Residency Match and...who to rank #1

[LVPharm]

Well, I'm in the middle of interviewing for pharmacy practice residencies...mostly at VA hospitals because of my interest in geriatric/LTC pharmacy practice. All are par for the course...I pay for all expenses to go do these interviews...except for one. A certain private hospital in a certain unnamed NV city is paying for my flight into town and back, my accomodations for two nights at a large casino/resort...and get this, after interviews will send a limo (with open bar) to pick me and a bunch of new recruits (nurses, etc.) for dining and fun in South Lake Tahoe! HR person sez the party is "off the record" and to "have a good time", but I think I'm gonna be sticking to H2O for my evening libations. This match is going to be tough **mumumust remain impartial**

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[Caverject]

Guess that means ________ wants you! It could also be a ploy to see how responsible you are!

 

[lord999]

Hello LVPharm:

Not to get into Bayesian statistical and decision theory, but it's in your best interest to rank based solely on YOUR preference and not try to "outguess" your residency directors minds.

Some things you'd better look at carefully before accepting any position:
1. Do your rotations match your interest (or is it a staffing issue)?
2. Do you have to staff? If so, how much of your time is spent staffing?
3. Do you have enough patients to suit your interest (you shouldn't be at St. Jude's Children Hospital for a geriatric residency for example)
4. Is this rotation a contract (big deal!) relationship? Be preferable toward contract deals, since open relationships mean that you're really a staff pharmacist with more responsibilities.
5. VA has gotten really good at residency support, so I would prefer those environments.
6. I'm suspect about the wining and dining aspect of this private practice. Be really careful. (Also, read a business etiquette book prior to entering. There's all sorts of ways to informally interview candidates, particularly when drunk. There also are conventions about drinking, like, if you do drink, it does look suspicious if you deliberately avoid drinking at a function.)

Good luck, and gee, we've come a long way, haven't we? ~lord999

Well, I'm in the middle of interviewing for pharmacy practice residencies...mostly at VA hospitals because of my interest in geriatric/LTC pharmacy practice. All are par for the course...I pay for all expenses to go do these interviews...except for one. A certain private hospital in a certain unnamed NV city is paying for my flight into town and back, my accomodations for two nights at a large casino/resort...and get this, after interviews will send a limo (with open bar) to pick me and a bunch of new recruits (nurses, etc.) for dining and fun in South Lake Tahoe! HR person sez the party is "off the record" and to "have a good time", but I think I'm gonna be sticking to H2O for my evening libations. This match is going to be tough **mumumust remain impartial**

 

[LVPharm]

Hello LVPharm:

Not to get into Bayesian statistical and decision theory, but it's in your best interest to rank based solely on YOUR preference and not try to "outguess" your residency directors minds.

Some things you'd better look at carefully before accepting any position:
1. Do your rotations match your interest (or is it a staffing issue)?
2. Do you have to staff? If so, how much of your time is spent staffing?
3. Do you have enough patients to suit your interest (you shouldn't be at St. Jude's Children Hospital for a geriatric residency for example)
4. Is this rotation a contract (big deal!) relationship? Be preferable toward contract deals, since open relationships mean that you're really a staff pharmacist with more responsibilities.
5. VA has gotten really good at residency support, so I would prefer those environments.
6. I'm suspect about the wining and dining aspect of this private practice. Be really careful. (Also, read a business etiquette book prior to entering. There's all sorts of ways to informally interview candidates, particularly when drunk. There also are conventions about drinking, like, if you do drink, it does look suspicious if you deliberately avoid drinking at a function.)

