MAD-ID Program Highlight PGY2 Infectious Diseases Pharmacy Residency ECU Health Medical Center PGY2 ID Pharmacy Residency Greenville, NC

Program Director: Nicole C. Nicolsen, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP  

Link to Program Website

Tell us about your PROGRAM

The ECU Health (ECUH) Medical Center PGY2 ID Pharmacy Residency offers rotations in a variety of settings, including the adult antimicrobial stewardship program, adult ID consult rounding services, HIV/ID clinic, clinical microbiology, and the outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) program.  

What makes your program UNIQUE?

ECUH has a formal antimicrobial stewardship program that has been in place for over 20 years and oversees prospective audit with feedback, formulary restrictions, and rapid molecular response for the large academic medical center in Greenville, NC, as well as the ECUH community hospitals located across eastern NC. The ID division affiliated with ECUH offers the resident opportunities such as inpatient consult rounding, ambulatory clinic visits, and collaboration with the ID Fellow program. A formal OPAT program also provides the resident with exposure to the transitions of care involved with complete ID management. The resident will also help manage the antimicrobial formulary, create hospital antibiograms, analyze antimicrobial use data, and oversee a variety of guidelines and resources that serve the ECUH system.

What opportunities are there for RESEARCH and QUALITY IMPROVEMENT in your program?

A wide variety of opportunities exist for quality improvement and research projects. Two recent resident research projects that were presented at MAD-ID were "Comparison of Intravenous vs Intravenous with Step-Down to Oral Antibiotic Treatment Course for Streptococcus and Enterococcus Bloodstream Infections" and "Oral Beta-Lactams vs Fluoroquinolones or Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole for Directed Short Course Therapy in Uncomplicated Enterobacterales Bacteremia". 

What QUALITIES are you looking for in a successful trainee?

Successful trainees are self-motivated, driven, and flexible. They have strong attention to detail, good time management skills, and the ability to problem-solve.  

What CAREER paths have past trainees pursued, and how does your program support trainees in finding job opportunities?

The most recent trainee chose a career path as the sole Antimicrobial Stewardship Program/ID Clinical Pharmacist at a large academic medical center in SC. The ECUH program supports trainees in finding job opportunities by reviewing SIDP job postings, editing the trainee's CV, and performing job interview preparation sessions.  

MAD-ID Training Program Highlight

This series highlights ID pharmacy training programs, including PGY2 ID residency and ID fellowship programs, that send trainees to the MAD-ID Annual Meeting. We provide an opportunity for program directors to give insights into their offerings that mean most to prospective trainees.

If you are interested in highlighting your ID pharmacy training program, please contact David Ha at dha@stanfordhealthcare.org.