Hi! Not exactly sure which programs to apply to, but Ive narrowed it down to about 20 (lol I know it's a lot) b/c I have no preference in which part of the country I live in. But I need to narrow it down. What other factors did you into account when deciding where to apply for residency? Your advice is greatly take appreciated!!
Appropriate number of residencies to apply?
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You haven't decided yet? Dang.....
What are you looking for- big program or small program? Big hospital? Teaching hospital? Community hospital? Are you looking to specialize after? What are their previous residents doing? Are the residency projects similar to what you would like to do? Make these decisions and you should be able to narrow your list.
Decide quick, because those applications are due soon and your letter writers aren't going to be very happy!
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- I looked at the number of residents, do you want just one other resident or a team of residents...
- Teaching institution or community hospital...
- Does the residency site has PGY-2 in an area of particular interest to you...
- Is the program pretty structured or do they allow a lot of electives...
- Amb focused, acute focused, or a 50/50 split of both...
- Large metro area or smaller community
- Talking to preceptors, professors, and current residents in the area. Many of the them may have interviewed or applied to programs you are interested in...
- How competitive is the program...
Good luck with narrowing programs down!
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I asked myself a lot of the same questions Pumpkinsmasher did. If you are moving to a new area without a lot of friends/family, it may be a good idea to pick a program with a few other pharmacy residents (just so you aren't hanging home alone on a Saturday night!!). Another thing to consider is on-call... how often and is it clinical or staffing? Which would you prefer? What programs offer rotations that you don't have a lot of experience in (ex. oncology, pediatrics, nutrition, etc), as broadening your current knowledge base may help to achieve that well-rounded foundation. Amount of teaching/precepting was one of the deciding factors for me as well. Do they have a Teaching Scholar/Certificate program if you want to teach/precept?
Good luck!
Good luck!
Thank you guys!!! great advice! I'm only a P2 right now, so I'm just trying to plan ahead. It's all so confusing to me. I plan on going to Midyear next year...and maybe talking to some people. Again thanks so much!
Honestly, relax and don't bother with a list until you're closer to applying. So much changes when you do rotations and when you actually talk to programs.
I didn't go to midyear as a P3 and I don't think it would have helped me. Some people do go, but I'm not sure what benefit it has other than you know to expect chaos.
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This. I went as a P3, and I think the only benefit that it would have is that if you are nervous anyway, it can take away the extra fear of not knowing what to expect.
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Unless you have a real reason (clinical skills, poster, etc.), I wouldn't recommend going as a P3. The residency showcase was beyond packed this year, and programs were doing anything from ignoring to being downright rude to anyone without a "Class of 2011" tag on their badge. Going as a P3 did absolutely nothing to make my experience as a P4 any different.
If you're thinking of going just to get the lay of the land, don't. It changes every year, and there are likely to be some substantial changes next year. If you don't take that advice, keep in mind it costs a lot of money to attend these things. On the order of about a thousand bucks. Also remember that nothing you do at the Midyear, even as a P4, will do anything to get you a residency spot.
Right now, the best thing you can do is make your application as well-rounded as it can be. Do some research, participate in some organizations, complete some community service. Network as best you can. Regional or smaller national conferences (e.g., ACCP) are great for this. Don't worry about Midyear until you have to.
If you're thinking of going just to get the lay of the land, don't. It changes every year, and there are likely to be some substantial changes next year. If you don't take that advice, keep in mind it costs a lot of money to attend these things. On the order of about a thousand bucks. Also remember that nothing you do at the Midyear, even as a P4, will do anything to get you a residency spot.
Right now, the best thing you can do is make your application as well-rounded as it can be. Do some research, participate in some organizations, complete some community service. Network as best you can. Regional or smaller national conferences (e.g., ACCP) are great for this. Don't worry about Midyear until you have to.
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God, how I wish someone had told me this. The weather was nice and I got to see an old friend of mine, that's about all I can say for the midyear. I could have emailed residents questions, ffs.
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Our program specifically had us beating away any non-P4s with a stick and we were under strict instructions not to let anyone near the program director without a screening by any of the current residents.
If any non-P4s had gotten to him, he'll remember them all right. And not in a good way.
If any non-P4s had gotten to him, he'll remember them all right. And not in a good way.
I am sorry to hear that some P3s had such a bad experience at Residency Showcase this year. It is crazy and depending on the number of residents each program has to field potential questions, there can be upwards of 4 students per resident. If P3s are interested, I would recommend coming near the end of the Showcase, as a lot of P4s seem to get in early, get their booths visted, and then leave. I had a couple P3s and a P1 talk to me about my program and I really admired their attitude and their willingness to start planning early. I wish I would have done the same instead of scrambling to get all my applications in on time! I think it might be worthwhile for ASHP to consider extending each session to 5 hours and dedicate the last hour to non-P4s. That's just my opinion!
