and preceptor availability 

**One elective rotation must be in EITHER inpatient or outpatient mental health 

General application requirements: U.S. Citizenship, PharmD degree from ACPE-accredited college of pharmacy, pharmacy license (any state), participating in (or have completed) an ASHP-accredited PGY1 residency program

PhORCAS application requirements: Curriculum vitae (CV), college transcripts, letter of intent (limited to 1 page), three letters of recommendation (clinical preferred); submit application at https://portal.phorcas.org

About Veterans Affairs Medical Center - Memphis PGY2 Internal Medicine

The Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA Medical Center (VA Memphis) is a teaching hospital, providing a full range of patient care services, state-of-the-art technology and many educational and research opportunities. Comprehensive health care is provided through primary, secondary, and tertiary care, in areas of medicine, surgery, psychiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, spinal cord injury, neurology, oncology, dentistry, and geriatrics. Specialized outpatient services are provided through general, specialty, and subspecialty outpatient clinics including a women's health center. Services are available to more than 196,000 veterans living in a 53-county tristate area (Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi). VA Memphis long-standing tradition of providing clinical pharmacy services to the medical center and training highly qualified pharmacy residents. The program was first accredited in 1963 and over 260 residents have completed training. Pharmacy residency training programs at VA Memphis have allowed residents to train at an advanced level of practice in a progressive pharmacy environment. Clinical pharmacy specialists contribute to clinical services throughout the medical c...enter and provide a wide variety of clinical pharmacy experiences including medical ICU, surgical ICU, cardiology ICU, nutrition support, internal medicine, geriatrics, palliative care, spinal cord injury, hematology/oncology, emergency medicine, practice management, pharmacoeconomics, psychiatry, primary care and home based primary care. Longitudinal clinic experiences include hypertension, hyperlipidemia, pain management, heart failure, emergency medicine, neurology, rheumatology, hematology/oncology, polypharmacy/transitions of care, geriatrics, HIV, and Hepatitis C. Pharmacy residents are provided the opportunity to accelerate their growth beyond entry-level professional competence in patient-centered care, pharmacy operational services, and leadership skills that can be applied in any position and in any practice setting. Residents acquire substantial knowledge required for skillful problem solving, refine their problem-solving strategies, strengthen their professional values and attitudes, and advance the growth of their clinical judgment. The instructional emphasis is on the progressive development of clinical judgment, a process begun in the advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPE or clerkships) of the professional school years but requiring further extensive practice, self-reflection, and shaping of decision-making skills fostered by feedback on performance. The residency year provides a productive environment for accelerating growth beyond entry-level professional competence through supervised practice under the guidance of model practitioners. Specifically, residents will acquire these skills and competencies: managing and improving the medication-use process; providing evidence-based, patient-centered medication therapy management with interdisciplinary teams; exercising leadership and practice management; demonstrating project management skills; providing medication and practice-related education/training; and utilizing medical informatics. VA Memphis offers four ASHP accredited residency programs, a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency as well as three PGY-2 programs in Internal Medicine, Ambulatory Care, and Psychiatry.

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