FAQ

What is a residency?	ANSWER
How many residency positions are there?	ANSWER
How long have BC's residency programs been around?	ANSWER
Do I have to have taken pharmacokinetics?	ANSWER
When is the deadline and how do I apply?	ANSWER
I'm coming from outside from Vancouver for interviews. Where should I stay?	ANSWER

What is a residency?

A residency in Pharmacy Practice is a 12-month directed, postgraduate learning experience. Through structured rotations in pharmacy practice, education, research and administration, residency programs aim to prepare pharmacists for challenging and innovative careers in pharmacy practice. Graduate residents are an important source of highly qualified pharmacists trained in institutional practice. The objective of the residency program is to provide an experiential learning environment using practitioner role models. The necessary skills, knowledge, and values required to be a hospital pharmacists can be acquired and applied by the resident in the promotion of exemplary patient care.

How many residency positions are there?

There are 25-30 residency positions available in BC annually. Consult individual program pages for numbers of positions offered.

How long have BC's residency programs been around?

This varies with the institution. Some are new programs and some have been in existence since 1970.

Do I have to have taken pharmacokinetics?

Pharmacokinetics is not a mandatory requirement. However, any kinetic experience (through Phar 315, Phar 408, or during your experiential rotations) will help you in the residency programs.

When is the deadline and how do I apply?

See the Applying pages for all the information you need about application deadlines and how to apply for the program.

I'm coming from outside from Vancouver for interviews. Where should I stay?

Consider the Century Plaza Hotel (phone 604-687-0575). The Century Plaza Hotel is in the downtown core and located next to St. Paul's Hospital, Providence Health Care. It is also on the airport shuttle bus route. From SPH you can take the interhospital shuttle bus to Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre, VGH site or UBC site. You can also take the shuttle bus to Children's and Women's Hospital. The shuttle bus is free but you will need to let the driver know you are with UBC. From the Century Plaza it is a short walk to the Skytrain which will take you to Royal Columbian Hospital (FHA). It is on the bus route to Lions Gate Hospital. The hotel is standard, safe, clean, cheap and convenient. However if your needs are more upscale the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel (phone 604-331-1000) is a five star hotel located across the road from the Century Plaza.

If you still have questions about the residency program, do not hesitate to learn more by contacting the Residency Coordinators in the specific hospitals you want to learn more about or by contacting the Chairperson of the Residency Coordinators Committee.