Pharmacy Residency Program

The purpose of the Priority Health Postgraduate Year One (PGY1) Managed Care Pharmacy Residency Program is to build upon the Doctor of Pharmacy education and experiences to develop exceptional managed care pharmacist clinicians and future leaders.

The program will provide comprehensive training to develop a diverse patient care experience, evidence-based clinical decision making, project management, and leadership skills. Residents who successfully complete the program will be prepared for clinical, business, operations, and leadership roles within managed care pharmacy practice.

The program is accredited by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

Strengths of the Priority Health PGY1 Managed Care Pharmacy Residency Program Include:

  • Virtual-based work environment consistent with the Hybrid, On-Site and Remote work policy. The resident is provided with a company-owned laptop and appropriate equipment.
  • Practice in a large health plan with over 1 million members across Commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid plans.
  • Involvement in formulary management for each market segment through the Priority Health Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.
  • Focus on developing leadership skills in collaboration with health plan leaders.

With over 30 years in healthcare, Priority Health is the second largest health plan in Michigan with recent expansion into Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin, offering an extensive portfolio of health benefits options for Medicare, Medicaid, employer groups and individuals with fully funded and self-funded options. Many pharmacy operations are done in-house to include prior authorization review as well as development and maintenance of a custom formulary designed to best serve our population. Serving over one million members each year and offering a broad network of primary care physicians and specialists, Priority Health continues to be recognized as a leader for quality, customer service, transparency, and product innovation. 

The pharmacy department within Priority Health includes more than 35 full-time pharmacists and more than 40 non-pharmacist staff in support of the development and management of both pharmacy and medical benefits. Teams are focused by plan type across three primary market types: Commercial (individual and employer-based), Medicaid, and Medicare. The Business Operations team encompasses all market types and focuses on utilization management and formulary development through the Pharmacy & Therapeutics (P&T) Committee processes.

Corewell Health is a not-for-profit health system that provides care and coverage with an exceptional team of 60,000+ dedicated people- including more than 11,500 physicians and advanced practice providers and more than 16,000 nurses offering services in 21 hospitals, 300+ outpatient locations and several post-acute facilities—and Priority Health, a provider-sponsored health plan serving over 1 million members and 9000+ employers contracted by Priority Health. Pharmacy services across the system are comprehensive and include inpatient acute care for adult and pediatric populations, ambulatory care services, and health plan services. There are over 200 pharmacists employed within the system.

The Priority Health Managed Care Resident will have the opportunity to work in collaboration with the Corewell Health system pharmacists and residents.

  • Orientation to Managed Care
  • Utilization Management
  • Formulary Management
  • Government Programs & Medicare Quality
  • Pharmacy Partnerships
  • Executive & Organizational Leadership
  • Ambulatory Care – Corewell Health
  • Medication Care Coordination – Corewell Health
  • Continuing Education Presentation I
  • Continuing Education Presentation II

  • Service Commitment
  • Clinical Pharmacy Outreach Services
  • Research Project

  • Leadership seminars
  • Research Seminar Series

The residents will gain experience performing prior authorization reviews, clinical assessment, and decision-making across all lines of business. Service commitment consists of staffing coverage determinations 4 hours per week plus weekend work. Training will begin at a frequency of every other weekend until independent, then continue every third weekend for the remainder of the year. The resident is expected to staff one holiday weekend in the first quarter of the calendar year and up to one additional holiday weekend. 

Note: In early 2024, this residency program was surveyed by the residency accreditation team from the American Society of Health System Pharmacists. We remain in candidate status and are currently awaiting a decision on full accreditation (expected fall 2024). Once fully accredited, the graduating residents will be retroactively granted a certificate of completion from the accredited residency.

Learn more about our Residency Program

The Team:

Woman smiling

Christie Van Dyke

PharmD, BCPS

Program Director

Clinical Pharmacy Specialist

Henry smiling

Chad Henry

Program Coordinator

Supervisor, Clinical Pharmacy Services

Leena Jamaleddin, PharmD

Residency year: 2024 – 2025

Current role: Formulary Operations Pharmacist at Capital Rx

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Michael Gomez, Pharm.D.

Residency year: 2023 – 2024

Current role: Pharmacist Clinical Coordinator at SelectHealth

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Pharmacy Team Activities

Members of the Residency Program at a golf outing

Pharmacy Team Outing Summer 2022

Priority Health team members at 2023 Nexus

AMCP Nexus