2013- 2014 PGY1 residency applicants

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
PharmBeanz

PharmBeanz

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2013
Messages
138
Reaction score
70
I've been lurking here for a little while looking for any info I can find on this process and I thought it would be good to have a place for current applicants to post questions/comments and for residents to give (very welcomed!) advice.

I'm starting rather late in the game as I didn't realize I wanted to do a residency until very recently. I've been working on my letter of intent and I have seen a few older threads that somewhat address my questions but not fully.
For anyone with a definitive answer:
  1. what are the standard fonts, font sizes, and margins used to write these letters? I know this seems like a very anal question but I would really like to avoid having mine stick out like a sore thumb for something like a font size that's just too big compared to everyone else's
  2. I have practically no research experience outside of the ones assigned in class and ZERO publications. Do I need to address this in my letter as something 'lacking'?
  3. For the entire letter, I keep hearing people say "my letter was really good, I got compliments on it" etc. What makes a GOOD letter? I'm nervous about straying too much from the standard format and standing out in a bad way.
Thanks in advance and good luck to all those preparing to apply!
Members don't see this ad.
 
Stick to fonts you'd use for a paper you have to turn in for school (Ariel, times new roman), 10-12 size font. I did .5 inch margins to keep it at 1 page.

Your letter is your time to shine; I personally wouldn't use the little space you have trying to explain where you're lacking.

I think what a good letter is varies from person to person. To me, I think use it as a time to say why you make a great resident and what you can bring to the program. Say why you want to go to that specific program. I'm sure some more experienced individuals can give better advice. :)
 
GoldfishPharmD said:
Stick to fonts you'd use for a paper you have to turn in for school (Ariel, times new roman), 10-12 size font. I did .5 inch margins to keep it at 1 page.

Your letter is your time to shine; I personally wouldn't use the little space you have trying to explain where you're lacking.

I think what a good letter is varies from person to person. To me, I think use it as a time to say why you make a great resident and what you can bring to the program. Say why you want to go to that specific program. I'm sure some more experienced individuals can give better advice. :)
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply! You're one of my favorite posters on here lol so I really appreciate.
Good luck with your PGY2 apps!
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Past PGY2s and people who may know about this. What's your opinion on not getting a letter of recommendation from your RPD? Does this look bad? I only ask because I don't have much interaction with my RPD. She's super busy, and I won't have a rotation with her until after the match results. We've talked here and there and met a few times to discuss my progress. Outside of that, not much of anything else. I guess I'm worried that 1) programs will think badly about this and 2) she may be offended that I didn't ask her.
 
GoldfishPharmD said:
Past PGY2s and people who may know about this. What's your opinion on not getting a letter of recommendation from your RPD? Does this look bad? I only ask because I don't have much interaction with my RPD. She's super busy, and I won't have a rotation with her until after the match results. We've talked here and there and met a few times to discuss my progress. Outside of that, not much of anything else. I guess I'm worried that 1) programs will think badly about this and 2) she may be offended that I didn't ask her.
Click to expand...

I'm having a similar situation on a rotation. The person listed as my preceptor has had minimal interaction with any of the students on rotation at this site- this is not a negative view of the preceptor, they are just busy. I am planning on asking the pharmacist who has worked with us from day one but I'm wondering if that would be rude since the preceptor is technically a RPD at this site (I don't plan on applying for the residency here though if that matters)..any one have any thoughts on what the appropriate way to go about this is?
 
Forgot one other question, when people talk about the size of a hospital or institution, based on number of beds, what is generally considered small, medium, large? Applicants from previous years have recommended applying to programs of various sizes so I'm curious where the programs I like would fall.
Or did you all mean programs of varying recognition..?
 
I'm sure it varies person to person, but I think a small hospital is around 200, medium is around 400-700, and large is 700/800+.

I would listen to this advice. I applied to pretty much all academic hospitals (~1000 beds). Out of 13 programs, I got 4 total interviews. Look at some smaller and lesser known programs.

I was fortunate to scramble, and I absolutely love where I ended up at. It's a medium size hospital (500 beds), and it has so many opportunities. However, only local people really apply, and it's a state that's not that popular.

It takes a little bit more research, but I think programs like this are out there and may be better for some people to apply to. If location isn't an issue, I think it'd be worth a shot to do a little more research.
 
How are we supposed to fill out the sections on the PhORCAS application listed under extracurricular? Should these be bulleted or full sentences?
 
PharmBeanz said:
How are we supposed to fill out the sections on the PhORCAS application listed under extracurricular? Should these be bulleted or full sentences?
Click to expand...
I wrote sentences, but I don't think it matters?
 