Good luck, and gee, we've come a long way, haven't we? ~lord999

Caverject: how did you...well, not that your right or anything I don't want to name names of programs I'm applying to, for obvious reasons. Wait till after the match, you bastard!

lord999: We certainly have! Right now, the several VAs I've applied to are at the top of my list. All have the best fit to my career aspirations (geriatrics). The people I've met today at interview have all been very nice. I can see developing a mentor/resident relationship with many of them, and that is one of the most important things I'm looking for, and will weigh heavily in my ranking. Staffing seems to be more reasonable at VAs. One VA I'm applying too requires one weekend a month. Don't know about on-call. The one I interviewed at today doesn't have weekend staffing for their residents, instead they work one weekday out of the week for 2-3 hrs at the outpatient pharmacy longitudinally over the duration of the residency. VAs also seem to be ahead of the curve in terms of pharmacy technology: physician order entry, automation, and a kick-ass charting system linked to every VA hospital and facility in the country. No more deciphering cryptic progress notes. I've also met many terrific clinical pharmacists who are products of these same VA programs. As for that unnamed hospital "wining and dining", it wouldn't surprise me at all if they are, in fact, doing this for all recruits. This particular medical center advertises heavily for nurses, pharmacists, and other allied health professionals. The city the hospital is in is not a place many healthcare professionals look at when contemplating a place to move to and work. On top of that, NV has a severe nursing shortage, even in growing Las Vegas! It's most probably just a recruiting tool. Of course, I'll act responsibly, but I'm not terribly suspect of their motives.

 

[Caverject]

Guess that means ________ wants you! It could also be a ploy to see how responsible you are!

happy? Good luck!

 

[LVPharm]

happy? Good luck!

Thanks Sou....I mean, Caverject!

 

[lord999]

One last thing.
Don't do a residency or any postgraduate work unless you want it to mean something to yourself. Don't do it for the negatives (i.e. Walgreens is doomed argument), and don't do it for the pioneering (early adopters get screwed financially and professionally, see the histories of anesthesiology, transplant surgery, and orthodontics). Do it because you give a damn about patients first and the optimal provision of patients' care...

Residencies doesn't pay well, it's stressful, and the prospects aren't as positive as a standard pharmacist for pecuniary rewards. It's not worth it unless you believe in its value set.

LVPharm, I know you mean well. Good luck with your endeavors.

 

[LVPharm]

But...retail IS doomed!! Just kidding...sorta

I am doing it because, yes, I do give a damn. I'm also doing it because in one year of working my keister off for less than half the salary my friends will be making, I will be seeing and doing MANY things...gaining myriad experiences that would take me years to gain staffing in an inpatient pharmacy. I may never eventually work in critical care, drug information, or ambulatory care pharmacy...but I'll have done a little bit of everything by the time I'm done. Pharmacy practice residencies are supposed to give you a breadth of experience in clinical practice that will put you beyond "entry level competency".

Right now, my only fear is that pursuit of PGY1 residencies will no longer be the domain of the elite. Judging by the turnout at this year's ASHP Residency Showcase, more pharmacy graduates may begin looking to residency as a way of distinguising themselves from their peers, at becoming more attractive in the job market, etc.

 

[Ivorymist]

Hi LVPharm, I'm also about to begin the process of interviewing for residencies. It's pretty unsettling to think about having to interview with a group of people for 6-7 hours!

But I do agree with you regarding that the pursuit of PGY-I residencies will no longer put you among the elite...around here lots of clinical positions can only be had if you do a second year residency - there are plenty of people with a PP residency under their belts who had to go back to staffing at a hospital or working at a drugstore. Are you thinking about doing a second year? I'll have to finish my first year and see what I do. I hope the interview committees won't hold anything against me if I say I'm not sure about a second year.

Any tips regarding the interviewing process? I think I'm fairly prepared but it never hurts to see other people's POV...

 

[LVPharm]

Hi LVPharm, I'm also about to begin the process of interviewing for residencies. It's pretty unsettling to think about having to interview with a group of people for 6-7 hours!

But I do agree with you regarding that the pursuit of PGY-I residencies will no longer put you among the elite...around here lots of clinical positions can only be had if you do a second year residency - there are plenty of people with a PP residency under their belts who had to go back to staffing at a hospital or working at a drugstore. Are you thinking about doing a second year? I'll have to finish my first year and see what I do. I hope the interview committees won't hold anything against me if I say I'm not sure about a second year.

