What sorts of things are looked at/important for residency applicants?

[druggeek]

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GPA obviously being the most important factor when applying to residency... what other factors are realistically important or very important?

Job experience? (What if you've never had a real job)
Volunteer Experience/Hours (Where/how much?)
Research Experience?
Extracurriculurs?
Awards?

etc etc

What's important and what isn't ?

 

[bacillus1]

GPA obviously being the most important factor when applying to residency... what other factors are realistically important or very important?

Job experience? (What if you've never had a real job)
Volunteer Experience/Hours (Where/how much?)
Research Experience?
Extracurriculurs?
Awards?

etc etc

What's important and what isn't ?

GPA isn't the most important factor. Wish it were, but it's more of the leadership positions and hospital job experience.

 

[druggeek]

GPA isn't the most important factor. Wish it were, but it's more of the leadership positions and hospital job experience.

So someone who was the president of a club + has a large number of hospital volunteer hours... has a clear upper hand on someone with a far superior GPA ?

 

[crazybob]

So someone who was the president of a club + has a large number of hospital volunteer hours... has a clear upper hand on someone with a far superior GPA ?

If you have someone who has both, then it's great.

But usually people with superior GPA spent time studying and ignoring or not doing one of the things listed above.

 

[Sparda29]

So someone who was the president of a club + has a large number of hospital volunteer hours... has a clear upper hand on someone with a far superior GPA ?

The real world isn't k-type multiple choice questions.

 

[crazybob]

The real world isn't k-type multiple choice questions.

And it doesn't come with old test questions.

 

[druggeek]

I was looking more so for things that would make a an applicant a strong applicant.

 

[fiorio]

GPA is not the most important factor
besides what make you look good on paper
your personality
your ability to work with others
your attitude
your work ethics
your written and oral communication skill
your presence
your confidence
your ability to think on your feet
how you take criticism
your self-awareness
the list goes on

GPA obviously being the most important factor when applying to residency... what other factors are realistically important or very important?

Job experience? (What if you've never had a real job)
Volunteer Experience/Hours (Where/how much?)
Research Experience?
Extracurriculurs?
Awards?

etc etc

What's important and what isn't ?

 

[druggeek]

GPA is not the most important factor
besides what make you look good on paper
your personality
your ability to work with others
your attitude
your work ethics
your written and oral communication skill
your presence
your confidence
your ability to think on your feet
how you take criticism
your self-awareness
the list goes on

And those things are essentially demonstrated during the interview correct?

 

[VeraShield]

And those things are essentially demonstrated during the interview correct?

The first part of the game is to get an interview invite. So you need strong letters of recommendation that can attest to your technical abilities as well as intangibles.

 

[fiorio]

yes, somehow experienced interviewers can tell from how you talk and act, how you present yourself.

And those things are essentially demonstrated during the interview correct?

 

[Praziquantel86]

Everything is important, but once your GPA is above the screening cutoff (3.3 or so to be really safe), you can start worrying about other things. Programs look for a well-rounded candidate, although what that means may vary from place to place.

Professional involvement (not simply signing up, but actually doing something), hospital work experience and community involvement are all big factors for most programs. The academically based programs look specifically for research experience (posters, publications, etc.), but all programs view this as a positive. Again, the weighting of these factors will vary from program to program.

Letters of recommendation are an very important. You'll want to get these from people who know you on different levels, so work supervisor, professor and research advisor is a nice mix to shoot for. Make sure your letter writers have written letters before, as these will frequently carry a lot of weight.

Potentially the most important factor is presenting yourself appropriately. Have someone who knows what they're talking about take a look at your cover letter and CV, as poorly written versions can kill your chances. Keep a running tally fom your P1 year about everything you've done and continually update your CV. It's very easy to forget about things when you're a few years out.

It's a tough market, you should try to do everything you can to separate yourself from the pack.

 

[Sparda29]

Everything is important, but once your GPA is above the screening cutoff (3.3 or so to be really safe), you can start worrying about other things. Programs look for a well-rounded candidate, although what that means may vary from place to place.

Professional involvement (not simply signing up, but actually doing something), hospital work experience and community involvement are all big factors for most programs. The academically based programs look specifically for research experience (posters, publications, etc.), but all programs view this as a positive. Again, the weighting of these factors will vary from program to program.

Letters of recommendation are an very important. You'll want to get these from people who know you on different levels, so work supervisor, professor and research advisor is a nice mix to shoot for. Make sure your letter writers have written letters before, as these will frequently carry a lot of weight.

