2020 Pharmacy Residency Match Stats

[FaithTrustPixieDust]

Congratulations to us for getting through this entire process. This is based on 2019's thread with two added questions.

(You don't have to answer all of these, this is suggested so people can look through this thread next year and have an idea of our Match Day.)

• GPA:
• Geographic location:
• Activities:
• Leadership:
• Community Service:
• Research:
• Work experience in pharmacy:
• Work experience outside of pharmacy:
• Number/Type of residencies applied to:
• Number of interview invites:
• Number of states you applied to residencies in:
• Did you attend ASHP?
• Where you actually matched (type of residency, where it was on your rank list, etc.):
• Time you received email:
• Did you feel like the program would rank you:
• Additional Notes:

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[Succus]

Congratulations to us for getting through this entire process. This is based on 2019's thread with two added questions.

(You don't have to answer all of these, this is suggested so people can look through this thread next year and have an idea of our Match Day.)

• GPA:
• Geographic location:
• Activities:
• Leadership:
• Community Service:
• Research:
• Work experience in pharmacy:
• Work experience outside of pharmacy:
• Number/Type of residencies applied to:
• Number of interview invites:
• Number of states you applied to residencies in:
• Did you attend ASHP?
• Where you actually matched (type of residency, where it was on your rank list, etc.):
• Time you received email:
• Did you feel like the program would rank you:
• Additional Notes:

I’m Kofi in CT. Worked 2 years in retail. I have lots of community volunteering experience and held leadership roles in various orgs while in school. I have a publication and innovated an app for University of St Joseph pharmacy school to use at their labs. Ampliedrx app. I didn’t attend ASHP. I matched into my first choice residency at Norwalk hospital. Received my congratulatory email around 8am. Felt the staff were really nice to everyone. It’s hard to tell on the day if they would rank you.

For anyone who wants to pursue residency after working as a pharmacist, be encouraged and know that it’s totally doable.

 

[FaithTrustPixieDust]

• GPA: 3.88
• Geographic location: Southwest
• Activities/Leadership: Class representative X 1 year. Leader in health outreach organization (with a national presentation) X 2 years. SCCP satellite campus liaison and pocket guide chair X 1 year each. PLS satellite campus liaison. KY chapter founding member. KY Historian X 1.5 years. Rho Chi member. Interdisciplinary Committee X3 years. Attended at least 1 conference per year, earned at least 1 certificate out of school requirements per year.
• Community Service: Leader in health outreach organization. Health fairs. Service through multiple orgs KY, PLS, SCCP. STEM events.
• Research: 2 years as Clinical Research Assistant. QI project through school 2nd year. Senior research project at large hospital. Presented at ASHP Midyear 3rd/4th year.
• Work experience in pharmacy: 2.5 years MTM as pharmacy intern, 1 year as volunteer tech at a VA and Community hospital
• Work experience outside of pharmacy: Second career, but no other work during pharm school.
• Number/Type of residencies applied to: 16 total. 5 VA. 5 Major academic medical center. 6 medium hospitals with onc focus.
• Number of interview invites: 8.
• Number of states you applied to residencies in: 4 states total. 4 California (1 CA Interview went to CSHP and 2 open houses)
• Did you attend ASHP? Yes.
• Where you actually matched (type of residency, where it was on your rank list, etc.): #1 choice. Hospital with onc focus.
• Time you received email: 5:13 AM
• Did you feel like the program would rank you: Yes, but I wasn't sure where.
• Additional Notes: My letter writers I think are what put me over the top. Your first 4 rotations mean a lot so give them all you have

 

[Cyanisland]

• GPA:
  • 3.25
• Geographic location:
  • Midwest for school, matched in North West
• Activities:
  • P1/P2 briefly was a part of APhA and snpha, did med recs at our associated hospital's ER, and then P2-P4 did medicinal chemistry research in a lab
• Leadership:
  • Pretty much none (but I tried to show initiatives in other areas as leadership and that was received well)
• Community Service:
• Research:
  • Med chem lab for 2 years, and also a lab in undergrad.
• Work experience in pharmacy:
  • I worked 1 full time year as a technician at a large hospital after undergrad, then another year as P1 before transitioning to research
• Work experience outside of pharmacy:
  • food/retail for about 5-6 years in high school/college, 4 years of research
• Number/Type of residencies applied to:
  • I applied to 11 acute care type programs that ranged from 150-1000 bed hospitals.
• Number of interview invites:
  • 4 interviews
• Number of states you applied to residencies in:
  • 3 states (WA, AZ, and AK)
• Did you attend ASHP?
  • I attended midyear, but I didn't really like it. It helped solidify some of my previous decisions to apply to certain places.
• Where you actually matched (type of residency, where it was on your rank list, etc.):
  • I matched into my 3rd choice out of 5. An acute care program in the North West
• Time you received email:
  • 7:17am
• Did you feel like the program would rank you:
  • Yes I did. They were actually my first interview of the season, and I had a good experience with everybody. My presentation went nicely, had some good laughs throughout. During the interview, the hospital had an intercom announcement about a car that left its trunk open while it was raining (my rental car), so I had to run out and close it and come back. So that was pretty funny.
• Additional Notes:
  • Don't worry TOO much about your grades unless you're trying to get in at a larger institution with a high cut-off for interview invites
  • The interview experience is super important. You have to be likable, articulate, and have some good stories to tell. I think some people didn't prepare like at all and were upset when they didn't match. Take it seriously
  • Be real with your expectations, meaning that if you're a lower GPA/lower experienced person in whatever way, then maybe applying to big city/big hospital programs isn't worth it. I should have been smarter about some of the programs.
  • Traveling is expensive. I only interviewed at 4, but I don't think I could have afforded much more than that.
  • I had 2 friends with nearly perfect grades, masters degree, good work experience, Rho Chi, publications, etc... who did NOT match. Likely due to interview going poorly (based on their personalities) So, don't fret if you're not perfect. Be you, be funny, be unique.

