school for residency

[iluvcooking]

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hi guys, i was just wondering if it matters what pharmacy school you go to if you want to get a residency afterwards. or are your grades in the school more important? also how does the whole residency thing work? i'm thinking you just apply to different ones during the last year of pharmacy school and do it for a year? i'm in the process of picking out the schools i want to apply to next year. thanks!

 

[crazybob]

hi guys, i was just wondering if it matters what pharmacy school you go to if you want to get a residency afterwards. or are your grades in the school more important? also how does the whole residency thing work? i'm thinking you just apply to different ones during the last year of pharmacy school and do it for a year? i'm in the process of picking out the schools i want to apply to next year. thanks!

The school you attend doesn't matter as long as it is accredited by ACPE. GPA matters a lot, but your involvement in the community and also in national organizations matters too.

There are PGY1 and PGY2 residencies. Go to websites for different schools that offer them and read about it. Then you can make the decision on whether you want to do residency for two years or just one year.

 

[rxlea]

I have heard from clinical pharmacists I work with that it does matter. For instance, one pharmacist who graduated from Midwestern said that Midwestern grads were blacklisted from the VA here. He also said that when he went to interview for residencies, a couple of the people there didn't know what Midwestern (and I am going to assume other new schools) was. Some of the pharmacists I have talked to say it matters more on the East Coast and Midwest. I think it really depends on what you want to do/where you want to work.

 

[Passion4Sci]

And some hospitals only have partnerships with certain schools... not necessarily for any specific reason.

It's all about "fit."

 

[Tinkerbell22]

Yeah I made sure all the schools I applied to offer residencies. The newest school I applied to is fully accredited already, but it's still fairly new so I made sure I could do a residency if I happen to go there. They are actually partnered with a VA hospital, a diabetics treatment place, and a few other sites so that's something you will have to look into for each school.

 

[docss26]

I have heard from clinical pharmacists I work with that it does matter. For instance, one pharmacist who graduated from Midwestern said that Midwestern grads were blacklisted from the VA here. He also said that when he went to interview for residencies, a couple of the people there didn't know what Midwestern (and I am going to assume other new schools) was. Some of the pharmacists I have talked to say it matters more on the East Coast and Midwest. I think it really depends on what you want to do/where you want to work.

CCP has been around for over 9 years. I don't understand.

 

[crazybob]

CCP has been around for over 9 years. I don't understand.

I think she meant the one in Glendale, since she said "here" and she's in Arizona.

 

[docss26]

I think she meant the one in Glendale, since she said "here" and she's in Arizona.

She also said Midwest. That is a good question. I should have asked this. I wonder how CCP students fair in their quest for residency.

 

[Passion4Sci]

I love cooking, too!

 

[KARM12]

CCP has been around for over 9 years. I don't understand.

CCP has been around for almost 20 yrs... They opened in 1991.

 

[KARM12]

She also said Midwest. That is a good question. I should have asked this. I wonder how CCP students fair in their quest for residency.

Many CCP students do residency...some at really good programs.

 

[docss26]

CCP has been around for almost 20 yrs... They opened in 1991.

Oh, I thought I read somewhere they have been accredited for only 9 years. My mistake...

 

[type b pharmD]

definitely. more established schools will have much more established networks of good rotation sites, practical clinical experiences early in the curriculum, plenty of clinical faculty to help you with networking opportunities, and you'll be able to get face time with residency directors, fellows, and residents themselves during your day to day on the medical campus, or while rotating or interning. Also more established and well known schools will have wider alumni networks, and also offer more extracurricular activities and have agreements with facilities to host pharmacy student led volunteering efforts like chart reviews, etc. This will all build your resume for a residency.

Going to a new or unknown school, or a school that focuses on retail, you wont have this many great opportunities, so you'll have to work a lot harder to stand out.

 

[rxlea]

I am talking about Midwestern Glendale and other newer schools. They are not as well-known, don't have as many partnerships, and can get outcompeted by other "Top" universities. Midwestern students get outcompeted by UofA students here. Some states (from what I have heard) give preference to their state school grads over private, newer schools, (especially those with Pass/Fail because there is no way to gauge performance against grads from schools with a regular scale). Of course, all of this is debatable but what I do know is that many of the pharmacists I have spoken with who are not even originally from here (most are from the east coast and midwest) say that it does matter in some regions, the more competitive residencies, and in some specialties (for pgy2).

 

[type b pharmD]

Try to get a feel for what schools have clinical faculty with their own practices on the side, or doing clinical research. How many arrangements with tertiary academic centers does the school have? When in the curriculum do you start getting hands on clinical skills? Also look of course at the percentage of students going on to residencies.


Rules of thumb:
First off, all the major academic research institutions, if they're in the top 20 or so of research dollars or known nationally by name, are most likely going to be helpful for residencies. Also there are plenty of non state-schools that are good for clinical.

Schools that have opened in the last 10 years, i'm gonna go ahead and say most likely not as good.