PGY1 Community-Based Residency Program - Kroger Health / UC

Kroger Health, Cincinnati-Dayton KMA in collaboration with The University of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, is conducting a Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program.

Residents will be selected for one year of training that will begin on July 1. The Kroger Health/University of Cincinnati Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program offers a unique and challenging post-graduate training opportunity intended to develop advanced skills in community pharmacy practice and to shape the future leaders of the profession.

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Deliver high-quality patient care in community-based settings;
• Work collaboratively with health care providers, community organizations, employers, and insurers;
• Educate and precept pharmacy students in the classroom and in practice;
• Manage a community pharmacy with integrated patient care services while leading the advancement and expansion of community pharmacy practice

Kroger Pharmacy is a large grocery chain community pharmacy that operates more than 100 pharmacies within the greater Cincinnati area. The Cincinnati/Dayton Kroger Marketing Area (KMA) is committed to the provision of patient care and the advancement of the profession of pharmacy. Innovative pharmacy designs, including private counseling rooms, allow for improved pharmacist-patient communication. Immunizations, health screenings and medication therapy management are offered at all pharmacies in the KMA. 

Select locations have been established and offer advanced patient care services. These additional services include, but are not limited to smoking cessation, diabetes self-management education, and diabetes and heart disease coaching. Self-insured employer group contracts and collaborative relationships have been built with various providers to allow the highest level of care. Each resident has a primary training site at one of these locations and the majority of each resident's training is conducted here. 

The residents will also learn what is involved in managing a community pharmacy and build the foundation for practice leadership and management skills in the community pharmacy setting. Additionally, they will have a rotational experience at the Kroger Division office and an ambulatory clinic.

• Mike Pleiman, PharmD, CDE
• Kelly Rogers, PharmD
• Matt Jensen, PharmD

The J. Richard Wuest Family Pharmacy Practice Skills Center is an integral component of the Doctor of Pharmacy degree program at the University of Cincinnati.  Students rotate through stations that are utilized to provide practical experience and problem solving in sterile preparations, patient counseling, patient assessment, self-care, and drug information. Residents teach pharmacy students in small groups about ambulatory care issues including, but not limited to blood pressure measurement, immunizations, diabetes patient care, and patient counseling. Residents will also obtain their Teaching Certificate. In addition, residents have the opportunity to develop and teach an elective pharmacy course at the College of Pharmacy.

• Michael Hegener, PharmD, BCACP
• Katie Johnson, PharmD, MS, BCACP

Past residency graduates have gone on to complete fellowships and work as pharmacy managers and division coordinators, managers of clinical program development, assistant professors at colleges of pharmacy, and clinical specialists in the community, hospital and mail order setting.

Twenty one of the college's residents have been the recipients of the APhA Foundation Incentive Grant with four of them being awarded the Daniel A. Herbert Incentive Grant. This is awarded annually to a community pharmacy resident or recent pharmacy graduate who is working to expand pharmacy services for which pharmacists are compensated. Listed below are the last five years of residents’ projects.

Benefits include an annual residency stipend, health insurance, vacation, professional and educational leave, and financial assistance to attend professional meetings. Residents will be provided with a one-year appointment as an Adjunct Instructor at the James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy.

Application Information and Requirements:

The Kroger Health/University of Cincinnati Residency Program accepts applications through PhORCAS™. All standard elements are required. Preference will be given to applications received prior to January 2, 2024. Select applicants will be invited for onsite interviews in January or February. Requirements for application include:

• Graduate of an ACPE accredited college of pharmacy
• Eligible for licensure as a pharmacist in the states of Ohio and Kentucky

The Kroger Health/University of Cincinnati PGY1 Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program participates in the ASHP Residency Matching Program. Applicants will be selected based on academic record, practice experience, career goals, professional activities, and potential to have impact on pharmacy as a profession.