Residency Interview Structure

The following list describes some of the features of pharmacy residency interviews of which pharmacy residency candidates should be aware.

• Half of all programs ask clinical questions.  They might ask about practice guidelines or drugs of choice, for example.  Five to fifteen percent of programs might ask for a case presentation or preparation of a SOAP note.
• A little less than a third of programs ask the candidate to prepare a short (15 - 30 min.) presentation necessitating the use of slides.
• Most programs involve their current residents in the interview process, including the selection of candidates.
• About half of programs have an interview that is a half-day (5 hours or less) in length.
• Three quarters of programs provide breakfast, lunch, or both.
• Few programs (< 20%) provide any travel accommodations for out-of-state applicants.
• Candidates do not interview with more than one candidate in the room.  Each candidate will usually have multiple one-on-one or small group interviews with each lasting a half-hour to an hour.
• Each candiate might interact with as many as 10 preceptors or staff members throughout the day.

Adapted from Mancuso CE, Paloucek FP. Understanding and preparing for pharmacy practice residency interviews. Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 2004;61:1686-9 and Mersfelder TL, Bickel RJ. Structure of postgraduate year 1 pharmacy residency interviews. 2009 Jun 15;66:1075-6.

Are you ready to interview?

Pharmacy residency interviews usually begin in late January and continue through the month of February.  If you've made the first cut based on your goals, achievements and the support of your mentors, congratulations!  Now the fun begins.  Here is a list of questions to help you determine if you are ready for the interview process.

1. Do you have your "elevator speech" prepared in response to the request to "tell me a little about yourself"?
2. Do you have your list of good scenarios prepared for a behavioral interviewing approach?  Can you come up with a story to describe a time when you: were shot down, made a successful intervention, were challenged by a patient, disagreed with a supervisor, had a conflict with a teammate...?
3. Do you feel confident that you won't appear stupid if you don't know the answer to a clinical question when you aren't sure of the correct answer?
4. Can you describe your weaknesses without using personality flaws?  For example, telling the interview team that you are always late is a problem.
5. Has anyone checked your mannerisms lately in high-pressure scenarios to make sure you don't do anything which is distracting or confusing (ex. use of "um," playing with hair, picking at clothing, grimmacing, laughing/smiling at the wrong time, etc.)?
6. Have you practiced your handshake with someone who will be completely honest with you about whether you've given a good handshake?
7. Have you prepared your list of questions for the programs and do you feel confident that the types of questions you will ask will reflect upon you favorably (ex. avoid "why did the program let a resident go last year?")?
8. Can you clearly describe your own preferences for a program in terms of the amount of flexibility, degree of autonomy, quantity/frequency of feedback, and exposure to certain activities like teaching and management projects?

The good news is that there is still plenty of time to make improvements to all of these items!  The bad news is that some work will be required on your part.  Don't forget about the opportunity to participate in the Mock Interview Workshop at the University of Utah on January 16th.  The preceptors/faculty know to look for the items on this list and can give you honest feedback without holding anything against you.  You only have until Friday the 11th to indicate that you want to participate.  Check your email inbox for the Surveymonkey invitation which was sent last Friday; you must fill it out to attend.

Top 20 Residency Interview Questions!

This is based on the results of a study where researchers attempted to collect a list of the most common interview questions with median rankings for importance (5 = most important, 1 = least important). Questions without rankings were provided as open questions by survey participants.

1. Why do you want to do a residency? (100% asking, importance 5/5)
2. Where do you see yourself after a PGY-1 residency?* (97% asking, importance 4/5)
3. What areas of practice most interest you? (93% asking, importance 4/5)
4. What qualities do you possess would make you a good resident? (88% asking, 4/5 importance)
5. What are your worst qualities? (73% asking, 4/5 importance)
6. What was your favorite rotation? (73% asking, 4/5 importance)
7. Describe the most significant contribution you made to a patient's care this past year. (60% asking, 4/5 importance)
8. Are you considering a PGY-2 residency or fellowship?* (59% asking, 3/5 importance)
9. What was your least favorite rotation? (56% asking, 3/5 importance)
10. Describe your most memorable experiences from rotations. (47% asking, 4/5 importance)
11. If I were to ask preceptor X to describe you, what words would he or she use? (37% asking, 4/5 importance)
12. Describe your favorite or most memorable patient. (32% asking, 4/5 importance)
13. What is your definition of pharmaceutical care?* (24% asking, 3/5 importance)
14. Who was your favorite preceptor? (19% asking, 4/5 importance)
15. Why are you interested in our program? (13% asking)
16. Describe or discuss the most interesting medical journal article you have recently read. (13% asking, 3/5 importance)
17. How do you handle conflict? (10% asking)
18. What do you like to do for fun? (8% asking)
19. Describe a conflict with a preceptor or attending physician. (7% asking)
20. Describe your time-management skills. (7% asking)

* Because this study was conducted in 2003, certain terms have been updated or might be phrased differently to reflect current standards and practices.

Be prepared for these questions to include follow-up, especially if the question is closed-ended (ex. Are you considering a PGY-2? vs. Why are you considering a PGY-2?).

Mancuso CE, Paloucek FP. Understanding and preparing for pharmacy practice residency interviews. Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 2004;61:1686-9.