I'm an IPG in AB, Canada, and now going through 6-month internship to becoming fully licensed. As I work more at the community pharmacy (SDM), I become to hate the pressure on metrics and less pt care a pharmacist is doing esp if at a busy pharmacy. I feel very inclined to work as a hospital and become a clinical pharmacist with clinical decision-making skills as a practitioner. I always heard that us, IPGs, stand no chance compared to Canadian PharmDs here. I am a 5-year BPharm grad and I feel very helpless and wondering if I can ever land a residency. Any clue for what I should be looking for? What sorta skills/training should I have before attempting to apply for a program?

Do you apply using your CV or make a resume? I’ve read that resumes are 1-2 pages in length, so I don’t know if I’d be able to include all the information I’d want on it.

As for cover letter how long is it normally? From what I’ve read it’s just one page explaining why you’re interested for the job.

Thank you in advance!!

Hey all, excited about visiting NOLA next week. For those who have gone or have done their share of research what are some activities that are must dos besides the actual conference. Heard great things about the beignets at Café du Monde. And no I do not mess with spirits whether they are real or not

Considering onc PGY2 but did not have the opportunity to have a solid tumor clinic rotation.

I only have inpatient BMT experience which wasn’t my favorite but I find myself really interested in heme and solid tumor, just don’t really know what those jobs look like.

TIA!!!

Im a PGY1 at a large medical center. How do you pick your topic discussions for your rotations? Currently doing ICU and just don’t really know what topic to do. I think my brain is fried at this point and i can’t think of interesting things to talk about lol

TLDR: rant/seeking advice or comfort on maintaining physical health in residency.

I’m in an inpatient PGY1 with a typical schedule. I staff every other weekend and stay late almost daily, come in early most days as well. I spend a lot of time at home on projects after staying late with usually around 1-2 hours at the end of the day for eating/relaxing before bed. I used to be very physically active in school and would go for runs 3x a week, I would stay active in a lot of other outdoor hobbies as well with friends like climbing and hiking. Obviously outdoor hobbies have been put on hold, and aside from a few one-off days here and there I have been almost completely sedentary this year. I just can’t seem to bring myself to plan the time for myself or am too mentally exhausted at the end of the day. Ive gotten very frustrated with losing all my progress and noticing changes in my body as I’ve put my physical health on hold for the past 6 months. My mental health has taken a toll from not taking care of myself. I know this is simply not the year for starting a rigorous exercise routine, but I’m scared I won’t be able to get back into fitness once I get a normal inpatient position after my program ends this summer. Does anyone have any tips or consolation? Any inspiration stories of getting back into routine after residency ends?

Have people been using their Phorcas account from PGY1 or creating a new account when applying for PGY2?

TIA!

Does anyone have any insight on PGY2 to industry tracks? From what I have heard it seems like this is really only applicable to PGY2 oncology or investigational drug programs - but would this also be something that would make you more competitive from other PGY2 tracks? (CC, EM, iD, etc)

Is it unprofessional to send out an interview request on the weekend? Also is having an LOI highly recommended or to majority not have an LOI attached?

Graduated from pharmacy school 5 years ago and worked as a retail pharmacist for past 5 years. Couldn’t do residency due to family situation at that time- now I want to pursue either fellowship or residency or going back to school. I would like to ask for advice; I always wanted to learn something new- open to both fellowship and residency, but I felt like pay increase is not that huge even after residency- age: 31 y.o is it better to go to either med/ dental school? I don’t mind studying again…. :/ plus if I have a plan for having a child.. which is a better route? Also, if I apply for residency this year, would programs think I am crazy? I am so frustrated with PBM and I feel so terrible my techs get hour cuts after flu seasons and sometimes I wanna leave this profession due to this problem. Also, corporate treats pharmacist so badly... All I wanted to do is helping my patients, but with hour cut I can't do my job safely anymore. I worked so hard for past 5 years during pandemic and not sure program will see that.... Sometimes I just want to leave this profession.... :/ I know it sounds so confused but that's how I feel. Is it better to get out of this profession or just stay positive and learn clinical knowledge to be a better pharmacist?

Any advice would be appreciated-

1. Go back to med dental school
2. Go to residency
3. Go to pharma fellowship

What are people submitting, a CV or resume? And what content are you adding? Thanks in advance!