Any tips regarding the interviewing process? I think I'm fairly prepared but it never hurts to see other people's POV...

Hi Ivory,

I'm not certain of doing a 2nd year residency...although there are geriatric specialty residencies, it's not really necessary to do one to go into LTC or consultant work...but it would be a good "feather in your cap". It really depends on your goals, and if SPECIALIZED clinical positions you are interested in state preference for a specialty residency. As far as interviews, yes they are long...but time flies when you are being grilled . VA hospitals are required to ask standardized questions at pretty much every facility. It's something called "performance based interviewing" where they ask you about specific examples in your past (work or pharmacy-based experiences don't seem to matter). You might be asked to relate examples where you had to give someone "bad news", where you showed "initiative", etc. Questions came from a published "question bank" which could be found here http://www.va.gov/pbi/
....therefore there were no surprises if you bothered to read questions from the question bank. During our lunch together, the pharmacy manager, director, residency director, and residents would "informally" ask questions about your background, sorta felt like an "off the record" situation, but I'm sure they were taking mental notes. They will ask you about your immediate goals after residency, but I sincerely doubt they would give a rip if you said you were going to do a specialty residency or not. They want to know that YOU know how a pharmacy practice residency fits into your goals. They probably don't care for people who want to do a PGY1 residency simply because they don't know what to do after graduation, or have unreasonable expectations about the residency experience.

Any other tips? I'm sure you've seen/heard this all before, but for the benefit of any other student out there about to undertake this process, I'll say it anyway!

If asked the dreaded "clinical question", don't try to guess. If you really don't know, either ask follow-up questions to get to an answer, or if you flat-out don't know, just say so and that you would have to look it up. These types of questions are asked more likely to find out HOW you think...what your thought process is. They seem to like to know that you aren't afraid to ask follow-up questions to get more specific information needed to answer the original querry. They don't want residents guessing answers to questions posed by other healthcare professionals. Also, if you start to get nervous, think about your place in the process...you're there to find out about the program and whether and where to rank them for the match. That semblance of "control" seemed to help keep me from getting too nervous by keeping the interview process in this perspective. Also, if you are applying to non-VA residencies, you won't have the advantage of government published questions like I did You will have to prepare much like you did for pharmacy school interviews...i.e., review your "personal database" prior to interview...reasons for pursuit of residency, goals, any clinical interventions performed by you during rotations, favorite/not favorite rotations and why, any volunteer and extracurricular activities, especially if it shows leadership, favorite books/authors, etc. Also review your CV, cover letter, application questions, etc...you never know if the panel had access to your file (mine did not). Be prepared to tell a little bit about any presentation given during rotation.

Prepare a lot of questions to ask, especially if you have to interview with several panels of people. Review all the available literature on the program...you may want to prepare questions based on that. It might cause frustration if you ask questions already answered in the brochures, so be careful. Also, sometime between your interview and the match, it is supposed to be helpful to write thank you notes to your interviewers, although this would be tough if you've been interviewed by 12 people! I suppose a thank you to the residency director, members of the residency advisory committee who may have interviewed you, or a clinical pharmacist who precepts a rotation you have strong interest in may be a good "minimum" to thank. Finally, if you can get the resident(s) alone for a minute, be sure to ask the following question: "If you had a chance to do it all over again, would you still do your residency here?" Hopefully, they can be candid about their experiences, and you can get a good indication of what to expect as a resident.

Hope this helps someone.

Good luck Ivorymist!

 

[tupac_don]

But...retail IS doomed!! Just kidding...sorta

I am doing it because, yes, I do give a damn. I'm also doing it because in one year of working my keister off for less than half the salary my friends will be making, I will be seeing and doing MANY things...gaining myriad experiences that would take me years to gain staffing in an inpatient pharmacy. I may never eventually work in critical care, drug information, or ambulatory care pharmacy...but I'll have done a little bit of everything by the time I'm done. Pharmacy practice residencies are supposed to give you a breadth of experience in clinical practice that will put you beyond "entry level competency".

