Pharmacy Residency Applications and Pre-Interview Rankings

The larger residency programs often receive hundreds of applications each year for a handful of residency positions.  Before PhORCAS, large amounts of data would need to be transferred from paper applications to spreadsheets allowing for a fair and consistent comparison of candidates.  As the number of applicants has grown and because the applicant numbers are expected to continue growing, more programs are turning to internal rankings using data pulled from PhORCAS.  A recent study published in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacists describes one program's system for determining which applicants to invite for an on-site interview.  Prior to the analysis, they used 13 different characteristics.  After evaluating which factors were most likely to predict whether an applicant received an on-site interview, they removed duplicate factors and came up with 7 applicant characteristics which are starred below:

• Work experience pertaining to pharmacy*
• Professional association involvement*
• Types of rotation experiences*
• Publications*
• Presentations*
• Certifications and skills attained*
• Experience with research
• Grades*
• Recommendation letters
• Service to the community
• Awards and scholarships
• Letter of interest
• Leadership experience

Although letters of recommendation had the highest odds ratio of all of the characteristics (2.04), the 95% confidence interval suggests high variability with the predictability of this characteristic (0.79 - 5.27). The authors noted that most candidates score highly in this area making it a less valuable predictor of whether a student will be extended an offer to interview.

Grade point average was evaluated as a continuous variable in this model.  The applicability of the model to evaluating candidates without a GPA (ex. students from Roseman University) were not evaluated.  They noted that in the future, GPA could instead be used as a dichotomous variable (ex. yes or no to GPA above a certain cutoff) since students with a GPA below 3.0 were not extended an offer to interview.  

The authors felt that this process would be generalizable to other institutions but note that specific factors may vary by institution and that characteristics were not evaluated against PGY1 pharmacy practice residency performance.

Ensor CR, Walker CL, Rider SK, Clemente EU, Ashby DM, Shermock KM. Streamlining the process for initial review of pharmacy residency applications:  An analytic approach. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2013 Oct 1; 70(19):1670-5.

Residency candidates and social media

If you are a residency-bound student graduating in 2014, you are probably thinking about the contents of your curriculum vitae (CV) with some frequency.  There are numerous places where you can get feedback on your CV including the USHP CV Review Night (Sept. 23, 2013) and the ACCP CV Review Service.  While you have probably heard all of the stories about typos and irrelevant information which have appeared on "bad" residency candidate CVs, in the grand scheme of things, this is nothing compared to what could potentially be discovered about you via social media.  Consider the possibility that what you might consider typical off-work behavior might be poorly perceived by the workplace environment when an attempt is being made to judge your character or values.  As evidenced through timeline posts, comments, photographs, "likes" of companies/organizations/events, residency program directors might discover explicit language, racist/sexist/ageist remarks, evidence of substance abuse, behavior which is in poor taste, etc.  Consider the following.  In a survey conducted in 2009, 75 - 90% of residency program directors agreed or strongly agreed to the following statements:

• "Information published voluntarily online in social media should be "fair game" for judgments on character, attitudes, and professionalism."
• "Residency candidates should be accountable for unprofessional behavior discovered through social media postings."
• "Professional students should be held to higher standards than other students regarding the image they portray on social media."
• "The attitudes and behaviors displayed (e.g., comments, photos) on social media reflect upon an individual as a health care provider."
• "It is acceptable for a pharmacy residency program director to review a prospective residency candidate's social media profile."
• "If a pharmacy residency program director chooses to review a residency candidate's social media profile, it is acceptable for that information to be used when considering the candidate's suitability."

While social media might seem like a great place to showcase yourself, consider that in the same survey, of the small number residency program directors who viewed pharmacy residency candidates social media information, 52% discovered issues revealing an unprofessional attitude.  This does not mean that pharmacy residency candidates are unprofessional.  It just means that social media allowed a view into people's private or personal lives which reflected on their professional lives.  If you would not like to openly discuss your leisure time activities with an employer, make sure that "conversation" is not happening without your consent via social media.

Cain J, Scott DR, Smith K. Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 2010;67:1635-9.

Meetings Meetings Everywhere!

Today's blog post is about the wealth of pharmacy meetings which are scheduled between now and residency application deadlines (early January).  Each one offers slightly different professional development and/or residency applicant resources.  Lower student registration prices reflect the costs for members of the organization. Organized by date...

