Q & A on Pharmacy Residencies
This document is compiled based on inputs from Dr. Jung, Dr. Lopez, Mr. Arlyn Kloesel, Nile Barnes, Jennifer Ziegler, Melanie Moss, and assistance from Meigo Chen. It serves as a supplement to the information posted on ASHP's Residency and Accreditation Information website. Please take a minute to browse the ASHP Website for more details on pharmacy residencies.
- What is a pharmacy residency?
- Why would I complete a pharmacy residency?
- What types of residencies are there?
- What is a pharmacy fellowship?
- Does it matter if I choose an ASHP-accredited residency or not?
- Do I need to complete a pharmacy practice residency before going into a specialized pharmacy residency?
- May I enroll in a graduate program in pharmacy while completing a pharmacy residency program?
- What types of pharmacy residency/fellowship programs are available through UT and affiliated institutions?
- How long will it take to complete a residency?
- Will I earn a salary?
- How do I apply for residencies?
- What are the requirements for admission?
- What are the time line and checklist to consider for residency application?
- How do I search for residencies and how do I find out details about each residency?
- How do I select the residency program that is right for me?
- What kinds of information should I look for in residency programs?
- How are residency applicants compared?
- Why should I attend the Midyear Clinical Meeting?
- Why should I attend the Residency Showcase? Advantages/Obstacles to Overcome?
- Resources for CV/resume writing
- Tips for interviews
- Glossary of Terms
- Additional resources
- Residency and Fellowships
- M.S. and Residencies Information 1 & M.S. and Residencies Information 2
- Residency / Master of Science / Fellowship Application
- How many hours are spent with service commitments/staffing per week and for how long? (for a clinical position 6 months is a lot of time)
- Do you have to work late nights? How often do you have to cover weekends?
- Are there any opportunities to teach or precept pharmacy students?
- Are there any opportunities to publish?
- How do you think this year's residents are doing?
- What current research projects are other pharmacists at this institution working on?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of this department?
- Does the pharmacy faculty ever work with the medical faculty on research projects?
- How would you describe the relationship between the distributional pharmacists and the clinical pharmacists?
- Is the staff given the opportunity to attend national pharmacy meetings (e.g., ASHP, APhA, ACCP, SCCM)? If so, is funding available?
- Do pharmacists ever give lectures to medical house staff?
- Is code team participation required or optional?
- If the residency program is not accredited, ask if they intend to be accredited and if so, when?
- Get details on the location, city information, cost of living, etc.
- What is your typical day like?
- What time do you get to work, on average?
- What is the policy for working on holidays?
- Have you had any problems working with the director?
- What would you change about this department?
- How accessible is the library? What data resources (online/paper) do you have access to? Computer access?
- Do residents have a regular office/desk space to do their work?
- Is it possible to have an outside job on top of the residency work?
- Are you ever on call? If so, how late do you have to be on call (entire night? Until 2am?)?
- How many calls have you received in the middle of the night while on call?
- Do you have to pay for parking?
- Is the medical/nursing staff easy to work with at this institution?
- How far do you live from work?
- How long does it take you to get to work?
- Is the neighborhood near the institution safe?
- Have you had the opportunity to give lectures to pharmacy/medical students or residents? How many?
- Have you had the opportunity to write or publish (review articles, hospital newsletter articles, case reports)?
- Are your suggestions to medical staff taken seriously?
- How much impact do you have on drug therapy decisions?
- Are you asked for input?
- How and why did you choose this pharmacy specialty?
- What do you like most and least about your residency program?
- Are there any residency requirements to work in this field?
- What are the various practice settings for this health-system pharmacy specialty?
- What are your typical job duties? How do you spend your workday?
- What is the salary range in this field? What is the salary range for new practitioners?
- What are the benefits (vacation time, travel funding to National meetings)?
- What is this specialty's career path?
- Other than ASHP, what specialty associations and local contacts exist?
- What recommendations would you make to a pharmacist considering this specialty?
- What attributes do you think are important in anyone considering this specialty?
- If you had it to do over again would you choose this field of pharmacy? Why or why not?
- Who else would you suggest I speak with? May I let them know you referred me?
- If you have to do a residency project, can you choose your own topics?
- Who (i.e. nurses, physicians) can residents collaborate on projects?
- What are the elective choices?
- Leadership opportunity?
- Your own office/desk space provided at work?
- When you are working, are you going to be the only pharmacist on duty, or will there be other pharmacists close by for resources?
- Do you work pretty closely with your preceptor most of the time or does he/she let you work independently most of the time?
- What advice do you have for me as a pharmacy students to do in school (choice of courses/rotations) to increase my chance of getting accepted into a residency program after my graduating from Pharm.D. program?
- Ask interviewer when to expect result of the interview?
- Completeness of their application
- Internship rotation choices in their P-4 year
- Letter of recommendations
- GPA
- Previous pharmacy experiences
- Candidate's maturity, self confidence, and knowledge shown at interview
- Research/publication/certification
- Team player
- Communication skills
- Work ethics
- Leadership skills
- Gather information from and interact with representatives from various programs
- Begin interviewing for a position (residency, fellowship, industry, clinical pharmacist)
- Participate in residency program activities such as the Residency Showcase and Personnel Placement Service
- Network, attend student programs
- Interact with numerous residency programs
- Meet with current residents and preceptors
- Different residency programs featured daily
- Informal, but some programs will collect CVs and/or distribute application materials
- Lots of information
- No set interview times
- You can show up and talk as long as you like
- No additional fees to participate
- No place to sit
- Held in an Expo setting, so can get noisy
- You may need to wait because lots of individuals at a site
- ASHP Residency Directory lists all residencies in the accreditation pool www.ashp.org
- ACCP Directory lists residencies and fellowships conducted by ACCP members www.accp.org
- APhA website lists community residencies www.aphanet.org
- Also go to Additional Resources listed at ASHP website
- Do not forget that current pharmacy residents are excellent resources for information and advice.