Hi P4 here! Y'all the anxiety paralysis is REAL. I can't think of strengths to talk about only weaknesses. I have no clue where to start with my letters of intent. Im applying to like 10 places all of which I've joined open houses for and gotten some specific details of their program not mentioned on their website, but how do I even incorporate the details of each program in a new letter?

I don't want my letters to sound basic or like your "bs" why residency cliché answers. I absolutely love crit care and how we are able to see the immediate impact of our recs on patient care, but any ideas on how to express this in a better way in a letter?

Any help/advice/tips would be SO appreciated!

I just committed to my hospital system’s new oncology pgy2 program that they’re starting next year. From what I’ve heard, I have the accreditation process to look forward to, being a “guinea pig” for testing out the new program, and dealing with growing pains of being the inaugural resident. Any ideas of what the first year of a new program looks like exactly, what to expect/what to be cautious of, or how I should advocate for myself? I know it’s pretty early, but I want to start thinking about it sooner rather than later. Appreciate any help!

Do they care? If a resident posts about incidences of harassment and bullying from preceptor and document them on Pharmacademic, would they care or would that get brushed off?

Are you adding APPEs into PhORCAS, and if so would you put them under work experience or internships?

I would like a mentor at work, where I can talk about how I’m adjusting and just some tough days in general…kinda like I had for residency. How can I approach this now that I’m not a resident? Should I reach out to my old residency mentor? I don’t work at the same hospital anymore

Does anyone have insight into how competitive my application would be for a PGY1? I'm worried that applying to 10 programs in the same area is too little (a big city with multiple pharmacy schools). I want to match, but l ideally would like to be in this area.

I have a 3.2 gpa. I'm involved with 3 organizations and held leadership positions py1-py3 in one of them and was president during py3. I did a research project with a professor, presented it at a national conference, and will also be presenting at Midyear. I think I'll have some pretty strong LORs and can write genuine LOls.

I guess I'm just worried about not matching to any of the 10 that I selected because of how many applicants these institutions will probably receive. I'd rather not venture out into other physical locations, but l get that l probably should apply to have more of a safety net. Would love to hear thoughts and advice!

Hello everyone, I am starting pharmacy school next year. I want to pursue and oncology residency. Is it 1 or 2 years? How much does GPA matter (I have a 3.3 in undergrad)? Any tips and advice is greatly appreciated !

I really want to go back and pursue a PGY1 residency. My non traditional application would be that I did a PGY1 Previously but was dropped from the program because of not passing the examination in time, I am passionate about expanding my knowledge and would so badly love the opportunity because I truly am committed but I guess I am mainly concerned about the application process and what people have experienced with a similar process like mine? I am currently thinking of reaching back out to my RPD who I believe truly believes in me but I feel shameful and guilt in asking.

I graduated in 2023, and I am now applying for residency. I reached out to one of my rotation preceptors, and he initially responded yes and asked me questions about my career goals, etc. It seemed like he wanted to meet/chat via Zoom, but when I offered times or dates, I didn't get a response. I am putting together my applications, and I wanted to get this over with. Should I add his email address and info to Phorcas now or wait until he responds for more details?

I’m a PGY-2 Oncology resident and it’s that time of the year where I need to start looking for jobs. My program is offering me a position for now I think it fits what I want to do… just wanted to get other people advice and experience? Should I accept this without looking anywhere else? (I like the people I work with now and I’m not miserable for a resident)

Also what’s a good starting salary for a fresh PGY2 grad no other experience besides pgy1… I’m in a somewhat expensive city. Thank you all!

Hi, just curious if it is seen as a red flag if a residency program changes their RPD Q2 years or so? Does it show instability in management and improper mentorship/leadership for programs if I am applying for their residency programs?

Any current PGY1 residents at the VA go through the early commit process and hear back from programs today with offers?

Curious which positions may have been accepted since there are so many programs!

I know ~3 months are the maximum, but have you ever seen someone taking ~6 months off? I am international and want to visit my family since I couldn’t see them for years, and I want to spend time there for about 6 months if possible after residency (mid July-December if possible). Did you ever seen institution seems to be understanding regarding accommodating a start date that long? Do you recommend applying for job when I come back instead of next Jan-April when typical PGY2s are applying for job?

