Should I bother?

[EML9255]

I have always been on the fence about residencies. Now that I am a P4 and the time is actually coming where I have to decide if I want to do one or not I am feeling as though I will regret it if I don't at least try. More for the community based residencies though, i feel like that is where i thrive and perform best as a pharmacy student. Just acute care is definitely not my cup of tea.


That being said, i don't know how competitive I am as an applicant. I feel like I am a very average student. I've been doing great on all my rotations so far and I feel as though I can present myself much better in person compared to what a piece of paper says about me.

I think I am just going to go to midyear and test the waters, seeing as though I have December off.

Is anyone else in this situation/have you been in this situation before?

I just don't want to not participate in match, etc and then regret it in march when all of my classmates are matching. Even if I don't get one, I feel like i will always think "what if" in my mind

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[joetrisman]

"Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you." - Thomas Jefferson

 

[pharmerjohn]

"Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you." - Thomas Jefferson

Sage advice from a true polymath. Although I'm familiar with many of Jefferson's famous quotes, I never knew this one was attributed to him. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Dalteparin]

I have always been on the fence about residencies. Now that I am a P4 and the time is actually coming where I have to decide if I want to do one or not I am feeling as though I will regret it if I don't at least try.

And that, my young friend, is the answer to your question: yes, you should, because you know that you'll regret it if you don't.

 

[samisab786]

I have always been on the fence about residencies. Now that I am a P4 and the time is actually coming where I have to decide if I want to do one or not I am feeling as though I will regret it if I don't at least try. More for the community based residencies though, i feel like that is where i thrive and perform best as a pharmacy student. Just acute care is definitely not my cup of tea.


That being said, i don't know how competitive I am as an applicant. I feel like I am a very average student. I've been doing great on all my rotations so far and I feel as though I can present myself much better in person compared to what a piece of paper says about me.

I think I am just going to go to midyear and test the waters, seeing as though I have December off.

Is anyone else in this situation/have you been in this situation before?

I just don't want to not participate in match, etc and then regret it in march when all of my classmates are matching. Even if I don't get one, I feel like i will always think "what if" in my mind

yea, well I'm kind of in your boat right now. I've always kinda considered residencies and then sorta quit on the idea bc I didn't think I would get in. I've had a stronger desire to do a residency within the past year and after my retail rotation, I am a little more than eager more so now than ever. My chances are still probably hazy, but I am def up for giving it a shot.

 

[pharm B]

I was gung-ho residency until this year. Family comes first, and they've essentially been second for four years now. 60-80 work weeks in another city for a third of a pharmacist's wage ain't happenin'.

 

[The Asklepian]

60-80 work weeks in another city for a third of a pharmacist's wage ain't happenin'.

I just want to preface this by saying that I have many hurdles and a very long time before I even have a chance at applying for residency.

I hate sound greedy, but this has been on my mind. I think a residency would be very beneficial after pharmacy school for a number of reasons. However, I have been reading that residents make anywhere from 35k-45k. I intend to work as much as possible to avoid loans, but I still project to have upwards of 200k debt by the end pharmacy school. At 6.8% interest, that's 13,600 a year to just break even. I realize this is only for 2 more years, but is this sustainable?

Can any pharmacy residents in this type of predicament weigh in? Thanks in advance - I have a tremendous amount of respect for people in this situation.

 

[bacillus1]

I just want to preface this by saying that I have many hurdles and a very long time before I even have a chance at applying for residency.

I hate sound greedy, but this has been on my mind. I think a residency would be very beneficial after pharmacy school for a number of reasons. However, I have been reading that residents make anywhere from 35k-45k. I intend to work as much as possible to avoid loans, but I still project to have upwards of 200k debt by the end pharmacy school. At 6.8% interest, that's 13,600 a year to just break even. I realize this is only for 2 more years, but is this sustainable?

Can any pharmacy residents in this type of predicament weigh in? Thanks in advance - I have a tremendous amount of respect for people in this situation.

You can defer your loans for after residency ends. Also not everyone does a PGY2, so it may only be for 1 year, not 2, depending on what your practice goals are.

 

[hello18]

I just want to preface this by saying that I have many hurdles and a very long time before I even have a chance at applying for residency.

I hate sound greedy, but this has been on my mind. I think a residency would be very beneficial after pharmacy school for a number of reasons. However, I have been reading that residents make anywhere from 35k-45k. I intend to work as much as possible to avoid loans, but I still project to have upwards of 200k debt by the end pharmacy school. At 6.8% interest, that's 13,600 a year to just break even. I realize this is only for 2 more years, but is this sustainable?

