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Selecting candidates for pharmacy residencies: A national survey of residency program directors
Author(s) -
Cho J. C.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.622
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1365-2710
pISSN - 0269-4727
DOI - 10.1111/jcpt.12723
Subject(s) - pharmacy , likert scale , family medicine , medicine , directory , medical education , health care , clinical pharmacy , psychology , developmental psychology , computer science , economics , economic growth , operating system
Summary What is known and objective Due to advances in healthcare and treatment options, there is a need for pharmacists with additional post‐graduate residency training. With the growing need for residency‐trained pharmacists, obtaining a post‐graduate pharmacy residency has become more competitive. The objective of this study was to capture the perspectives of post‐graduate year 1 residency programme directors ( RPD s) in the United States ( US ) regarding aspects of a candidate's application and interview they found most important when selecting future residents. Methods A cross‐sectional, electronic survey was distributed via e‐mail to PGY ‐1 pharmacy RPD s in the USA . RPD s were identified via the American Society of Health‐System Pharmacists’ pharmacy residency directory. Data related to programme demographics, candidate applications and interview evaluations were collected. RPD s’ perceptions were captured via a 5‐point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). Results and Discussion A total of 327 (26.6%) RPD s completed the survey. RPD s highly considered overall compatibility (mean Likert score: 4.9), letters of recommendation (4.6) and letter of interest (4.5) when inviting candidates for on‐site interviews. Residency programmes focusing in acute care valued hospital pharmacy work experience more compared to non‐acute care‐focused residency programmes (4.2 vs 2.9). During the interview, critical thinking ability (4.8), verbal communication (4.8) and overall compatibility (4.9) were viewed as highly important when considering ranking of candidates. What is new and conclusion Due to the competitive nature of obtaining a residency programme, insight from RPD s on factors they consider significant when assessing prospective residents is valuable. The results from this study show that a strong letter of intent, letters of recommendations and overall compatibility are considered important by RPD s and should be used by candidates to better prepare themselves for residency applications. Additionally, the candidate should remain knowledgeable about the residency programme and be able to respond to questions asked during the residency interview process.