Right now, my only fear is that pursuit of PGY1 residencies will no longer be the domain of the elite. Judging by the turnout at this year's ASHP Residency Showcase, more pharmacy graduates may begin looking to residency as a way of distinguising themselves from their peers, at becoming more attractive in the job market, etc.

I disagree with you that it would take you years to gain experience as a staff pharmacist what you could do in residency. Actually it is better to work as a staff pharmacist initally, b/c it would give you more autonomy to develop yourself and gain confidence. As well you will know the technical aspects of the pharmacy which are important as well. As a resident you will just focus on clinical aspect of pharmacy and of course doing projects and writing papers. If you are a go getter and you read up on stuff and take time to develop yourself you can gain a tremendous amount of knowledge as a staff pharmacist. Especially now that staff pharmacists are doing a lot of clinical aspects I don't think that you are really at a disadvantage at learning as a staff/clinical pharmacist. However, the catch 22 is that people who do go into staff position and don't want to do residency, don't want to read and do extra work. I mean really that is the most imp thing to be clinically well versed. But residency is so much more than getting you clinically competent. It's a part of it, but a lot of it is also built on drug info, projects, papers, research and what not. Now as a staff/clinical pharmacist you can cut all that "extra fat" out and be clinically well versed. So after the end of my long speel I don't think that being a staff/clinical pharmacist will impede your learning in taking care of pts. But if you consider knowing more, publishing papers and writing protocols and what not, then residency trains you to do that.

 

[LVPharm]

I disagree with you that it would take you years to gain experience as a staff pharmacist what you could do in residency. Actually it is better to work as a staff pharmacist initally, b/c it would give you more autonomy to develop yourself and gain confidence. As well you will know the technical aspects of the pharmacy which are important as well. As a resident you will just focus on clinical aspect of pharmacy and of course doing projects and writing papers. If you are a go getter and you read up on stuff and take time to develop yourself you can gain a tremendous amount of knowledge as a staff pharmacist. Especially now that staff pharmacists are doing a lot of clinical aspects I don't think that you are really at a disadvantage at learning as a staff/clinical pharmacist. However, the catch 22 is that people who do go into staff position and don't want to do residency, don't want to read and do extra work. I mean really that is the most imp thing to be clinically well versed. But residency is so much more than getting you clinically competent. It's a part of it, but a lot of it is also built on drug info, projects, papers, research and what not. Now as a staff/clinical pharmacist you can cut all that "extra fat" out and be clinically well versed. So after the end of my long speel I don't think that being a staff/clinical pharmacist will impede your learning in taking care of pts. But if you consider knowing more, publishing papers and writing protocols and what not, then residency trains you to do that.

I don't really disagree with you there, you make some good points. Residency is also about gaining administrative experience, drug information/drug use policy, etc. as it is clinical work. It might be ideal to work as a staff pharmacist and go onto a residency but I can count on one hand the number of pharmacists that I know who have actually done that. It's really tough to voluntarilly decide that you will take a pay cut to put yourself (and, perhaps, your family) through the ordeal of a residency...not only that, but many staff pharmacists I know absolutely hate doing stuff like "journal club". They don't particularly like to keep abreast of the literature by reading journal articles, aside from what is summarized in the latest issue of "Pharmacist Letter" or at a CE. For many staff pharmacists, the prospect of returning to a residency is only slightly less appealing than returning to pharmacy school. In the end, I figure that if I don't do this now, I will more than likely NEVER do it again. While some of that clinical knowledge from my therapeutics classes is still somewhat fresh in my head, I'm going to go ahead and do this. It's really now or never for me .