Potentially the most important factor is presenting yourself appropriately. Have someone who knows what they're talking about take a look at your cover letter and CV, as poorly written versions can kill your chances. Keep a running tally fom your P1 year about everything you've done and continually update your CV. It's very easy to forget about things when you're a few years out.

It's a tough market, you should try to do everything you can to separate yourself from the pack.

From the residency showcases that I've been to, most places have said there is no GPA cutoff.

 

[psychoandy]

Agree with everything Praziquantel says. First you need to look good in order to interview, then you worry about presentation. I'm convinced you need everything you mentioned, most importantly work experience and real leadership/teamwork roles, in order to have the best chances to get interview and match. Look at the residency "where did you match/stats" thread; almost everyone has a 3.3 or above + jobs + extracurriculars +/- research.

From the residency showcases that I've been to, most places have said there is no GPA cutoff.

When you have 80 applicants for 2 positions, you have to start cutting off somewhere, and most places aren't as eager as you would think in sorting thru CVs/LoRs. Not many places explicitly say they have GPA cutoff, but if you have a low GPA, it's expected that you compensate that by being brilliant with excellent LoR and show that you truly are dedicated to going above/beyond.

 

[metallideth]

Everything is important, but once your GPA is above the screening cutoff (3.3 or so to be really safe), you can start worrying about other things. Programs look for a well-rounded candidate, although what that means may vary from place to place.

Professional involvement (not simply signing up, but actually doing something), hospital work experience and community involvement are all big factors for most programs. The academically based programs look specifically for research experience (posters, publications, etc.), but all programs view this as a positive. Again, the weighting of these factors will vary from program to program.

Letters of recommendation are an very important. You'll want to get these from people who know you on different levels, so work supervisor, professor and research advisor is a nice mix to shoot for. Make sure your letter writers have written letters before, as these will frequently carry a lot of weight.

Potentially the most important factor is presenting yourself appropriately. Have someone who knows what they're talking about take a look at your cover letter and CV, as poorly written versions can kill your chances. Keep a running tally fom your P1 year about everything you've done and continually update your CV. It's very easy to forget about things when you're a few years out.

It's a tough market, you should try to do everything you can to separate yourself from the pack.

would this also include volunteer positions? if so what type of volunteer positions do you think would look impressive on a CV? what type of hospital job would look good on a CV?

 

[Praziquantel86]

would this also include volunteer positions? if so what type of volunteer positions do you think would look impressive on a CV? what type of hospital job would look good on a CV?

I couldn't tell you specifically about how program directors view volunteer experience because I am not a program director. I will say, however, that volunteers are typically unable to perform the duties that make a hospital internship a valuable experience, such as manufacturing IVs and various clinical responsibilities (anticoagulation monitoring, kinetics, rounding, etc.).

With that in mind, I don't think a volunteer experience would receive nearly the same weighting as a paid internship. I don't think it would be seen as a negative, but I'm not sure how much it would end up helping.

 

[metallideth]

I couldn't tell you specifically about how program director's view volunteer experience because I am not a program director. I will say, however, that volunteers are typically unable to perform the duties that make a hospital internship a valuable experience, such as manufacturing IVs and various clinical responsibilities (anticoagulation monitoring, kinetics, rounding, etc.).

With that in mind, I don't think a volunteer experience would receive nearly the same weighting as a paid internship. I don't think it would be seen as a negative, but I'm not sure how much it would end up helping.

thanks for the response. in your opinion when would it be a good time for a pharm student to get a summer hospital internship if its available?

 

[Praziquantel86]

thanks for the response. in your opinion when would it be a good time for a pharm student to get a summer hospital internship if its available?

Whenever you can get the job is a good time. Strike while the iron's hot as they say.

 

[Jabberwocky12]

So going with this, would having any experience in the hospital in a non-pharmacist role have any impact? For example, if you worked in the lab as a lab technician or if you worked as a pharmacy technician rather than as an intern? It seems that you would still be able to see how the hospital works and you would look at the positions there and get more of a feel if the residency is right for you.

I would imagine it would be beneficial working there regardless simply for the the networking and possible LORs from people that are influential (like going into a residency at the same hospital) or from a department head who knows how to talk about you in a letter in all of the things the directors are looking for.

Thinking about being a hospital lab tech and working as one during pharm school. It's easier to go into a hospital and work in a non-pharmacy role if it's near a pharmacy school...