September 11, 2023
As part of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Postgraduate Year One (PGY1) Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program expansion, the Cape Fear Clinic (CFC) in Wilmington, North Carolina will soon be home for a new resident.
This expansion is focused on reaching Eastern North Carolina in rural and underserved areas. Although Wilmington doesn’t come to mind when thinking of rural areas, CFC focuses on an underserved population of low-income, uninsured individuals and families, which accounts for 80% of their patients. CFC is a non-profit, charitable clinic with onsite medical, pharmacy and mental health services and is a certified Patient Centered Medical Home. This builds a strong foundation for building relationships in a community pharmacy setting.
“This is such a beautiful place to do learning,” said Jennifer Buxton ‘00, Pharm.D ‘03, who will be overseeing the resident onsite. She is a double Tar Heel, with her Bachelor of Science in biology, and is CFC’s chief operating officer and chief pharmacy officer. According to Buxton, it’s not hard to sell the location of Wilmington due to its proximity to the beach and lively downtown, but it’s the community she’s built that has kept her there for 20 years—the last 10 being at CFC.
CFC has 15 staff members and they work together as an integrated medical team. Community pharmacy residents at CFC will split their time between clinical activities, filling prescriptions, teaching/precepting and research. With Buxton’s leadership, the resident will have the unique opportunity to be exposed to management and healthcare administration as well. The goal is to tailor the residency to the needs and interests of the learner.
“We play the medication expert role for patients. You’re able to use your drug and clinical knowledge and make an impact—the team relies on you to do that,” she said. “I think that’s the type of place where trainees need to be practicing.”
Residency isn’t required to become a pharmacist, but Buxton strongly encourages it. She shared that the pharmacy landscape is becoming more competitive and if a student wants to do anything beyond entry level, it’s best to get the residency done straight away.
Regarding what type of person would be a good fit for CFC, Buxton said, “The resident needs to be invigorated to make the learning experience their own, to work independently with support, a critical thinker and problem solver along with the passion to serve the underserved.”
Jalisa Grisett, Pharm.D. candidate Class of 2026, recently completed her introductory pharmacy practice experience at CFC and shared, “Each day at CFC, I was able to interact and learn from pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, medical doctors, nurse practitioners, as well as other pharmacy students. I believe that each of these interactions were key to my learning and crucial to expanding my understanding of how each role within the health system contributes to the advancement of patient care. Overall, I can truly say that the CFC is wonderful place to learn with so many unique learning opportunities.”
Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Wilmington, North Carolina is listed in the top 10 of Best American Riverwalks by USA Today.
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