Residency Considerations

[The_Blue_Pill]

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I have got a few questions concerning the residency process.
-What were things that you considered important/or are important when evaluating programs to consider applying to (ie. locations, hours, etc.)?
-I am interested in pursuing a teaching certificate. What are other certificates or other things that residencies offer?
-Important perks to look for?
-Benefits/considerations?

 

[DOOM N GLOOM]

I have got a few questions concerning the residency process.
-What were things that you considered important/or are important when evaluating programs to consider applying to (ie. locations, hours, etc.)?
-I am interested in pursuing a teaching certificate. What are other certificates or other things that residencies offer?
-Important perks to look for?
-Benefits/considerations?

I will say that as a student I used to evaluate everything about residency/fellowship programs to try to determine best fit based on 100+ factors, but now that I’m on the other side (interviewing for prospective residents/fellows), I am thoroughly convinced that it isn’t worth the effort to research programs that in depth because at the end of the day, for residencies you have to go through the Match process and for fellowships you have to go through rush just like for college fraternities (PPS at Midyear) so it’s a big crapshoot and it’s more about preparing for what they want to see in you vs. what you want to get out of them.

Ironically, in the case of applying to residencies/fellowships I would argue that this is a matter of QUANTITY vs. quality of programs you apply to that will better your chances of landing something, based on the mechanics of how these processes work.

That being said, to circle back to your original question, the one criteria I would look for in a program is job placement afterwards. How many residents get hired on with their insitution? Of those that don’t, what kind of jobs did they find and did they secure these roles prior to graduating or were they in the unemployment market for a while? Did they look for jobs (especially if they weren’t hired on internally) solely based on their own efforts or did their RPD, preceptors etc. help them look for jobs and/or tap into connections to get them placed?

Residency is a stall tactic to find a real job and while the training will be worth it in the long run, do not ever lose sight of the fact that job security after residency is what you MUST prioritize ASAP.

 

[samven582]

Doom and Gloom, is worth pursuing a fellowship after graduating in the last 3 year?

 

[The_Blue_Pill]

I will say that as a student I used to evaluate everything about residency/fellowship programs to try to determine best fit based on 100+ factors, but now that I’m on the other side (interviewing for prospective residents/fellows), I am thoroughly convinced that it isn’t worth the effort to research programs that in depth because at the end of the day, for residencies you have to go through the Match process and for fellowships you have to go through rush just like for college fraternities (PPS at Midyear) so it’s a big crapshoot and it’s more about preparing for what they want to see in you vs. what you want to get out of them.

Ironically, in the case of applying to residencies/fellowships I would argue that this is a matter of QUANTITY vs. quality of programs you apply to that will better your chances of landing something, based on the mechanics of how these processes work.

That being said, to circle back to your original question, the one criteria I would look for in a program is job placement afterwards. How many residents get hired on with their insitution? Of those that don’t, what kind of jobs did they find and did they secure these roles prior to graduating or were they in the unemployment market for a while? Did they look for jobs (especially if they weren’t hired on internally) solely based on their own efforts or did their RPD, preceptors etc. help them look for jobs and/or tap into connections to get them placed?

Residency is a stall tactic to find a real job and while the training will be worth it in the long run, do not ever lose sight of the fact that job security after residency is what you MUST prioritize ASAP.

Thank you for the response! Is there an average nationwide for the rate that health systems hire their residents?

 

[DOOM N GLOOM]

Doom and Gloom, is worth pursuing a fellowship after graduating in the last 3 year?

Depends what you want ultimately. Doesn’t hurt to go for it, but “older” candidates are definitely disadvantaged at Midyear because there is the perception that they are either 1. not as driven when they were coming out of school, or 2. simply overqualified for the role. Good luck.

 

[DOOM N GLOOM]

Thank you for the response! Is there an average nationwide for the rate that health systems hire their residents?

Not that I know of. This is where you have to do your own research/digging. Look at websites, brochures, any publications from that health system. Find past residents on Linkedin and browse their profiles. Ask the RPD to send you a list. Things like that.

 

[njac]

That being said, to circle back to your original question, the one criteria I would look for in a program is job placement afterwards. How many residents get hired on with their insitution? Of those that don’t, what kind of jobs did they find and did they secure these roles prior to graduating or were they in the unemployment market for a while? Did they look for jobs (especially if they weren’t hired on internally) solely based on their own efforts or did their RPD, preceptors etc. help them look for jobs and/or tap into connections to get them placed?

Residency is a stall tactic to find a real job and while the training will be worth it in the long run, do not ever lose sight of the fact that job security after residency is what you MUST prioritize ASAP.

And as someone on the interviewer side, I haaate when all the candidates seem to care about is if and how often we hire our own residents. Ironically, the ones who emphasize this in their interviews tend to forget that the residency itself is a year long interview and do something to jeopardize staying on at some point.

I did my PGY-2 at a place that hires on very few of their residents - their goal is to train you up and let you fly and elevate Pharmacy practice elsewhere. I prefer to work with people who trained elsewhere - we can collaborate experiences from multiple facilities to improve on several angles.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[DOOM N GLOOM]

Fair point. Fishing for info about job security should be done outside the interview process (online research, at showcases etc) because you want to use the time during the actual interview to sell yourself. If you were asked “why our program” at an interview and you said something about high retention/easy to get a job, I would probably write you off as having low EQ.

 

[projektreverb]

Before I Interviewed, I was able to find my residency’ 2017-2018 handbook thru a google search. In it, they had listed all of their prior residents. Then it’s just a matter of looking them up. Everyone has an internet presence nowadays and it’s very easy to see where people end up.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

A better way to inquire about job placement is to ask the current residents what they plan to do and the RPD what past residents are currently doing with their careers.