 

[tupac_don]

I don't really disagree with you there, you make some good points. Residency is also about gaining administrative experience, drug information/drug use policy, etc. as it is clinical work. It might be ideal to work as a staff pharmacist and go onto a residency but I can count on one hand the number of pharmacists that I know who have actually done that. It's really tough to voluntarilly decide that you will take a pay cut to put yourself (and, perhaps, your family) through the ordeal of a residency...not only that, but many staff pharmacists I know absolutely hate doing stuff like "journal club". They don't particularly like to keep abreast of the literature by reading journal articles, aside from what is summarized in the latest issue of "Pharmacist Letter" or at a CE. For many staff pharmacists, the prospect of returning to a residency is only slightly less appealing than returning to pharmacy school. In the end, I figure that if I don't do this now, I will more than likely NEVER do it again. While some of that clinical knowledge from my therapeutics classes is still somewhat fresh in my head, I'm going to go ahead and do this. It's really now or never for me .

Yep you said it right, most staff pharmacist don't want to hear let alone do a journal club. But I'll tell you one thing, reading all this extra literature, is pretty BS. I mean from the whole article you present, clinically you are gonna use the main point. Drug X is better than drug Y based on the study.
I wish that pharmacists were more clincially trained almost like PA's or NP's. I mean that is real clinical stuff. I think it would be better if they would have an advanced training for pharmacists to increase their clincial skills and to be able to prescribe under an MD, like PA's do, rather than all this policy writing, journal club presenting, theoretical crap. But that's just my humble opinion.

Also this is my piece of advice to you. YOu seem to me like you are pushing yourself for a residency. Really be careful what you are getting yourself into. B/c if you are saying its now or never, you seem kind of undecided to me. But all in due time. Good luck.

 

[LVPharm]

Also this is my piece of advice to you. YOu seem to me like you are pushing yourself for a residency. Really be careful what you are getting yourself into. B/c if you are saying its now or never, you seem kind of undecided to me. But all in due time. Good luck.

Thanks! But I assure you, I am not pushing myself to do this. I was simply referring to the timing (i.e., doing the residency immediately after graduation). It is true: if I don't do it now, I may never get around to doing it...same goes for many pharmacy practice residents. Chances are that if they got their career going after graduation, they may have never done it. Slap on the golden handcuffs to your career, get used to a certain somewhat affluent lifestyle, and residency will seem less pallatable.

 

[Roxicet]

What ever happened to MNnaloxone? Wasn't he doing a VA residency too? I think that residency killed him.... Are you sure you know what you're getting into LVPharm?

j/k... i hope he's doing fine, and best of luck to you LVP!

 

[Glycerin]

When do you find out where you'll be?

 

[LVPharm]

When do you find out where you'll be?

I need to submit and certify my "rank order list" of programs via the web no later than 3/11/05 (My last interview is scheduled for 3/3/05). Then I wait...and pray. I should receive results of the match on 3/23/05 either through email or through the national matching service website. If I don't match, the remaining unmatched programs will interview candidates through an "open process", i.e., no more match.

 

[LVPharm]

What ever happened to MNnaloxone? Wasn't he doing a VA residency too? I think that residency killed him.... Are you sure you know what you're getting into LVPharm?

Either the residency...or his wife! Just kidding! I doubt that I would have too much time to surf this forum and post on a regular basis next year either, but we'll see!

i hope he's doing fine, and best of luck to you LVP!

Thanks Roxy!

 

[lord999]

MNaloxone is still on his honeymoon and when he gets back, he has his residency project to get started....

He's going to be a busy guy...

As for a residency, it's a lot of work, but at least it's over in 1 or 2 years. My pain is going to be a 4 to 5 year slow burn...

 

[lord999]

But...retail IS doomed!! Just kidding...sorta


Right now, my only fear is that pursuit of PGY1 residencies will no longer be the domain of the elite. Judging by the turnout at this year's ASHP Residency Showcase, more pharmacy graduates may begin looking to residency as a way of distinguising themselves from their peers, at becoming more attractive in the job market, etc.

And that's why I picked graduate work over residency. The Ph. D. is still the gold standard in academic or industrial work. The jury's still out on what it takes to be a staff pharmacist vs. a clinical pharmacist vs. a pharmaceutical care pharmacist/practioner. I think the standard the practice will settle on will be a residency and master's with thesis or a residency with one of the board certifications (PS, NP, OP, etc.).