Can any pharmacy residents in this type of predicament weigh in? Thanks in advance - I have a tremendous amount of respect for people in this situation.

Lots of people tend to defer there loans... When I went through residency I just did IBR considering I barely worked from the previous year, which meant I didn't have to pay anything for the whole year. You should really only defer loans if you have no choice considering I think they only give you a year or two for deferement throughout your lifetime of the loan... Do some research on loans before you make a commitment... don't want your credit hurting down the line =)

 

[Protongenic]

You can defer your loans for after residency ends.

This is what I did for both PGY1 and PGY2. I paid 0 until the end of my PGY2. In hindsight, I should have perhaps at least paid off my interests during residency; since they kept on compounding during those two years, oops

I was definitely able to live fairly comfortably on my stipend, in a mid-to-large-sized city on the east coast. Granted, one of the benefits of working 65-100 hours/week is that you significantly cut down spending on entertainment

 

[WhiteSnows]

I would not do residency nowadays. Most hospital jobs I see require 1 to 3 years of hospital experience or 1 year residency. There are some hospitals will hire new grad. These are your opportunities to get experience. You can get a job and get paid more and still have the same benefits as residency. Also, there is a lot of cutting back hospital jobs across the country, getting the job as soon as possible will help to pay off some of your loan. Either way, you still end up doing what I am doing now without a residency.

 

[bacillus1]

I would not do residency nowadays. Most hospital jobs I see require 1 to 3 years of hospital experience or 1 year residency. There are some hospitals will hire new grad. These are your opportunities to get experience. You can get a job and get paid more and still have the same benefits as residency. Also, there is a lot of cutting back hospital jobs across the country, getting the job as soon as possible will help to pay off some of your loan. Either way, you still end up doing what I am doing now without a residency.

I would disagree. My new job that I just started required a PGY1. I guess it's just a matter of what you're looking for and where you're looking. No offense at all, but not everyone is willing to live in Barrow, and some areas require a PGY1 for either all hospital jobs, or all hospital jobs that have some clinical component to them.

 

[BenJammin]

You guys realize that if you don't have subsidized loans then you will still accrue interest, right? It makes zero sense to delay paying off student loans if the government does not let you defer for a year. Besides, with as many residency trained pharmacists being pumped out and hospitals cutting back most of you cannot afford to skip a PGY2 year.

So glad I didn't go down the residency route. It was a smart and financially sound decision.

 

[Transformer]

I would not do residency nowadays. Most hospital jobs I see require 1 to 3 years of hospital experience or 1 year residency. There are some hospitals will hire new grad. These are your opportunities to get experience. You can get a job and get paid more and still have the same benefits as residency. Also, there is a lot of cutting back hospital jobs across the country, getting the job as soon as possible will help to pay off some of your loan. Either way, you still end up doing what I am doing now without a residency.

I disagree that any hospital job experience will have the same benefit as completing a residency. It depends on the hospital and the level of clinical duties assigned to your hospital staff job.

I've heard of hybrid hospital pharmacist positions in the west coast that entails both clinical & staff duties. But, here in the east coast, or at least at my hospital, the clinical rph and staff rph behave like separate departments and have very different duties. For example, clinical rph round with the medical team, and are on the floors daily caring for patients, making interventions etc.. Whereas staff rph, like myself are generally focused on the operational aspects of pharmacy; such as checking final IV/PO products, profiling orders, and usually confined to a basement or satellite. If I ever wanted to switch over to the clinical department, I must complete 2 years of residency (PGY-1 and PGY-2) in order to apply for a clinical position at my hospital.

Paying off students loans as soon as possible is important, but I think it is perfectly okay to delay or slow down with student loan repayments to meet family obligations, and pursue desired job opportunities (such as clinical/industry positions by completing a residency or fellowship).

 

[DrWrong]

This!

 

[Davss]

This is what I did for both PGY1 and PGY2. I paid 0 until the end of my PGY2. In hindsight, I should have perhaps at least paid off my interests during residency; since they kept on compounding during those two years, oops

I was definitely able to live fairly comfortably on my stipend, in a mid-to-large-sized city on the east coast. Granted, one of the benefits of working 65-100 hours/week is that you significantly cut down spending on entertainment

You are an idiot.

 

[Protongenic]

You are an idiot.

Learn to dry-humor.