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The PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency program is centered at Reading Hospital, the Magnet-recognized acute care flagship of Tower Health, based in scenic Berks County, Pennsylvania. The 22-building, 714-bed complex is located on 36 suburban acres in West Reading, with easy access to Philadelphia, New York and Washington D.C. Reading Hospital is a unique setting, with the size and resources of a large tertiary care center balanced with the more personal attributes of a community hospital. Reading Hospital is a Level I Trauma Center with the busiest Emergency Department in Pennsylvania, having over 135,000 visits per year. Additional services offered at Reading Hospital include a Level III Neonatal ICU, McGlinn Cancer Institute, and Miller Regional Heart Center.

Reading Hospital is part of Tower Health, a strong, regional, integrated seven-hospital healthcare system in southeastern Pennsylvania. Tower Health continually reinvests in the system, incorporating best practices and technology to support and ensure best patient care in an excellent working environment. Reading Hospital utilizes EPIC as the health information system across the continuum of care.

About the Pharmacy

The pharmacy at Reading Hospital provides 24-hour service from both the central pharmacy and the STAT parenteral satellite located in the Emergency Department. Pharmacy staff members provide service to Reading Hospital Rehabilitation at Wyomissing and the Infusion Center from on-site pharmacies. An on-site ambulatory pharmacy supports the meds-to-beds concierge program and provides prescription medications for employees and members of the community. Specialty pharmacy navigators from the ambulatory pharmacy support patient care in clinics and assist in coordinating access to specialty drugs.

Members of the pharmacy staff participate in multidisciplinary rounds with teams from the Deparments of Surgery, Medicine, Pediatrics and Dosing by pharmacy is an option available to providers on a variety of commonly prescribed parenteral antimicrobials including aminoglycosides, beta-lactams, vancomycin and acyclovir. Automatic conversion from parenteral to enteral routes of administration may be performed by pharmacists on approved medications. The Medical Staff, through the authority of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, has approved pharmacist dosing of anticoagulants and blood factor products.

Pharmacy facilities integrate technologies including Omnicell Carousels, RIVA Robot, DoseEdge, Dispense Prep, Kit Check, MedEx, Simplify797, and InSightRx for the benefit of our patients and employees.

Reading Hospital’s Department of Pharmacy is honored to serve as an APPE site for Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Temple University, University of the Sciences of Philadelphia, University of Pittsburgh and Wilkes University Colleges of Pharmacy.

To Apply: Please submit the standardized application material to Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PhORCAS).

National Matching Services (NMS) Code: 205513

Graduate Testimonials

See what recent graduates and residents have to say about their experience with the Pharmacy program at Reading Hospital.

"...second-to-none."

“The professional mentorship offered by the Reading Hospital Pharmacy Residency is second-to-none. The preceptors not only supported my clinical knowledge and skills throughout the residency, but also continued to collaborate with me following my graduation from the program. Two progressive research projects from my residency were accepted for and presented at the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Annual Conference in 2016 and 2017. Faculty advisors from this residency guided me every step of the way and I was honored to be a proud ambassador for the program on a national level. I hope to emulate a similar spirit of guidance throughout my own pharmacy career.” – Paul Boylan, PharmD, BCPS, Class of 2016

"...invaluable to my professional career."

"Completing a pharmacy practice residency at Reading Hospital has been invaluable to me in my professional career. Through residency, I gained tremendous confidence in my clinical knowledge and my ability to communicate pharmacotherapy recommendations to other members of the healthcare team. Residency challenged me to not only analyze treatment guidelines and new studies but also how to interpret and apply the findings to the appropriate patient populations. Furthermore, the flexibility provided by the Residency faculty during my training allowed me to focus on my areas of interests during my elective rotations.

"After completing my residency, I had the confidence to help start up the first pharmacy-driven outpatient anticoagulation clinic at the Reading Health System. I continue to carry the skills and experiences I’ve obtained through my residency at Reading Health System with me now as a Clinical Pharmacist at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. " – Troy Gibson, PharmD, Class of 2013

"I started my training in a positive light..."

"Reading Hospital's PGY-1 residency helped lay an invaluable foundation for building my clinical career as an emergency medicine and critical care pharmacist. Through the interactions with clinical pharmacists and multidisciplinary teams, I was able to start my training as a clinical pharmacist in a positive light with an excellent education background provided by Reading Hospital's preceptors and experiences. The building blocks that this residency offered allowed for me to match into my top choice PGY-2 residency program and eventually become a successful clinical pharmacist at a major level 1 university trauma center. " – Sharnae Stevens, PharmD, Class of 2014

"My PGY-1 residency at Tower Health gave me the perfect variety...

"My PGY-1 residency at Tower Health gave me the perfect variety of rotations to help me choose my future path in pharmacy. I did not even know I loved pediatrics until I completed the NICU rotation during that year !  My experience at Tower Health prepared me for continuing on to a specialized PGY-2 residency and gave me an excellent base to continue to grow as a clinical pharmacist.” - Caitlin Lozorak, PharmD, BCPPS, Class of 2015

I thoroughly enjoyed how flexible and personal my experience was...

“I thoroughly enjoyed how flexible and personal my experience was as a pharmacy resident at Reading Hospital. I was able to express my interests and goals and the program provided experiences I was seeking. My preceptors fostered a safe and entertaining learning environment as they wanted me to succeed both throughout the year as well as post-residency. I had full control of what I wanted to take out of the program as it is ever growing with opportunities.” – Jumie Jacob, PharmD, MTM-C, Class of 2020