For instance, my Pharm.D. experience and training wouldn't light a candle compared to the experiences of the first Pharm. D.'s (Cipolle, Zaske, Koda-Kimble). The experience they received was top of the line then, but still isn't considered within standard training now.

The line-item of a residency on your CV is certainly not as important as the experience you gain from it. Certain residencies produce certain kinds of competencies (you can bet the UNC residents can do ID just fine or the VA residents can handle geriatrics). Certain residencies produce incompetents. It doesn't matter where you did your residency as much as if you can manage a practice. Lots of residents find that out the hard way. Make sure you leave your residency knowing how to develop, market, and manage a new practice outside the walls.

 

[LVPharm]

MNaloxone is still on his honeymoon and when he gets back, he has his residency project to get started....

He's going to be a busy guy...

As for a residency, it's a lot of work, but at least it's over in 1 or 2 years. My pain is going to be a 4 to 5 year slow burn...

I envy you not, but you'll get your PhD before you know it Since you guys are both in MN, have you guys actually met? Just curious...

 

[LVPharm]

Just spent 7 hours at a residency interview site...uuyyy

~3.5 hours of that time was on interviews with 3 ambulatory care panels, 1 inpatient clinical pharmacy panel, 1 on 1 with the residency director, and 1 on 1 with the chief of pharmacy. Interviewed by 18 different people. Oh, and a half hour with the residents, which was cool. Everyone there was nice, but I'm going to go get some rest now, I'm tired

 

[Ivorymist]

I feel for you LVPharm. I've been through 4 interviews so far myself - and some of them can last 6-8 hours long. You meet with a much of the clinical faculty, some of the residents, the director, etc...no fun but necessary I guess. They just sent the email saying that you can start matching the programs. I still have lots of thinking to do.

It's not until now that I realize how different each residency program can be. I used to think all of the PP residencies are pretty similar, but now I know different.

Tupac, I do agree with you in the journal clubs could be a bit of a waste of time. Sometimes when presenting one or when sitting through one, I think to myself "why can't we just get to the freakin' point??" instead of spending hours and hours talking about the statistical analyses, etc. I think it'd be more productive to skim through a bunch of trials talking about how each of them would impact clinical practice instead of spending hours talking about just one.

It would be nice if I could be as good as the Koda-Kimbles or Dipiros...

 

[LVPharm]

Ivorymist: How many programs are you applying to? I'm interviewing with 4 programs up until 3/3/04, so I can't start ranking programs just yet. There's a lot to think about...staffing responsibilities, required rotations and electives, etc. I hope I match, though...don't really feel like going through "the scramble".

 

[skp]

18 people
i'm not looking forward to that!
hope everything works out.
-skp

 

[LVPharm]

18 people
i'm not looking forward to that!
hope everything works out.
-skp

It's not as bad as it seems. In fact, it's more tiring than scary. By the second interview session, you become "practiced" with your answers. Because the groups of interviewers don't organize their questions and communicate your answers to those questions between sessions, you often have repeat questions being asked of you throughout the day, and find yourself repeating yourself...that's tiring.

 

[Caverject]

This thread should be renamed "LVPharm's Residency Match Blog"

 

[LVPharm]

This thread should be renamed "LVPharm's Residency Match Blog"

HA! If memory serves me correctly, there was a thread that mentioned you "dominating SDN"

...please leave me this one itty bitty thread, oh master Caverject?
Besides, I thought there should be some conversation regarding postgraduate opportunities in pharmacy. So I started up a thread!

 

[Caverject]

HA! If memory serves me correctly, there was a thread that mentioned you "dominating SDN"

...please leave me this one itty bitty thread, oh master Caverject?
Besides, I thought there should be some conversation regarding postgraduate opportunities in pharmacy. So I started up a thread!

What's that suppose to mean??

What exactly are you looking for as far as jobs when you are done with your residency?

 

[LVPharm]

I'm just kidding! (The thread I referred to was "The Official "Blame it on JDPharmd? & South2006" thread...good times)

I'm headed towards LTC/consultant pharmacy, but if I find something that interests me during residency, that might change my mind.