Got all my letter writers that I need. Debating if I will ask one more person though. Also, PPS interviews are finally trickling in, so I feel better about that. I'm still stressed out about this process though! :p
 
Do you guysessesse' official COP transcripts have undergrad stuff on them? It looks like phorCAS nixed the requirement to provide transcripts for anything other than pharmacy school, but our COP official transcripts apparently lumps my ugrad grades from a completely different university in with my pharmacy GPA (not a good thing for me).

Just curious if this is normal.
 
desklamp said:
Do you guysessesse' official COP transcripts have undergrad stuff on them? It looks like phorCAS nixed the requirement to provide transcripts for anything other than pharmacy school, but our COP official transcripts apparently lumps my ugrad grades from a completely different university in with my pharmacy GPA (not a good thing for me).

Just curious if this is normal.
Click to expand...

Mine only had pharm school grades. I guess there's nothing much you can do but submit and have your undergrad grades listed.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
GoldfishPharmD said:
Past PGY2s and people who may know about this. What's your opinion on not getting a letter of recommendation from your RPD? Does this look bad? I only ask because I don't have much interaction with my RPD. She's super busy, and I won't have a rotation with her until after the match results. We've talked here and there and met a few times to discuss my progress. Outside of that, not much of anything else. I guess I'm worried that 1) programs will think badly about this and 2) she may be offended that I didn't ask her.
Click to expand...
Nope I didn't when I applied to PGY2. I think I just got some preceptors to write letters for me.
 
GoldfishPharmD said:
Did you get many interviews/match?
Click to expand...
If I remember correctly I only applied to two programs and I matched my #1 and I was told I was their #1 after the match. Great critical care residency, large, pretty well known academic teaching hospital.
 
Good to hear! I decided to go ahead and ask. Was there any specific reason why you didn't get one from your RPD?
 
because she was just my RPD and never my preceptor so I felt I could get stronger letters elsewhere. what specialty are your applying for?
 
desklamp said:
Do you guysessesse' official COP transcripts have undergrad stuff on them? It looks like phorCAS nixed the requirement to provide transcripts for anything other than pharmacy school, but our COP official transcripts apparently lumps my ugrad grades from a completely different university in with my pharmacy GPA (not a good thing for me).

Just curious if this is normal.
Click to expand...

Usually there is an option for "graduate" or "first professional" or something like that to specify which transcripts you want sent.
 
PharmBeanz said:
Usually there is an option for "graduate" or "first professional" or something like that to specify which itranscripts you want sent.
Click to expand...

Yeah I thought so as well but our school evidently combines undergrad gpa with pharmacy as if we were all transfer students, regardless of whether we have a bachelors or not. I guess I'm curious how abnormal this practice is.
 
desklamp said:
Yeah I thought so as well but our school evidently combines undergrad gpa with pharmacy as if we were all transfer students, regardless of whether we have a bachelors or not. I guess I'm curious how abnormal this practice is.
Click to expand...

I don't know how normal it is for schools where the undergrad and COP are completely different. My undergrad and COP are the same place just a different campus so I would expect that with us. I can just select "graduate" for the type of transcript I want to see.

That's weird even for a transfer student. Normally they don't take your grades from previous universities, just the credit. For example, a community college A (which in my area are much easier to obtain) would make a GPA higher but the class was easier. It wouldn't be fair to give a transfer from CC a GPA boost when a student from a local university got lower grade in a harder class. So they just skipped that whole dilemma and only take the credits when you're transferring.

I would call the registrar's office if you are unable to get a transcript with only your pharm school grades and see what they can do about it.
 
Last edited:
I agree with above. Contact the registrar's office and ask if they can remove that. In any event, I don't think it will be a big deal. They're most likely going to focus on just your pharmacy school grades anyways. Last year, we didn't have a choice and had to submit our undergrad grades, so it's not that big of a difference from what people were doing last go round.
 
Last edited:
I have a question about PhorCas's extracurricular section. I understand you can list work experience, publications, presentations etc in there, but I also have the same things on my CV. Would it be redundant if I put the same info in the extracurricular section?
Thanks in advance!!
 
noodledoodle said:
I have a question about PhorCas's extracurricular section. I understand you can list work experience, publications, presentations etc in there, but I also have the same things on my CV. Would it be redundant if I put the same info in the extracurricular section?
Thanks in advance!!
Click to expand...

definitely include all the information in Phorcas as well. There have been mods on this very forum who have stated that they've skipped over applicants who have failed to do this. No reason to disqualify yourself over something silly.
 
noodledoodle said:
I have a question about PhorCas's extracurricular section. I understand you can list work experience, publications, presentations etc in there, but I also have the same things on my CV. Would it be redundant if I put the same info in the extracurricular section?
Thanks in advance!!
Click to expand...


Haha, definitely put this in the PhorCAS as well. We had an applicant last year who got tired of putting things in the system that was on his CV. In one spot, he put "blah, blah, blah" as a place holder and forgot to go back and fix it.

