pharm D residency

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badxmojo

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Okay.. so i know there more to getting into a residency than just GPA such as extracurriculars, connections, and interview.. but what sort of GPA do you think you need to be a competitive applicant assuming you join a few clubs and do engage in some extracurriculars during pharm school? 3.7? 3.5? 3.0?

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or how bout if your grades are really good but you were too damn lazy to do the whole extracurricular thing AGAIN...?
 
Originally posted by badxmojo
Okay.. so i know there more to getting into a residency than just GPA such as extracurriculars, connections, and interview.. but what sort of GPA do you think you need to be a competitive applicant assuming you join a few clubs and do engage in some extracurriculars during pharm school? 3.7? 3.5? 3.0?

i've heard 3.3 is considered good for residency but don't know for sure. i heard this two years ago so might be somewhat outdated since more people are looking to do residencies nowadays.
 
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Much as I hate to say it, it depends on the school you're coming from, and its reputation among residency directors. 3.3 from a "top notch" school is going to get you a lot further (with or without extracurriculars) than a 3.5 from a school with a poor reputation for the performance of its graduates in residency programs. Some of that is just the experience of individual residency directors with a particular school. They may have gotten one bad apple in the past, and now won't consider anyone from that school unless they're truly exceptional.

Unfortunately, there's no test prior to graduation that could provide some info on how applicants from different schools stack up against each other. So reputation of the school is the only yardstick--faulty as everyone acknowledges that it is.
 
Although I don't have much experience, Toledo is a small school and we have no problem getting residencies...every one of us. I plan on doing mine at the cleveland clinic...which is a top 5 hospital as I recall
 
My feeling is the whole process isn't that rigorous bc the field is still trying to get more peeps to apply for residencies. I think at this point there are plenty of good residencies available regardless of gpa. When my pharm practice prof asked our class how many we're considering residency which includes all of the Level I and a good portion of Level II, so we're talkin 250 plus students, only about tweny raised their hand. He quickly vowed to increase that number by graduation.

Most students don't want to tack on any extra time making no dough. Not to say that it's not a good idea, but debt is that unavoidable elephant in the living room.
 
Originally posted by Triangulation
My feeling is the whole process isn't that rigorous bc the field is still trying to get more peeps to apply for residencies. I think at this point there are plenty of good residencies available regardless of gpa. When my pharm practice prof asked our class how many we're considering residency which includes all of the Level I and a good portion of Level II, so we're talkin 250 plus students, only about tweny raised their hand. He quickly vowed to increase that number by graduation.

Most students don't want to tack on any extra time making no dough. Not to say that it's not a good idea, but debt is that unavoidable elephant in the living room.

IMHO your time would be better served by goiing directly to work for the bucks while pursuing an evening MBA or MS in hospital administration.

Why?



Most hospitals in America are four hundred beds or less which means two options. Staff or management. Get down small enough and management is the staff. If you insist on a residency make sure it has a slant towards management looking at things like staffing and inventory control unless you are headed for the large hospitals six hundred plus, the regional medical centers, the tertiary medical centers where you will be involved in research

The advanced degree positions you for greater things. Clayton Mcwhorter CEO of Hospital Corperation of America was a pharmacist first. I heard he was always out in the hall shaking hands instead of being in the department doing work....

There is a hospital in S.E. washington state that is seeking a new grad for the position of director. I promise you positions such as this would be at least as educational as any residency. You can also do this with management groups like the Owen company in tiny towns like Alpine Texas. Hardship duty, but two years would see you richer and wiser. Well prepared for any challenge.
 
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