Pharmacy Residency Program

A message from Zephanye L. Sistrunk, Program Director

Thank you for your interest in Valley Hospital Medical Center’s Pharmacy Residency Program. Our hospital is comprised of 306 acute care beds including a 48-bed behavioral health unit, and we also have three freestanding emergency departments to provide optimal care to Southern Nevada residents and visitors.

As a teaching hospital, we are proud to have added a PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency Program to our Graduate Medical Education. During this 12-month training process, our pharmacy residents are immersed in a variety of experiences and projects that accelerate their growth beyond what entry-level experiences may provide. The pharmacy resident will perform as a licensed practitioner under the supervision of an experienced preceptor and will be exposed to a broad variety of clinical scenarios. Learning experiences are organized in block rotations in a specific area. Pharmacy residents will also participate in committee meetings, develop and revise policies and procedures, conduct quality/performance improvement efforts and complete one major research project.

The graduates of our residency program have successfully pursued PGY-2 Pharmacy Residencies and/or moved on to positions as inpatient pharmacist specialists, pharmacy school faculty, pharmacy supervisors and managers. In a supportive environment, we are committed to providing you with outstanding residency training to develop you as a pharmacist practitioner who will be skilled in diverse patient care, leadership, education and practice management.

Zephanye L. Sistrunk, PharmD, BCGP
Pharmacy Residency Program Director
Valley Hospital Medical Center
620 Shadow Lane
Las Vegas, NV 89106
Phone: 702-388-4626

The mission of the Pharmacy Residency Program is to prepare pharmacists to become competent, highly functional, independent clinical practitioners focused on medication therapy management in an acute care setting. Our program is accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

Purpose Statement

Our PGY-1 pharmacy program builds on Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) education and outcomes to contribute to the development of clinical pharmacists responsible for medication-related care of patients with a wide range of conditions, eligible for board certification and eligible for postgraduate year two (PGY-2) pharmacy residency training.

Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will have the knowledge, skills and attitude needed to pursue general clinical pharmacy positions and will be qualified to deliver direct patient care in an acute care hospital. Graduates will be equipped to function as pharmacy educators and will be ready for success as a PGY-2 resident. 

Graduates of this program will have completed learning experiences in the following areas: adult inpatient internal medicine, antimicrobial stewardship, critical care, infectious diseases, pharmacy administration and emergency medicine. Residents in the program will have the opportunity to pursue a teaching certificate and choose elective learning experiences in academia, neonatology, hematology/oncology and pediatrics/pediatric intensive care.