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Has anyone applied to this residency? If so, please share your thoughts. Thanks! 🙂
Mayo Clinic Oncology Pharmacy Residency
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It says that you're pre-pharmacy. Why are you already thinking about where you want to do your PGY2. You will change your mind lots of times about what career pathway you want to take while you're in pharmacy school. I'm a P3, and I have some idea what kind of places I want to apply for my PGY1, but I'm not even "set in stone" on that and what specialty (if any) I want to do. As a prepharm it's definitely too early to be thinking about one single residency, especially a PGY2.
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I am not a pre-pharm. I will be a P1 this fall. I don't have my mind set on what I want to do after graduation or where I want to do my postgraduate residency. I am interested in oncology pharmacy and I happened to read about the Mayo Clinic residencies recently. It's just something that caught my interest. It looks like a very prestigious and competitive residency. I just wanted to more about it. Thanks!
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If you haven't started pharmacy school yet, you are a pre-pharm. You don't get to call yourself a pharmacy student until you actually start pharmacy school. Sorry.
Anyway, all of the Mayo residencies are prestigious and extremely competitive. If you want to go to a place like that, you need a 4.0 GPA, research experience, hospital work experience, and to have been an officer in a club. Good luck!
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It was just a question. Why does it matter if I'm a prepharm or pharmacy student? Like I said before, I was just curious. But thanks 🙂
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Thank you 🙂
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Because when somebody asks me about residencies, I like to tailor my advice to where that person is in their career. The info a pre-pharmer needs is very different than the info that a P4 needs. On a more petty note, it annoys me when people pretend to be something they're not.
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Someone has a case of the Mondays. On Wednesday. Chill. 😛
OP - if you are really interested in Mayo (although as a rising P1, don't limit yourself just yet) I would try to get a clinical rotation through them. If your school doesn't normally work with Mayo, see if you can set it up yourself with your school's permission.
Another option would be pursuing a summer clerkship there. Not sure if they work with your school (I don't know where you're going) but at least this might serve as a point of contact to see if it's possible to work there for a summer. http://www.mayo.edu/mshs/pharm-clerk.html
Showing initiative for something you really want is something residency sites will love to see. Good luck.
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u're still young don't be set on oncology. I came in pharm school all gun ho on oncology, i changed that after our pharmacology section on anti-cancer drugs, while in the mean time i developed a fondness of psychopharmacology though.
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I don't have my mind set on oncology. I know I still have a long way to go and I am sure I'll come across many interesting fields in pharmacy when I do my rotations. It's just that Mayo Clinic is one of the top ranked hospitals for cancer and I read that they only accept one to two students a year. So I was just wondering if anybody applied or got in. 🙂
Most PGY2 residencies only have 1 or 2 positions, especially oncology (I didn't look much at other specialties). The only onc PGY2 I can think of with more than 2 residents is MD Anderson.
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Don't forget that just because a place is famous for their medicine doesn't mean that pharmacy is any good there. And vice versa. As a general rule (and this is a rule, not a law) where medicine is weak, pharmacy is strong. Where medicine is strong, pharmacy is weak(er).
So following a program/hospital because of their big name in medicine doesn't guarantee the best pharmacy training.
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Agree. I don't know anything about the specific residency that the OP is asking about, but I do know that some of my friends who went for the big "name" or prestige factor in residency selection are super miserable now. Either the hospital isn't a good environment for pharmacy or they are one of dozens and dozens of residents and feel like just a number or whatever.
I also agree with whomever said upthread that the OP is too early in his or her pharmacy career to be worrying much about stuff like this.
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Hi everyone 🙂
I think there has been a misunderstanding. I just want to clear that up. I don't have my mind set on pursuing a PGY2 residency in oncology. I haven't decided on anything yet. I know I still have a long way to go. But I did spent some time volunteering and working in different pharmacy settings, including oncology pharmacy. I am really interested in cancer biology and anticancer drugs. I am glad I found something that I like. So it is definitely something I am considering. I don't think there's anything wrong with having a general idea on what you want to do in the future. Having said that, I am not saying that I have my mind set on pursuing an oncology residency. Anything can change in four years.
Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for all your valuable advice. I really appreciate that. 🙂
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!!!
I think there has been a misunderstanding. I just want to clear that up. I don't have my mind set on pursuing a PGY2 residency in oncology. I haven't decided on anything yet. I know I still have a long way to go. But I did spent some time volunteering and working in different pharmacy settings, including oncology pharmacy. I am really interested in cancer biology and anticancer drugs. I am glad I found something that I like. So it is definitely something I am considering. I don't think there's anything wrong with having a general idea on what you want to do in the future. Having said that, I am not saying that I have my mind set on pursuing an oncology residency. Anything can change in four years.
Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for all your valuable advice. I really appreciate that. 🙂
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!!!
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Sooo, do you guys think Mayo is a good residency or not? Anyone know? Just curious because I know it was listed before in the residency forum as being a better residency. But I do think of it as big name for medicine so does that = weak for pharmacy?
I doubt I'll be a competitive candidate for Mayo, but Ima thinking I might apply next year anyway. It can be my "reach" site.
I doubt I'll be a competitive candidate for Mayo, but Ima thinking I might apply next year anyway. It can be my "reach" site.
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I don't see anything wrong with a pre-pharm thinking about residency. It is good to have goals in mind going into school. They may changed, but at least if you have one in mind you can have a plan to get there.
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You found out the secret...first diploma mills, now residency mills.
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I don't think there is anything wrong with having an idea of where to go. 4 Years ago I set out on a mission to get a residency when the jury was still out and people weren't running for them like they are now. I knew I had to get grades, participate, do research and have a job in a hospital. Having a plan means not only do you have a direction, but you have an idea on the steps that take you to get there. I have heard many classmates who threw together a residency application in the beginning on their P4 year because they had no other options. Their CV does not compare and they don't have all 4 like I do. Don't listen to detractors telling you that you don't need to make decisions like that going into school. Go in there with a plan, and if your mind changes, so be it, at least you'll change from a harder path to an easier one and not visa versa.
Being that I work at a National Cancer Center as a student I feel somewhat obligated to post. Oncology is not for everyone. The disease state is complex and specialized. As you may know treating lung cancer is nothing like treating leukemia, regimens drugs and doses change from cancer to cancer. Even subtype to subtype is different, you aren't going to treat CML like you treating Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma despite them being both lymphomas. Complications are different as well, febrile neutropenia, tumor lysis syndrome and even anticoagulation take different approaches. That being said, oncology pharmacy is not about picking chemo regimens because thats up primarily to the doctors and they base that on histopathological characteristics of the tumors, its not like picking a statin in a patient with liver disease.
One of the most intriguing questions I got on every single PGY1 residency interview was: why are you here at my site, obviously you are interested in oncology and you have background in it, why not pick a more oncology related site? To answer it simply, oncology pharmacy is about treating everything else in relation to the cancer. You treat heart disease in the context of cancer. You treat your arthritis differently. Learning how to treat everything else is important in oncology, I know because I work with the residents and pharmacists. So general internal medicine is as critical as learning chemotherapy. Also like I said before, you have a plan but keep options open. You may fall in love with something other then oncology.
So my plan and recommendation for you: get and keep your grades up, participate in a club like your local ashp, find a cancer center do your damnest to get involved; work there if possible and see if you can do research there. Oncology is tough but also rewarding.
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Hi Quiksilver 🙂
Thank you so much for that detailed and thoughtful advice. I really appreciate that.
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I'll offer some more broad advice, and echo what some others have said. It's definitely not bad to plan ahead, especially in today's market.
In order to interview at some of the more competitive residencies, you should have the full package. Research, grades, involvement and work experience. I think they are all equally important, although the degree of importance will vary from site to site. You're a rising P1 now, and by the time you hit the interview trail, everything will be a lot more competitive than it is now. Your best option right now is to think of how you can best differentiate yourself versus the other candidates out there.
A previous poster mentioned getting involved early and often, and I couldn't agree more. Professional involvement will open all sorts of doors, starting primarily with networking. This network will get you the research and work opportunities that you absolutely need to stand out. These experiences will allow you to explore your interests well beyond those that are offered during the experiential education component of pharmacy school.
Rather than focusing on a specific residency right now, work on making yourself an asset to all possible residencies. Once you find mentorship and guidance during pharmacy school, you'll better be able to realize your career goals and what you need to do in order to achieve them. Good luck, it's not the easiest road.
In order to interview at some of the more competitive residencies, you should have the full package. Research, grades, involvement and work experience. I think they are all equally important, although the degree of importance will vary from site to site. You're a rising P1 now, and by the time you hit the interview trail, everything will be a lot more competitive than it is now. Your best option right now is to think of how you can best differentiate yourself versus the other candidates out there.
A previous poster mentioned getting involved early and often, and I couldn't agree more. Professional involvement will open all sorts of doors, starting primarily with networking. This network will get you the research and work opportunities that you absolutely need to stand out. These experiences will allow you to explore your interests well beyond those that are offered during the experiential education component of pharmacy school.