 

[Ivorymist]

Hi LV, I'm interviewing at 6 different places. I actually have my last one tomorrow (thank goodness). I'm pretty tired of traveling and stressing through all these interviews.

I heard that you don't have to worry too much about the match process. It seems that most people get their 1st or 2nd choices so don't worry too much about it. I know it's easier said than done when there are like 20 other people interviewing for the same program with you for 2-4 spots, but we just have to have faith in the match process and hope that others won't be attracted to the same programs as us!

I think I'm going to be more of a internal medicine/generalist type of practitioner so for now I'm not sure if I want to do a second year. Like you said though people might change their minds during the PP residency so who knows...but for now I would say no to a second year.

What are some of the things that you personally look for in a residency?

 

[LVPharm]

Hi Ivory...one more interview left next Thursday, then it's time to rank my choices. The most important thing I've been looking for is the personality of the preceptors, especially those in rotations I'm really interested in. I want a mentor, someone I can learn from and talk to after I'm done with the rotation. If I get bad vibes from everyone there, I'm either ranking them real low or not ranking them at all. Staffing, on call responsibilities, etc all take a back seat to that requirement. After all, almost anyone can get an ASHP accredited residency (simply do what's required, place it in your CV)...not everyone can get the quality of experience that helps build careers.

I am paying attention to what the residents have to say away from the prying ears of directors and staff. I've been asking if they have any disappointments...sometimes they are real minor ones, like I asked several different residents (at seperate times) at one program, and each stated they didn't like how each preceptor insisted that progress notes be written their own way (not a standard format, so they were frustrated because 6 weeks later at another rotation, they have to learn how to write them all over again)...not a big deal to me. If that's all they don't like, then that's great. But if they start opening up about the director, relationships with preceptors, etc...then I take that into account big time.

 

[LVPharm]

Ivory: Forgot to say good luck with the match!

BTW, don't rank a program unless you really would do a residency there! That's something I'm gonna be telling myself as I go through this process.

 

[Ivorymist]

LV, I just got done with my last one. They had a great program and I got very, very good vibes from the program and everyone there but it's in a town that's COMPLETELY dead. I mean I think it's more of a retirement town than anything else - I even had a hard time trying to find a restaurant for dinner. Because of that I may not rank them - if I'm going to go somewhere for a year, I want the living experience to be good too along with the quality of the PP residency program.

I agree with you in that I try to milk the residents for the real info after they're away from the preceptors (during lunch for example). I haven't really heard anything terribly negative about any of the places I was at, but you do get a feel of how satisfied they are with their current situation. I also tend to like places with more residents - that way you'll get this "we're in this together" type of feeling.

Now for the tough part with ranking them. Time to do some serious thinking...good luck to you too!

 

[LVPharm]

Ivory: Mind if I ask you if you are writing thank you notes following interviews? Handwritten or typed? Just wanted to know if I'm going overboard doing this I figure if I can't write to all 18 or so people at a program, I could at least thank the director, and a few key preceptors.

 

[Caverject]

I think thank you notes are a very good thing to do. When I do this next year, I will be doing them

 

[Ivorymist]

I actually only wrote a thank you note (typed) to the residency coordinator at the program that I had a strong interest in. I decided against writing to individual preceptors since there were about 15 of them who interviewed me at that place and if I only wrote to a few of them I feared alienating the others. But I do think that thank you letters are great for setting yourself apart since I'm pretty sure most of the other candidates won't be writing one, especially if they don't have as much interest in the program.

 

[LVPharm]

Ivorymist: I've been sending thank you notes to the residency director, the residency coordinator, and any preceptors in areas of my interest, especially if we talked at great length during the interview day. Now you've got me thinking about whether or not I am alienating the other preceptors...hope not

Do you know if the programs you applied to have access to your matching number? I just thought about that this morning. Maybe I'll have to email them the number...they never asked for it.

