Why residency?
When I first moved to the USA, my initial goal was to graduate from pharmacy school with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree and return home to help my father run his pharmacy. However, when I got admitted to pharmacy school I started an interdisciplinary track that got me interested in the clinical setting of Pharmacy. In this track (once a week for the first three years of school) I got the opportunity to work with a nursing school student, a social work student, and a medical school student at a teaching hospital.
Indeed, I learned to work in interdisciplinary teams very early in pharmacy school. I enjoyed having direct access to patient’s labs/exams and treatment options while they were hospitalized. Also the opportunity to educate patients on their medications and re-assure them before they get discharge was very appealing.
How did I make myself competitive?
I did not check all the boxes needed to be a perfect candidate. For instance, I did not have a consistent pharmacy job experience, mostly due to the fact that I was an international student. Therefore, I worked with what I had and did the best that I could.
- While in school, I made sure to be involved in community services and ran for leadership positions in order to make myself a competitive candidate.
- During the summer of 2015, instead of going on vacation, I volunteered to do some research with my Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics teacher. Little did I know that I was going to be asked to help write a manuscript on that project and that it would be published in the Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics. I got some research experience and the publication was also a nice booster on my CV.
- During the last year of pharmacy school, I scheduled my rotations strategically so that I could have enough clinical rotations before applying to residency or even before the interviews time. I made sure that those rotations included experiences in acute/critical care, Emergency Medicine, Cardiology, or ID. By doing that, I was able to figure out if I really enjoyed working as a clinical pharmacist.
The application process
Then, came the time to submit all of my applications. I made sure to submit all of the documents requested before the deadline. I also asked for letters of recommendations ahead of time. I applied to 8 programs (mostly in Atlanta, GA) and got 4 interviews. I practiced a lot before going to my interviews (with classmates, friends, throughout workshops at schools with teachers).
Unfortunately, I did not match the first time and was extremely discouraged. However, I could not imagine myself doing something else or apply to another job.
“I had the idea of doing a residency program in mind since my second year of pharmacy school, and I was not going to let it go that easily.”
So I re-applied, but that second time I decided to be more ‘’open-minded’’ in terms of the location. Indeed, the first time I mostly applied in Atlanta, GA because I wanted to be in the same town as my husband.
He was okay with me moving to another town for 1 year of residency so I applied to several programs that still needed residents and that offered the training I was looking for in different states. I applied to 4 programs and got 3 interviews. And then, on March 3 2017 I received the email informing me that I finally matched!
So...should you do it?
Doing a residency was one of the best professional decisions I ever made. It was an accelerated training in which I had a lot of exposure to diverse areas of the clinical side of Pharmacy. I had the opportunity to learn more about my strengths and weaknesses and also significantly improved my clinical knowledge. If you are hesitant, I say apply for it! It is better to have that training in your pocket than regret later not doing it when you were fresh out of school.
“It is possible to apply for residency after working for a few years but it is much easier when done right after school.”
If you are still in school, now is the time to make yourself competitive. Be involved in your school organizations and do not be afraid to hold leaderships position and make time for community services. During the last year of pharmacy school, try to schedule as much as inpatient rotations as possible before December-January. Again, that will not only give you the experience but will also be a good opportunity to know if this is something you can do in the long term.
Remember some of my tips from the article ”My Eventful Path to Pharmacy School”: Focus on what you can do and work that angle, be persistent, take a leap of faith and remember that information is key!
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