Rather than focusing on a specific residency right now, work on making yourself an asset to all possible residencies. Once you find mentorship and guidance during pharmacy school, you'll better be able to realize your career goals and what you need to do in order to achieve them. Good luck, it's not the easiest road.
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More like "if you find mentorship". IMO, the academics are too far removed from real practice while the average pharmacist is unable to give good advice on specializing. Finding practicing specialized pharmacists that are not merely title holders is kinda hard.
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Must be nice.
I've scoured the internet for what would probably add up to a few weeks trying to find pharmd that are involved in basic science research akin to the many mds that pursue such things. I've compiled a shortlist of less than 10 pharmacist in the US with only maybe two that are studying stuff I'd be remotely interested in (and consequently these are the places I'm probably going to apply to residency).
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From what I've been told about residencies from everyone that I've met in real life, grades are the least important aspect of the application. There is no cut off. Who you know still appears to be the most important thing. For example, my ace in the hole is that I know someone personally with a very high rank at a pretty prestigious hospital, and I've known this person all my life. Can't say who or where though.
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My interests overlap between basic science and where pharmacology steps in mostly immunology. I've seen many MDs that can find the balance between being a clinician and a scientist, so why not Rphs? I'm not saying they don't currently exist, but they are very few and far between.
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You may have the hook up, but for the majority of applicants/programs, there is some sort of GPA cutoff. I know of one recent applicant who was class president, very involved in SGA and other clubs but had a very low GPA and remediated several courses. This individual applied to 10 to 15 residencies and did not receive a single interview invitation.
More often than not applicants are selected by a committee not an individual person. So I would not stop working on your grades just because of one connection.
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The majority of physicians who do basic science research have completed fellowships and/or PhDs.
If you're interested in doing research as a pharmacist, you definitely can. The residency isn't meant to prepare you to do much beyond clinical practice and basic clinical research. There are pharmacy fellowships available; those who complete them very often end up doing basic science research. This may be more up your alley at this point.
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The didactic portion of my pharmacy school experience is over, there is no way for me to improve my GPA.
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My understanding is that a lot of the fellowships are PGY2/PGY3. While I have seen some that were not, I was under the assumption that you'd still complete a PGY1 residency for the ones that are. Specifically, I've been aspiring to apply to Midwestern's program when the time comes (ID PGY2/3) Beyond the others I'm looking at, I figure that if I don't match, I can work part time and head into a phd program fulltime. It all comes back to my original gripe of not really having any close mentors that I can go to. All the basic science guys and clinical gals can offer advice on their respective sides of the spectrum, but I wish I had a mentor locally that I could talk to often about reaching my career goals - a job in which I perform clinical and basic science functions (which I believe is very possible if I go to a large academic facility). I'm still working on my short list of people doing today what I'd like to be doing in a few years, but I've yet to email any of them as I'm still undecided between oncology and ID and I'd like to have a clear goal in mind before bothering such highly busy people.
njac & Praziquantel, I appreciate your previous responses and if you'd like to chime any more, I'd like that too 🙂
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They are PharmDs?
I have to agree with the other poster, pharmacists are sorely underrepresented in basic science. I guess for the obvious reasons that it is a clinical degree. However, MDs are pretty active in research and that is also a clinical program...I always felt that it is because pharmacists are new to the doctoral degree arena. Maybe in 50 years we will see comparable research involvement to physicians?
I also plan for residency because I feel that it is important to sharpen your clinical skills prior to research. I'm still undecided on fellowship. Some of my professors told me that fellowship is falling out of favor compared to PhD. However, I am kind of at a stage in my life where it doesn't make sense for me to get another degree, so fellowship is a lot more appealing to me.
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That's Mayo's only position... and no one matched there.
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Yep.
I saw that too and was very surprised. It seems that hem/onc is not that popular because even statistics from previous years shows more than 10 unmatched positions. I wonder why.
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Mayo has only one pharmacy residency?
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For oncology that is.
Looks like spots open at Hopkins and Mayo. So 6 out of 8 total ER positions matched.
Me!! I just chose some personal interests and needs over big names. MD Anderson matched all their spots (6?), so it isn't like all the big names didn't match.
NIH only offers one spot also. I don't remember if Hopkins is 1 or 2.
4 people from my class went for PGY2 in oncology (~100 in my class). I've heard from 2 others, they matched at good programs too. I haven't heard from the other one.
One of my best friends got one of the 6 emergency med spots. She didn't even apply at Hopkins or Mayo- didn't meet what she was looking for (although I don't know what that is).