He didn't get an interview.
 
Another question re phorcas, because I'm getting really frustrated =(

Phorcas asks for my poster presentations, and that I should select from a drop-down menu if they are national, local, or state. I have done several such presentations and present them multiple places -- so for example, a poster last year I presented at midyear AND a state conference AND a local conference. Should I just put it in as "national?" Surely it would be overkill to list the same presentation three times, once for national, local AND state =/

Ugh I hate when software pretends to be 'smart', it always ends up making people do nonsensical workarounds >.<
 
I would personally just put it at the highest level you did it at. I definitely wouldn't list it 3 separate times. You'll also upload your CV, so the programs can see it there as well.
 
Hello,

I have a question regarding references in PhORCAS. To my understanding the each reference receives an email link to complete your reference. As the format is much more standardized this year, is it better to put in a general request for reference or one for each hospital one applies too. Is it too much of a burden and email fatigue for individuals writing/completing the reference letters for me.

Thank you for replying in advance.
 
Hello Everyone,

I have been a silent member of this forum for a while and after reading some encouraging posts, I was motivated to ask few questions... this forum have been quite helpful to understand the system in US. May be I can find for some answers here....

Has anyone seen foreign pharmacy graduates as their colleagues during residency program....I have been trying to find someone who is a foreign pharmacy graduate and got admission into a residency program. ..

Currently I'm in research field related to biochemistry and pharmacology... have studied BPS and MPS in my country for the duration of 4+2yrs ....I'm a registered pharmacy intern and tech.....and I have been looking for colleges who really accept candidates like me.

Thanks,
 
Last edited:
Many programs no longer sponsor visas. Usually you need to be eligible for licensure and be authorized to work in the USA. Each state has different requirements for licensure/internship for foriegn grads. It gets complicated.
 
The word from last year is that it may be beneficial to send in apps early if possible. Obviously a good app is a good app and a bad will still be bad regardless of submission time frame. It's still early but I'm starting to feel the pressures of wanting to get mine submitted.

So I'm wondering what you guys think...what are the possible advantages/disadvantages of early submission?
 
PharmBeanz said:
The word from last year is that it may be beneficial to send in apps early if possible. Obviously a good app is a good app and a bad will still be bad regardless of submission time frame. It's still early but I'm starting to feel the pressures of wanting to get mine submitted.

So I'm wondering what you guys think...what are the possible advantages/disadvantages of early submission?
Click to expand...

I'm submitting by beginning of next week. Sending in transcript request tomorrow.
 
rxlea said:
I'm submitting by beginning of next week. Sending in transcript request tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Same here. I have quadruple checked everything, 2/3 references are in and I sent my transcript when phorcas opened up (another will go in for fall transcripts ). I dont feel like i have anything else to wait for lol. Hmmm nerves!!

Good luck !
 
PharmBeanz said:
Same here. I have quadruple checked everything, 2/3 references are in and I sent my transcript when phorcas opened up (another will go in for fall transcripts ). I dont feel like i have anything else to wait for lol. Hmmm nerves!!

Good luck !
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's going to be a busy weekend for me- probably a full "work" day tomorrow :)

Good luck to you too!
 
Good luck to everyone that's applying. I'm going to be putting in applications soon. Midyear was a good experience. I'm scared and excited to go through this process again.
 
Hi pharmbenz,
first off, I feel a lot like you do right now. I actually was consider residency on and off throughout pharmacy school, but I felt like it would be too competitive and I couldn't do it. I also had a lot of personal issues & with friends in pharmacy school that made me sort of put it off for a while.
However, esp after attending midyear, I'm back on track but am having a few issues, esp b/c I know that everybody else is way ahead of the game. I am struggling to find the right people to write me a letters of recommendation. So far, I have had my community, institutional and an academic elective, which the latter really, really motivated me to consider residency. Unfortunately, my latter preceptor told me he'd rather have somebody else write a letter of rec for me. I don't know who else I could really depend on for letters of rec, I regret taking some business/management classes instead of clinical electives in pharmacy school due to thinking that I had no chance for residencies and would be better off with an MBA degree.
It's been stressful and emotional, but I hope for the best and am at least happy there are many institutions starting residency programs, which I am strongly considering applying to.
Please DM me if you have any questions or if you want some moral support lol. Good luck!
 
kendrick lamar said:
are you doing PGY1 or PGY2 now?
Click to expand...

I understand. I have had a similar experience with the desire to do a residency. I actually never thought I wanted to do one until my second rotation in the Summer. I was fortunate to have had the rotation early enough and fortunate it was a professor who acted as my preceptor. The whole thing changed my life. That was literally when I started considering this path.

