School of Pharmacy Students and Alumni Show a Strong Postgraduate Residency Match Rate Once Again

It is pharmacy postgraduate Residency Match season and the national results are in for both the first and second phases of the Match. On March 13th and April 10th, our PharmD Class of 2024 and alumni achieved a combined match rate of 90% for Postgraduate Year One (PGY-1) National Matching System (NMS)-listed programs. This continues the strong performance of last year. These are wonderful results when nearly 50% of the graduating class will be pursuing postgraduate education. The majority of these matches also represent our first class of students that completed our GPA-based redesigned curriculum and we believe they are more than ready to take on the challenge of a residency year! These results are the product of high-quality students, talented and dedicated faculty and staff, faculty mentoring, and our Pharmacy Residency Preparedness Program. 

In comparison, the combined national and international match rate average was 81% for PGY-1 NMS-listed programs. We are also excited to announce that our students had the highest PGY-1 match rate in the states of Oregon and Washington for a second year in a row! 

About Postgraduate Residency Training: Residency training is divided into two postgraduate years. Postgraduate year one (PGY-1) offers more generalized training, providing residents exposure to a broad range of clinical scenarios. PGY-1 programs can occur in specialized settings such as pediatric hospitals, but most of them provide a balance of inpatient and outpatient experience across a diversity of patient populations. Postgraduate year two (PGY-2) emphasizes a specific area of interest like Infectious Diseases, Critical Care, Oncology, or Ambulatory Care and helps lead to specialization in that field. In order to complete a PGY-2 residency, a PGY-1 program must be completed. Completing a pharmacy residency after graduation is a great way to begin a career in clinical pharmacy and is generally stated to be equivalent to gaining about three years of practice experience delivered in one year. In comparison to entering the workforce directly, residency training offers a structured educational program and the resident performs as a licensed practitioner while under the immediate supervision of an experienced preceptor.

About the Residency Match Process: Pharmacy residency positions (PGY-1 and PGY-2) are offered across the country to applicants coordinated through the NMS-ASHP Resident Match Program (the “Match”) and online application system, PhORCAS. Nearly all PGY-1 residency programs are now coordinated through the Match. The Match provides an orderly process to help applicants obtain positions in residency programs of their choice and to help programs obtain applicants of their choice. Similar matching programs are in use in many other health professions, including medicine, dentistry, psychology, podiatry, and optometry. While the Match is orderly, it is complicated and is a journey best taken with the guidance of a mentor who has been through the process before and understands what the residency program decision makers are looking for in finding candidates with good fit.

Pacific’s Pharmacy Residency Preparedness Program for Students and Alumni: Pacific has long provided a Residency Readiness elective, residency focused events with partners like OSHP/SSHP-ASHP, and the opportunity for a close connection with a faculty member or preceptor to guide residency bound students. In the last two years we have stepped up our efforts to more directly promote, coordinate, and deliver a longitudinal opt-in, high contact program for residency bound students or alumni during the application cycle year. This Residency Interest Group meets up to 2-3 times per month and is supported by a shared calendar, an asynchronous online course with supporting materials for each step of the process, and the assignment of a faculty buddy for advice during the application process and interview practice. These efforts supplement our required curricular series, Personal and Professional Development, that provides all students with career pathways exploration and job seeking behaviors and skills education.

If you are a prospective student, current student, alumnus, or preceptor that wants to learn more about the residency process or the support systems we have in place, I’d love to connect with you!

— By Kris Marcus, BSPharm, RPh, FOSHP, Associate Professor, Coordinator for Pharmacy Residency Preparedness Program, School of Pharmacy