This two-year fellowship trains Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) graduates to function in a professional, administrative, and research capacity in a certified poison center, clinical toxicology service, and/or an academic environment.

Program Goals:

  • Enhance verbal and written communication skills through interactions with users of the poison center service, in-person consultations with health practitioners, and contributions to ToxAlert and professional journals.
  • Participate in didactic and clinical teaching activities, including lecturing to large groups, facilitating small group discussions, and developing laboratory exercises pertinent to clinical toxicology.
  • Design, implement and analyze data from at least one independent investigation. The fellow is expected to prepare the results for dissemination, both as a presentation and as a submission to a peer reviewed journal.

Learning Experiences:

The clinical toxicology fellow is expected to participate in Pharmacotherapy Rounds, the Professional Development Seminar Series, and teaching activities. For more information about these specific activities, please click here.

The fellow will also have the opportunity to participate in two elective rotations per year, for a total of four elective rotations outside the poison center. Elective rotation sites include University of Maryland Medical System (emergency medicine, pediatrics, etc.), Johns Hopkins Hospital (emergency medicine), Maryland Institute of Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS), and other hospitals in Maryland. Opportunities exist to spend some time at other nearby poison centers. There is extensive interaction exists with other residents and fellows at the School of Pharmacy and surrounding institutions.

Additional training activities include consulting on and presenting cases in the poison center, teaching, management and research. Fellows independently perform one or more research projects each year that are presented at regional and national meetings and published in peer-reviewed journals. The fellow spends the first few months listening to and then answering calls in the poison center. Following this intensive poison center experience, the fellow is required to staff in the poison center for two shifts (12 hours each) per month.

About the Maryland Poison Center:

The Maryland Poison Center is a division of the Department of Practice, Sciences, and Health Outcomes Research at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. As one of 55 poison centers across the United States, it strives to decrease the cost and complexity of poisoning and overdose care while maintaining and/or improving patient outcomes. The Center receives more than 60,000 calls per year, from the routine to the life-threatening.

Number of Available Positions: 1

Application Process:

All applicants must submit the following materials:

  • Curriculum Vitae*
  • Letter of Intent*
  • Three (3) letters of recommendation*
  • Official transcript

*Electronic submissions are accepted

Application materials should be submitted by email or US mail to the program director.

The application deadline is January 2.

International students and permanent residents should contact P-SHORResidencyandAdministrativeSupport@rx.umaryland.edu before applying.

Fellows who are accepted to this program will be required to come to Baltimore in advance of the July 1st start date for campus orientation; these orientation dates are not known until mid-Spring. These sessions are typically offered on select Mondays in May and June.

Program Director:

Jimmy Leonard, PharmD, DABAT
Director of Clinical Services
Maryland Poison Center
220 Arch Street, Room 01-114
Baltimore, MD 21201
Email: jleonard@rx.umaryland.edu