I think it might be worthwhile for ASHP to consider extending each session to 5 hours and dedicate the last hour to non-P4s. That's just my opinion!
I don't think I could have kept talking any longer. I started about 10 minutes in and didn't stop until they shut off the lights. As a P4 it would have been great. As a resident, I would hate this.
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I'm currently a P3 student and I attended Midyear this past December. I actually thought it was quite beneficial to be honest. I was able to network with a lot of current residents and P4 students who gave me great advice about how to make the best of my rotations, how to write a good LOI, what to include/exclude from my CV, how to prepare for next year's Midyear, and how to prepare for PPS. I spoke with a number of residents and got some good insight about different programs (some of which I would've never considered for a residency if I hadn't approached them). Even though I introduced myself as a P3 at the beginning of every encounter, residents were still very willing to speak with me. But on that note, I was very mindful of the P4s and made sure to step aside if someone was waiting and also steer clear of the extremely busy programs until later in the day.
Registration for Midyear is quite pricey as is the airfare depending on where you live. But I came with a bunch of my peers and we made the most of it. I felt it was money well spent.
Registration for Midyear is quite pricey as is the airfare depending on where you live. But I came with a bunch of my peers and we made the most of it. I felt it was money well spent.
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Reviving this thread for all of the 2012 applicants. How many residencies is everyone planning on applying for? Last year I head the number 10-12 being tossed around at Midyear, which just seems like an awful lot...but I guess there is a lot of competition these days.
On an unrelated note, I am wondering how I am going to afford New Orleans. Travel costs seem to be quite a bit more than they were for Annaheim.
On an unrelated note, I am wondering how I am going to afford New Orleans. Travel costs seem to be quite a bit more than they were for Annaheim.
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Reviving this thread for all of the 2012 applicants. How many residencies is everyone planning on applying for? Last year I head the number 10-12 being tossed around at Midyear, which just seems like an awful lot...but I guess there is a lot of competition these days.
On an unrelated note, I am wondering how I am going to afford New Orleans. Travel costs seem to be quite a bit more than they were for Annaheim.
My experiential field supervisor told me 6-10 should be a good number for this year. I guess I'll probably do 7 or 8. He said he knows 1 guy that applied to 14, and that's overkill.
As far as New Orleans, so far flight+hotel for me was $370. Just find roommates for the hotel and get a room somewhere cheap that isn't on the ASHP website, since those places are double of what I paid (69 bucks a night for sun-wed, those rooms aren't available anymore, but the 79-buck-a-night ones were last time I checked).
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it has a lot to do with the strength of your application and the competitiveness of the residencies. If you were top of your class, leader of major organizations, lots of internship and had research on top, you'll be perfectly fine with 5-6 applications max unless they were all famous medical centers.
Weaker your cv is, the more you need to cast your net wide. Even then it wont fully compensate as more you interview, the more you have to rank/mis-rank and lower the chance of you getting the best option. So i have been preaching to students to study and work their ass off earlier on, for it pays dividends down the road.
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Dang, what hotel is that, if you don't mind me asking? I guess maybe I haven't spent enough time looking yet, but I haven't found anything cheap within walking distance of the conference center. Plenty of cheap hotels if you get out of the downtown area, though.
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PM sent.
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How in the &!@# did you find a flight AND hotel for that cheap?!? Cheapest I've seen is $498. Ergh...I don't know of anyone going from my college so I am still trying to decide whether or not to attend. I am a P4 and am open to going out of state, but I would rather not spend the denero if I don't have to...Do people who have attended the Midyear as a P4 and now have residencies think this experience helped them??
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Flight was regular price. BWI-MSY was $254 round-trip (I will be doing a rotation in Baltimore then). The flights are actually cheaper now.
Hotel was $69 a night plus tax because I'm only staying Sun-Wed, and it's being split 2 ways so like $39/night with taxes included per person. Poster above you looked at the hotel I mentioned to him, and apparently all the cheap rooms are sold out there. $498 isn't bad if you're the only one in the room and that includes taxes, I doubt you'll find anything cheaper, at least this late in the game.
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I love BWI. My flight was pretty cheap, although I haven't looked at it in a while. I know I'm flying SW. Cheap flights plus splitting a reasonably priced hotel room four ways means the trip doesn't cost too much, which is still important for some residents!
