The goals of the Preceptorship Program are to:

1. Network pharmacists in innovative pharmaceutical care practices to allow for further professional collaboration.
   
   
2. Develop regional Referral Centers of Excellence in HIV Pharmacotherapy throughout the country for the purposes of:
   
   
   • addressing patient-specific questions/consults from regional physicians/providers
     
     
   • serving as mentors for regional pharmacists requiring support or desiring on-going education regarding HIV pharmacotherapy
     
     
3. Provide an experiential training program for pharmacists interested in gaining intensive applied HIV pharmacotherapy exposure and/or interested in completing an HIV Pharmacotherapy Certificate Program.
   
   

Initially, the target audience is pharmacists with experience in the management of patients with HIV infection. The program is intended for pharmacists who:

1. are currently engaged in an active HIV clinical practice setting
   
   
2. wish to further develop their clinical practice expertise in the management of patients with HIV in acute or ambulatory care environments
   
   
3. wish to gain exposure to an alternative model of HIV pharmacotherapy practice
   
   
4. want to collaborate with other providers in HIV pharmacotherapy
   
   

The program targets clinicians who are practicing in an environment that supports the further growth and development of clinical activities.

1. Must be a licensed pharmacist with access to patients with HIV in an ambulatory/community or acute care setting.
   
   
2. Must have Internet access.
   
   

Application Process

All individuals interested in the program are asked to complete an application. The purpose of the application is to identify individuals who will be in a position to implement practice changes into their current practice setting and contribute to the pool of centers who will be able to offer the Preceptorship Program in the future.

Preceptorship Format

The site of the Preceptorship Program will be at the Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) in Buffalo, New York within the division of Pharmacotherapy Services of the Immunodeficiency Clinic.

Erie County Medical Center, Western New York’s leading trauma, burn, rehabilitation, and clinical research facility is a major teaching hospital for the State University of New York at Buffalo. Within the hospital, clinical services for persons with HIV infection and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) are provided by Immunodeficiency Services, a department which includes over forty professionals who deliver care to more than 900 clients. Four Infectious Diseases physicians, one Obstetrician/Gynecologist and four midlevel practitioners provide the primary medical care in the Clinic. There is also a specific Women's HIV Clinic offering primary care to pregnant and non-pregnant HIV-infected women. Immunodeficiency Services also offers comprehensive services including Chemical Dependency Services, Neuropsychiatric Services, AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) Clinical Drug Trials and Clinical Pharmacokinetics (Antiviral Clinical Pharmacology Unit). The State University of New York at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, in association with Immunodeficiency Services and the ACTG conducts research on factors affecting the absorption, metabolism and outcomes with antiviral drugs.

The on-site visits will be one week in length, from Monday to Friday. This will enable participation of the applicant in the following specific activities that occur at regularly scheduled times:

1. Adherence Clinic ( 3 x 1/2 days)
   
   
   • Operated by Pharm.D. practitioners serving HIV-infected patients in the Western New York area referred for assessment, education, counseling or management of non-adherence, toxicities, drug interactions or pharmacologic drug failure.
     
     
2. Women’s HIV Clinic (1/2 day)
   
   
   • Operated by an Obstetrician/Gynecologist and specialty nurse practitioners serving pregnant and non-pregnant women with HIV infection.
     
     
3. Pediatric HIV Consult Service (1/2 day)
   
   
   • A weekly consult service is provided by the HIV Pharmacotherapists to the pediatric infectious diseases providers at the Children’s Hospital of Buffalo within their Parents and Children Together (P.A.C.T) program. Patients are scheduled for appointments with the Pharm.D. during the one afternoon at the Children’s Hospital, followed by Pediatric Case Conferencing with the a team of multidisciplinary care providers.
     
     
4. Journal Club
   
   
   • Once weekly, the HIV/ID Pharmacotherapy Residents present recent primary literature for discussion.
     
     
5. Faculty Seminar
   
   
   • Once weekly, a Resident/Fellow or faculty member will present a seminar pertaining to current issues in pharmacotherapy.
     
     
6. Virology Conference
   
   
   • Once weekly, a multidisciplinary group of HIV care providers assemble to discuss pharmacologic and pertinent psychosocial issues surrounding challenging patients who have either been selected by the HIV Pharmacotherapists or referred by the HIV providers for discussion. All patient cases are prepared and presented by the HIV Pharmacotherapists.
     
     

Linda Catanzaro, Pharm.D.

Additional Program Faculty

Gene D. Morse, Pharm.D., FCCP, BCPS
Ross G. Hewitt, MD

Applicants receiving the grant will receive full reimbursement for all travel and accommodation expenses incurred while participating in the program.

This program has been made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company