September 14th, 2013 Utah Society of Health-System Pharmacists ($40 for students)
University of Utah Campus (HSEB), Salt Lake City, Utah

• Opportunities to network with local residency preceptors and directors
• Residency "speed dating." Students rotate between stations to learn about PhORCAS, the Match, letters of reference, ASHP Midyear residency showcase, PPS, letters of intent

October 4th - 5th, 2013 Nevada Society of Health-System Pharmacists ($25 - $35)
John Ascuaga's Nugget, Reno, Nevada

• Opportunities to network with local residency preceptors and directors
• Professional development roundtables (details TBA)

October 12th - 16th, 2013 American College of Clinical Pharmacy ($165 - $230)
Albuquerque, New Mexico

• Opportunities to network with residency and fellowship preceptors and directors
• Residency-related programming:  Emerge from the crowd: how to become a standout residency candidate
• Clinical Pharmacy Career Path Roundtables where you can speak with practitioners about 15 different specialties in clinical pharmacy
• Opportunities to meet residency and fellowship preceptors and directors via the Residency and Fellowship Forum
• CV and portfolio development workshop
• Mock residency interviews

October 15th - 18th, 2013 Academy of Managed Care Pharmacists ($120 - $140)
San Antonio, Texas

• Opportunities to meet preceptors and directors via the showcase of managed care residencies and fellowships
• CV review clinic
• Programming on understanding the residency match

October 31st - November 3rd, 2013 California Society of Health-System Pharmacists Annual Seminar ($225 - $305)
Anaheim, California

• Opportunities to meet preceptors and directors via the residency showcase
• Student programming

December 8 - 12th, 2013 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Meeting ($270 - $375)
Orlando, Florida

• Opportunities to network with residency preceptors and directors
• Residency-related programming (the Match, applications, PhORCAS, interviews, PPS, CVs)
• Opportunities to meet preceptors and directors via the residency showcase
• Opportunities for a mini-interview with some residency programs

Pharmacy Specialties? There may or may not be student or residency-specific programming, but why not go to network? 

• Society of Infectious Disease Pharmacists (September 9th, Denver, Colorado)
• Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (September 27th, Chicago, Illinois)
• Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group (April 2014)
• College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists (April 2014)

Upcoming Dates -- Residency Match 2013

March 22, 2013 at 12:00 PM Eastern Time

• Match results are released to applicants and program directors.
• The PhORCAS application portal will be reopened so that unmatched applicants may begin updating their information (CVs, letters of intent, letters of recommendation, etc.).  Previous information will be accessible in the system for students who used PhORCAS pre-match.
• The list of programs with openings will be preloaded into PhORCAS.
• New applicants may participate in the scramble however they must register for the match and PhORCAS and pay associated fees. 
• New programs and new positions for existing programs can be added.

March 25, 2013 (update: 12:00 PM Eastern Time)

• Designation portal is again open to applicants in PhORCAS. No distinction will be made between "in progress" and "complete" applications. The fees of $25 per application will again apply.
• Programs may designate a new application deadline or they may keep the default deadline of May 31, 2013.   April 1, 2013
• Available applicant list is posted for programs.

April 1, 2013

• The Commission on Credentialing has asked for a moratorium on position offers to applicants until this date in an effort to give programs and applicants sufficient time to make good decisions without the fear of competition with the best applicants/programs. This is non-binding but Dr. Sebranek and I believe this recommendation will be followed by the residency programs.
• Programs will begin to remove remaining unmatched positions as they are filled

April 22, 2013

• Matched applicants must sign and return their letter of confirmation to their residency program.

May 31, 2013

• PhORCAS closes for the post-match process.

Tips for Successful Residency Applications in PhORCAS

At the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting, I had an opportunity to attend a session about the new PhORCAS application system.  This session was co-sponsored by ASHP Accreditation Services and PhORCAS.

A few interesting facts:
-100% of ASHP-accredited residencies are using PhORCAS for the 2012-2013 cycle
-As of November 18th, there are >4000 applicants in PhORCAS.  This is expected to grow to over 6000 applicants.
-As of November 18th, there 3285 registered residency positions in the Match.