Why would I complete a pharmacy residency?
A one year residency is often equated to two to three years of working experience. Emerging from residency training, the resident will become a well rounded practitioner with enhanced professional judgment, confidence, experience, and communication skills.
What types of residencies are there?
What is a pharmacy fellowship?
The fellowship program in the clinical sciences is a minimum of one to two years in length, typically divided between research (80% of effort) and advanced practice experiences (20%). While fellows gain additional experience in the provision of pharmaceutical care services, the goal is to prepare the highly motivated participants to become independent researchers. There are opportunities to take graduate coursework and to participate in clinical and laboratory investigations with experienced clinical and basic science faculty. Fellows participate in ongoing funded research as well as in the design and conduct of original research under the guidance of a preceptor.
Applicant requirements include the Pharm.D. degree and one to two years
of residency training or equivalent practice experience. Fellowship is
designed as an advanced training program in the clinical, basic, and translational
sciences for those with a Pharm.D. degree and the clinical knowledge and
skills commensurate with a specialty practice residency. Completion of
this program prepares the trainee for tenure track academic and research
scientist positions.
Does it matter if I choose an ASHP-accredited residency or not?
The fact that a residency program is not accredited does not necessarily mean that it is substandard. It is possible that the program is still new and is in a process of obtaining accreditation. Another possibility is that maybe the preceptor choose not to get the accreditation (such as Dr. Talbert's Pharmacotherapy Program in San Antonio and Dr. Karboski's Internal Medicine Program in Austin), but it may still be a great program. It is then up to you to do more research to figure out the true quality of the program and if it will provide you with adequate education and experience.
Do I need to complete a pharmacy practice residency before going into a specialized
pharmacy residency?
No, if you wish to pursue an advanced residency in pharmacy practice management or a specialized residency, it is merely recommended that you first complete a residency in pharmacy practice. However, if you have adequate pharmacy experience, you can apply for the specialized pharmacy residency directly. Note: There are some programs that will take candidates with strong clinical experience in their P4 years, which is a good reason to push yourself during the P4 year to take more difficult rotations.
Develop specialized knowledge and skills enabling the provision of a higher
level of patient care, ultimately leading to competence commensurate with
Board Certification by the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS).
BPS will actually allow someone who has completed a year of residency
to take the BPS exam; without it you must have three years of experience.
May I enroll in a graduate program in pharmacy while completing a pharmacy residency program?
Yes, there is a combined M.S./Residency program at UT. The Graduate Residency Training Program in Pharmacy at UT consists of one year of residency training in combination with twenty-four semester hours of graduate experiential coursework. Students must enroll in at least six hours of coursework in the second summer term following their admission to the program and in at least nine hours of coursework in the next fall and the next spring semester. This coursework allows the student to receive academic credit for the practical training he or she receives under the direct supervision of a pharmacy faculty member.
To take part, students must be admitted to the residency program and to
the Graduate School. Students must apply for admission to the Graduate
School as non-degree (graduate) students by completing the Application
for Admission to Graduate Study and submitting the appropriate application
fee and transcripts from each senior college they have attended. The Graduate
Record Examinations General Test is not required. Admission requirements
include receipt of the Pharm.D. degree from an institution accredited
by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education. Note: Even though
it is not a requirement, scholarships are often decided based on GRE scores,
so it may be a good idea to take it.
UT Graduate Catalog (2003-2005)
What types of pharmacy residency/fellowship programs are available through UT and affiliated institutions?
How long will it take to complete a residency?
Yes, all residency programs provide the resident with a stipend. When comparing salaries, you also need to consider factors such as geographic location, value of any fringe benefits provided, and whether or not it's academically affiliated. Another important factor to compare salary is "staffing requirement" or doing distributive pharmacy duties during residency. Positions with staffing requirements typically pay more, but set the schedule. Non-staffing positions pay less, but allow the resident to "moonlight" sometimes with higher pay or greater flexibility.
How do I apply for residencies?
What are the requirements for admission?
What are the time line and checklist to consider for residency application?
How do I search for residencies and how do I find out details about each residency?
You can find out information on residencies by going to ASHP's Residency Directory site for ASHP accredited residency programs, or American Pharmacy Association or community pharmacy residency programs at APhA website, or go to ACCP Directory of Residencies and Fellowship. You can search by institution name, state, pharmacy practice residencies, or specialized residency program to get a list of pharmacy residencies programs. From there, you can select specific program and obtain detailed information on the program you are interested, including contact information, duration and type of program, number of residency positions offered, estimated stipend, application dateline, special features, fringe benefits, starting date, and information on the institution offering the program, etc.
How do I select the residency program that is right for me?
Points to consider: program accreditation status, program quality/reputation,
patient populations and services as compared to your interests, extent of required teaching
commitment, service commitment/staffing expectations, work environment, residency projects,
competition for getting into a program, choices of electives, timing, geography, cost of
living vs. salary, future opportunities.
For more details on how to select the residency program that is right for you, go to
Career Pharm
and
Selecting a Residency
What kinds of information should I look for in residency programs?
Questions to Ask in General
How are residency applicants compared?
Pharmacy residency candidates are generally evaluated based on:
Why should I attend the Midyear Clinical Meeting?
Why should I attend the Residency Showcase? Advantages/Obstacles to Overcome?
Everyone should participate to take a look around and listen to what is offered at each residency program. The Residency Showcase provides opportunities to:
Obstacles to Overcome
Resources for CV/resume writing