 

[Ayelet Rinah]

• GPA: 3.80
• Geographic location: Southwest
• Activities (other than below): Extra training certificates
• Leadership: KY founding brother, finance chair, legislature & SCCP treasurer, a pocket guide topic leader
• Community Service: Health fairs, Events through school, KY & SCCP community services events
• Community Service/Leadership: Coordinate volunteers at an organization that helps homeless families.
• Research: 2 years as Clinical Research Assistant. QI project through school 2nd year. Senior research project at large hospital. Presented at ASHP Midyear 3rd & 4th year.
• Work experience in pharmacy: 4 years as a tech/cashier at an independent, 3 years at CVS, 3 years doing MTM.
• Work experience outside of pharmacy: Aid Station Captain for running events
• Number/Type of residencies applied to: 13 (12 ASHP: amb care, mixed programs, managed care, community- I was all over the board because I wanted to stay local and my interests are flexible) also an IHS program (but no interview)
• Number of interview invites: 8 (9 but had to turn one down)
• Number of states you applied to residencies in: 1
• Did you attend ASHP? yes 2 years in a row
• Where you actually matched (type of residency, where it was on your rank list, etc.): #1 program. Mixed program with inpatient, ambulatory care, and a lot of cool electives.
• Time you received email: 5:14am
• Did you feel like the program would rank you: I thought they would rank me, but I wasn't sure if it would be high enough to get the position.
• Additional Notes: Some people say trust your gut at Midyear but I think the interaction is too short. The vibe I got during interviews was much more important to me. My #1 ranked program was #8 on my list initially and my initial #1 became #4 ranked. I had an awful experience with one program at Midyear, they were the very last program on my list, but ended up being my #2 ranked after an amazing interview process.

 

[pharm9880]

• GPA: 3.76
• Geographic location: Southwest
• Activities: APhA, ASHP, ACCP, PLS, SNPhA, KE, local advocacy organization, state affiliates
• Leadership: 3 years of ASHP advisory groups, 4 years of international service with IPSF (one year on executive committee), way too many state and local roles to list
• Community Service: local HIV/AIDS organizations and health screenings
• Research: Three years of PrEP research, 2 years of inorganic chemistry research, 2 theses, 4 ASHP posters
• Work experience in pharmacy: 2 years hospital technician, former Hopkins HIV intern
• Work experience outside of pharmacy: None
• Number/Type of residencies applied to: 6 PGY1/PGY2 admin, 6 general PGY1, 1 PGY1 ambulatory care/HIV
• Number of interview invites: 8 (got 9, but had to turn down 1) (5 admin, 2 PGY1, 1 PGY1 ambulatory care/HIV)
• Number of states you applied to residencies in: 9
• Did you attend ASHP? Not this year
• Where you actually matched (type of residency, where it was on your rank list, etc.): #1 on my list, ambulatory/HIV PGY1
• Time you received email: 7:17 AM Central time
• Did you feel like the program would rank you: Yes, but I didn't think it would be high enough to match. The other applicants were so incredible and highly qualified.
• Additional Notes: I am actually a year out of school. So if you're thinking about applying a year or more out of school, go for it! Even if you didn't match before, just know there's hope!

 

[rxgrad2020]

• GPA: 3.2
• Geographic location: SoCal
• Activities: APhA, ACCP, ASHP
• Leadership: Co-founder of school ACCP and secretary x2 yr
• Community Service: health fairs and activities through school only
• Research: 1 med safety research that presented at Midyear in P3
• Work experience in pharmacy: inpatient x3 yr and WAGS x3 yr (2. jobs throughout pharmacy school)
• Work experience outside of pharmacy: TA and summer research assistant in undergrad.
• Number/Type of residencies applied to: 13 (2 amcare, 11 hospital range from small/ rural area to big) only in Norcal and Socal d/t personal location reference.
• Number of interview invites: 5
• Number of states you applied to residencies in: CA only
• Did you attend ASHP? I attended Midyear in P3 for a poster presentation, did not go to any conferences in P4 but went to open houses.
• Where you actually matched (type of residency, where it was on your rank list, etc.): #3 300 bed trauma hospital in San Diego.
• Time you received email: ~ 5:10 AM PST
• Did you feel like the program would rank you: Maybe, I didn't think it would be high because I did not feel 100% excited after the interview (could be due to interview fatigue)
• Additional Notes:
  • Ask for LORs early and give your writers a deadline when you want them to finish to make sure you can turn your app in on time.
  • Know what programs generally look for in applicants and get them done before applying (leaderships, research, teaching, etc)
  • Be genuine during interviews to show your personality but not too comfortable as it could cross the line of being unprofessional
  • Ranking based on where you want to go the most (learning experiences, location, future opportunities). DO NOT rank base on how you THINK the interviews went. I thought my #1 interview went very well, and turned out I did not match with #1 or #2. But now, looking back, the hospital I matched with is better than #2 and the most established program among my list.
  • NETWORKING NETWORKING NETWORKING!!! For all the places I got interviews, I either did a rotation or know a resident.