BTW, I'm typing this at the gate at McCarran airport in Vegas...I love free WiFi!

 

[Ivorymist]

I put my match number on my CV. Hope they realize that and found where it was!

I love the airport at Vegas too...staying too long could be bad for your wallet though with all those slot machines there.

 

[Caverject]

It's amazing as you walk off the plan at McCarran and the first thing you see is a slot machine

 

[skp]

It's amazing as you walk off the plan at McCarran and the first thing you see is a slot machine

My flight was delayed out of McCarran when I interviewed at USN and it wasnt' a pleasant 3 hrs of my life. All I got to here was the *pinging and ringing* of slot machines - enough to drive you mad I tell ya'. This lady must have dumped some serious cash as she sat at the godforsaken machine for what seemed like days.

Ah McCarran, what fine memories -

wifi: Ha, ha, I used it to make posts from the airport too I believe

 

[LVPharm]

My flight was delayed out of McCarran when I interviewed at USN and it wasnt' a pleasant 3 hrs of my life. All I got to here was the *pinging and ringing* of slot machines - enough to drive you mad I tell ya'. This lady must have dumped some serious cash as she sat at the godforsaken machine for what seemed like days.

Ah McCarran, what fine memories -

wifi: Ha, ha, I used it to make posts from the airport too I believe

I was stuck at Tucson International Airport two weeks ago for over 4 hours. A rinky dink crappy little airport. My Southwest flight back to Vegas was delayed due to storms over LV and SoCal. You want to talk about boring? No wifi, the restaurants closed early, no gift shops...I was starving and had to purchase a dried out prepackaged ham sandwich for over $5 from the only vendor open! Later on, the passengers were so restless the staff tried to placate the angry mob by bringing in free soda and packets of Ritz crackers. At that point, I missed McCarran. Flight was supposed to leave at 8:15 PM, didn't get off the ground till well past 12:30 AM. I've since learned my lesson and have brought my NAPLEX review book with me to the airport.

But it can't be all that great continuously hearing "Wheel...Of...Fortune!" coming from those slots either, so I can see where you're coming from

 

[Caverject]

Tucson doesn't look that bad!!

 

[LVPharm]

Well, it's done...I've submitted and certified my rank order list. Changes can be made between now and the 11th, then it's set in stone. I'll find out if I've matched via email or logging into the NMS website on 3/23 after 12 noon EST. I have this sinking feeling deep in the pit of my stomach...

 

[Glycerin]

Well, it's done...I've submitted and certified my rank order list. Changes can be made between now and the 11th, then it's set in stone. I'll find out if I've matched via email or logging into the NMS website on 3/23 after 12 noon EST. I have this sinking feeling deep in the pit of my stomach...

 

[Ivorymist]

Yeah sigh...this little list will determine where I'll be for the next year of my life.

 

[Caverject]

HA! If memory serves me correctly, there was a thread that mentioned you "dominating SDN"

...please leave me this one itty bitty thread, oh master Caverject?
Besides, I thought there should be some conversation regarding postgraduate opportunities in pharmacy. So I started up a thread!

I got a new smily just for you LV

 

[LVPharm]

I got a new smily just for you LV

Yeah, caverject is the one turning a bright shade of red...bananaface is the one with the whip!

 

[Glycerin]

What is the average number of residencies to which a prospective resident applies?

 

[LVPharm]

What is the average number of residencies to which a prospective resident applies?

It really depends on a number of factors, primarily your own budget (as most programs won't pay for your airfare, lodging, etc), and the comptetitiveness of the programs you are applying to. One of my preceptors interviewed with ~8 programs. She interviewed for some competitive residencies (like those affiliated with the University of California), so she interviewed with many programs, just in case. I interviewed with 4 programs (one of which paid for airline tickets, hotel stay, ground transportation, and limo for wining/dining ). That was all I could really afford...with some allowance made just in case I don't match and need to go into the "scramble" and visit a program or two later. Most of my classmates applying for residencies seem to be applying to anywhere from 3-6 programs. Can't speak for other schools, though.