I would say don't worry about where you are relative to other people, just get to where you want/need to be. Everything happens for a reason no matter what; I have seen this so many times already in this process alone. I am just rolling with the punches because regardless of getting a residency or not I feel like I'm lucky enough to have something good to fall back on in terms of a career. I've just tried to stay in that mindset, it makes things a lot less stressful.
 
Please turn in you applications EARLY! We plan to start inviting qualified candidates to interview several weeks before our application deadline. The earlier you submit, the more time we have to review your application and less chance you get weeded out because of the "numbers game."
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
KARM12 said:
Please turn in you applications EARLY! We plan to start inviting qualified candidates to interview several weeks before our application deadline. The earlier you submit, the more time we have to review your application and less chance you get weeded out because of the "numbers game."
Click to expand...
This is good to know! I'm going to try to get mine all submitted before Christmas.

I'm having a hard time narrowing down programs right now though, I have about 16 that I liked a lot from Midyear/other research and feel like I would be happy at the site, but I feel like that is too many to apply to.
 
KARM12 said:
Please turn in you applications EARLY! We plan to start inviting qualified candidates to interview several weeks before our application deadline. The earlier you submit, the more time we have to review your application and less chance you get weeded out because of the "numbers game."
Click to expand...

I anticipated this was going to be the case! :confused:
In general how is the decision to offer interviews made? Ie, how much information do you need to offer an interview? I imagine you won't offer one if transcripts aren't in, but what about LORs?
 
PharmBeanz said:
I anticipated this was going to be the case! :confused:
In general how is the decision to offer interviews made? Ie, how much information do you need to offer an interview? I imagine you won't offer one if transcripts aren't in, but what about LORs?
Click to expand...
This was my question. If we submit, but are waiting on transcripts from the school, will you still have access to our information?
 
rxlea said:
This was my question. If we submit, but are waiting on transcripts from the school, will you still have access to our information?
Click to expand...

yes, they can see everything. I think it is best to submit your package once it is complete and subsequently wait for LOR/transcripts to trickle in.
 
PharmBeanz said:
I anticipated this was going to be the case! :confused:
In general how is the decision to offer interviews made? Ie, how much information do you need to offer an interview? I imagine you won't offer one if transcripts aren't in, but what about LORs?
Click to expand...

Once you hit submit we can see everything, it just shows that transcripts or LOR are pending. We will wait until everything is complete to score the application because it's part of the entire package. Also, we will not offer interviews until after the cutoff date.
 
As above..Phorcas divides into 2 categories "Application Submission in Progress" and "Application Completed." The "in progress" category is for applicants who are waiting for LOR or transcripts,we can see the information that you had to fill out. We've invited applicants who were missing one LOR. Again, don't wait if you've got everything together. I cannot stress this enough. Phorcas takes a long time to shuffle through for programs. We had offered half the spots for interveiws before our official deadline. Most of us are off around Christmas and New Year's. We'd like to start offering interviews at the end of this coming week...

And frankly my pet peeve is people who wait until the last mn to do things..
 
MAKE
SURE
EVERYTHING
IS
IN
BY
THE
DEADLINE

I cannot stress this enough, I had a couple of missed applications because I didn't realize my preceptors never sent in a written letter...
 
KARM12 said:
Please turn in you applications EARLY! We plan to start inviting qualified candidates to interview several weeks before our application deadline. The earlier you submit, the more time we have to review your application and less chance you get weeded out because of the "numbers game."
Click to expand...

Here's an example of how many programs do things differently - our program generally will NOT offer interviews until after the application deadline. The only exception to this is if we have students who are currently on APPE rotations with us that will no longer be on site the next rotation block (when interviews take place). That being said, as an applicant, you generally do not know when the programs to which you are applying start offering interviews, but it is best to submit everything as soon as possible.
 
I figure every program does things a little bit differently. I know based on the stats from last year that most people submit closer to the deadline. So even if those of us who submit early don't receive interviews before the deadlines for applications, (I'm hoping) we will still have a greater chance of having our applications looked at before the weeding game starts. The main disadvantage I see with this approach is that if you are weak in any area a program may put you aside and eventually forget about your app in the hopes that they will get better candidates. Either way I think it's better to get looked at completely than not at all because you were weeded out early in the process.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

JEwLz0550
Cancellation of PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Exemption Program
Replies
3
Views
3K
BC_89
BC_89
acslater99
PGY1 & PGY2 Residency
Replies
4
Views
2K
lord999
lord999
pharm B
Fewer Residency Applicants
Replies
2
Views
2K
projektreverb
P
C
PGY1 or PGY2
Replies
4
Views
3K
PromisedNeverland
PromisedNeverland
P
Success of PGY2 with break Post-PGY1?
Replies
6
Views
3K
Rockinacoustic
Rockinacoustic
Top