I am planning to do PPS because I want to find a job no doubt, but thinking I can’t be with my family long enough (esp I haven’t been there for years and I’m in a terrible homesick) makes me really sad, because after having a job, that will ever going to be possible to spend that long time with typical PTOs. Any ideas or input would be highly appreciated guys!

I’m PGY2 oncology

Dear Pharmacy Residency Graduates,

I am a current PGY2 Internal Medicine resident at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center who is seeking volunteers to complete an anonymous survey about required professional community service during pharmacy residency and its impact on voluntary involvement in professional community services post residency. Participants will be asked to take no more than 5-10 minutes to complete an anonymous survey. The survey addresses basic information about the participants educational background, type of community service involvement if required during residency, and current involvement in professional community service.

We ask that all pharmacy residency graduates fill out the survey below by December 15**^(th)****. Please only complete the survey once. Thank you so much for your willingness to participate.**

Follow this link to the Survey:
Take the Survey

Or copy and paste the URL below into your internet browser:
https://campbell.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1TDW9XAUfQcI5zU?Q_CHL=email

Best,

Ruby Odum, PharmD, BCPS
PGY2 Internal Medicine Pharmacy Resident
Cape Fear Valley Medical Center | 1638 Owen Drive, Fayetteville, NC 28304
rodum@capefearvalley.com
Office phone: 910-615-7177

Hello, I’m a P4 looking to apply for residencies. Unfortunately just the ways my rotations got stacked both of my inpatient/acute care rotations are not until the next year after residency applications are due. Will RPDs look at me different/worse? I know pretty much all programs want 2 acute patient LOIs, I do have an amb care rotation who could write me a LOR.

Should my second one just be from an elective rotation at a pharma company, who I know would write me a very strong LOR? Or ask my APPE community preceptor to write me one? We got along but it was primarily an outpatient store serving select patients in assisted living, so there was very minimal patient interaction/counseling (did a lot of blister packaging and helping with medication verification sometimes) so I don’t know if she could speak well to what RPDs want.

Thank you in advance, and just for reference my final LOR is from my professor, who I’ve done research with.

I'm pretty dang sure I want to work in amb care, but I haven't had an acute care rotation yet (next block!) so I'm not 100%. So I have a few questions:

1. ⁠Is it better to do an amb care focused residency or general hospital residency? I feel like my clinical knowledge is really lacking right now, so which one would be better?

2. ⁠What programs that you know of are queer-friendly? I specifically want to work in queer health (and other marginalized communities), and I want to be in a program where I'm gonna feel safe being myself and working with patient populations I want to work with.

Thanks for any advice you can give me!

I am torn between two ambulatory care residencies and need some input regarding which to rank first. I am pretty close with both RPDs.

The two residency programs are both ambulatory-care focused with no hospital rotations. I am pretty set on NOT completing a PGY2. I've described their pros/cons below:

1. VA residency:

pros: one-year, have been an intern there for a couple of years, feel comfortable there, my dream job has always been to be a pharmacist at the VA, feel really supported there

cons: with the current hiring situation don't know if I would be able to get a job there, niche area of pharmacy, would be primarily focused on HTN & DM

2. Academic-institution residency:

pros: would be clinically stimulated, increased variety of disease states (HTN, DM, wgt management, behavioral health, HIV PrEP)

cons: although it's amb-care focused most residents complete a PGY2 in amb care there, would likely be unable to get a position at the clinic because would be competing against PGY2, super-project heavy

Here are my thoughts: I am bound to the city I currently live in. I really want to work for the VA and talking with admin I could possibly land a job in 2026 after residency, although there is no definite answer. Last years residents didn't get a position there and this years residents are also unable to get a position there d/t the hiring situation. I do know that if I don't do this residency I will definitely not be able to get a position there because I won't be within the VA. I worry that if there are no jobs available at the VA, I won't be as marketable compared to the other residency program because the VA is so niche and with the limited disease states managed during residency may not make me as marketable. With the academic residency, I think it could make me more marketable but most residents complete a PGY2 which I do not want to do. Side note: is it possible to get a position as an amb-care pharmacist with a PGY1 focused amb-care residency? I am stuck because it is really hard to get into the VA after you've left and I think the academic residency could potentially make me more marketable.

Sorry for the long post, it's been a constant battle in my mind! Thanks for any input/advice yall have.

What would you do?