Here are some practical tips for you to consider as you submit your application materials:
1. Label documentation carefully! My letter of intent for Intermountain Medical Center should be easily distinguishable from Utah Valley Medical Center. Examples: SebranekLOI_IntermountainMedCtr versus Sebranek LOI_UtahValley.  Be sure you are uploading the correct documents to each program.

2. The acceptable file formats in PhORCAS are .doc, .pdf, and .txt.  NOTE: .docx (newer version of Word) documents WILL NOT be accepted and you cannot upload them to PhORCAS.  You can convert a .docx file to .doc in Word by "Save As" and selecting the correct file name.

3. A candidate CAN NOT e-submit his/her application until the separate registration and fee for the National Matching Service (NMS) has been submitted.  You can register for NMS through PhORCAS.

4. Once e-submission to a particular program has occurred, the only updates the candidate can make are to his/her contact information. 

5. Apply early!  For instance, if a program has a deadline of January 5th, do not wait until January 3rd to start application paperwork.  There are more than 1500 programs in PhORCAS so you don't want to run the risk of not completing an application because you ran out of time or there were web site difficulties because of the high traffic.

This is the first year of PhORCAS so there will be inevitable bugs in the system to work out.  Good luck submitting your applications!

Gearing up for Midyear!

Step 1: Registration

The base meeting registration fee is $255 for students who are members and $355 for students who are not members of ASHP.  This fee provides you with access to all of the following:

• Keynote presentation (Bill Clinton)
• Educational symposia from Sunday - Thursday (except ambulatory "intensive study")
• The residency showcase
• All poster sessions
• All industry exhibits

There are other activities associated with additional fees which range betwen $80 and $295 each.  Many are courses for pharmacists about how to run a residency program (RLS) and courses for pharmacists needing to recertify for a certain credential (like BCACP).  The only one of these activities targeted towards students is the board prep on Saturday. 

Step 2: Personal Placement Service

This is a separate registration and fee which allows you to interview with employers and/or residency programs at the meeting.  The fee for students is $125.  Not all residency programs participate in PPS and PPS participation does not guarantee you will be granted an interview with your desired site at the meeting.  You need to contact them, provide a copy of your CV and then be invited to interview at PPS.  To check whether a program you are considering is participating in PPS, please check this online list.  This list is expected to change frequently between now and the meeting.  Not all programs listed are recruiting for PGY-1 residencies so it might be advisable to contact them directly.

If you are considering PPS, register early so that potential employers/programs can find you and contact you.  Setting up interviews if you register for PPS on site might be problematic if all of the interview slots have been booked by candidates who registered in advance.

Step 3: Network

Many colleges of pharmacy and large health systems conduct social functions at the Midyear in order to develop new contacts and reconnect with alumni.  Roseman's social function will be held Monday night at the Luxor and is open to all Roseman students registered for the meeting.  For other social events, it is recommended that you wait to be invited rather than spontaneously dropping in on a social event.  If you do attend, make sure you are wearing your most formal business attire.  Students in cocktail attire will stand out in a bad way.

Step 4: Residency Showcase

Start with a list of which programs strongly interest you.  Make sure you have researched each one thoroughly using the ASHP Residency Directory and the program's own web site.  Write down questions that you want to ask each program.  Not all programs should be asked the same questions since each will have different information available in the directory and on their web site.  Visit the Midyear web site to figure out which program will be in the showcase on which day since different programs have booth space on each day.  The showcase will be open on Monday from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m., on Tuesday from 8:00 - 11:00 a.m., and on Tuesday from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.  As of this posting, a list of dates for specific programs was not available; however, in "early November" per the web site, ASHP will provide an Excel file which can be sorted and filtered to help you figure out how to find the programs you are wishing to talk to by booth number.  There will also be an interactive floor plan map which can help you find exactly where on the very large exhibit floor each program will be. 

ACCP CV Review Service Opens Today

The ACCP CV Review Service is now open for student members of ACCP who wish to receive feedback on their CV.  This is free for members, but students can join to take advantage of the service for a mere $35.  Many pharmacists from all over the country volunteer to review CVs for students.  Feedback is typically received within 14 days of submission and the service is open until the end of May.  You do not have to be residency-bound to participate in the service but the pharmacists reviewing CV will be clinically-focused. 

The program web site where CVs get uploaded also includes sample CVs and resources.