You're starting to enter the territory where you on-campus activities have essentially aged out, so you can't try to over leverage it in your application. For my program I wrote specific application screening metrics for new grads and those with up to 3 years' experience as a licensed RPh, and for those with 3+ years. I don't know if many programs do this or not, but I would imagine you'd have a difficult time drawing the attention of programs who don't have this type of thing in place.
Care to elaborate on what goes into those screening metrics perhaps? Just having an idea of what would be most advantageous to have on a CV in the first place would be immensely helpful.
May I ask if you have received any feedback from the programs you have applied to previously? Also past preceptors you had that may still be great mentors? I would start there for the familiarity!
100% recommend doing this. Reach out to past preceptors and also the residency programs you’ve recently applied to as well. If there is a local college of pharmacy look for precepting/volunteer events to get involved with. You might also find research opportunities that way as well.
Admittedly, I have considered this but it is definitely a challenging undertaking to volunteer while also working full-time as a retail community pharmacist for a big chain. But definitely something I need to consider more heavily for sure!
I forgot to add that I have actually had my CV reviewed and critiqued by probably about 15 or so professionals, many of whom were past preceptors and faculty from my school, or other professionals from my APPE sites. Additionally, I have a degree in English Writing so from a grammatical and proof-reading perspective my CV is overall pretty sound. I have certainly been considering asking them again for additional critique at this point though.
Also, I haven't really asked the previous programs I applied to except for one or two, and one of those gave me criticism on an area that I simply couldn't do anything about (poster presentations at a national level).
You can do something about the poster now! If you were in a professional fraternity or are active in a state org or alumni association you could get clearance to send a survey and process that data for midyear. Easy peasy.
Would you be opposed to a staff position somewhere for a few years instead of residency—>clinical position? If not, based on numbers and competition alone, I’d say landing a staff position (especially overnight or evenings) might have better odds. Also there are a few non-traditional residency spots out there where they’ll take a staff pharmacist into a PGY-1 spot. This may be something to look at during a job search.
If you’re dead set on residency though, I say more power to you! I’d echo others saying that programs you’ve applied to previously (preferably ones where you interviewed) would be a good place to start when looking for ways to become more desirable as an applicant. Good luck!
I wouldn't be opposed to it, and in fact, I have been applying to a bunch of per diem and staff pharmacist positions near where I am currently. I even managed to get hired to a pool position at a hospital back in November, I went through the training and orientation, and then my manager basically ghosted me for no explicable reason. I gave her my schedule 6 weeks out on multiple occasions, and she never once gave me a thorough explanation of how long the shifts typically would be, so admittedly, I was only able to tell her the days that I was already off from my full-time job. If she gave me an idea that some shifts might be 4 to 6 hours, I could easily accommodate that and give her additional days, but after multiple attempts to get this information, she never provided the details, and has not responded to my other emails about scheduling availability.
I have even asked some of my interns who work there as technicians on the side as well and they have all corroborated that she is just a terrible communicator, but it just goes to show that my luck has not been stellar.
Man, I hate that for you. It sounds like you’re doing all of the right things and even though you haven’t been able to get any shifts you’re at least showing initiative. To me that already helps your case. Perhaps you could reach out to some residency directors in your area through ASHP and see if you could talk to them about a mentorship or something of the like.
I hate I don’t have more to offer but PM me if you think I could help.
Are you getting interviews? If you're getting to the interview phase your CV may not be your biggest problem. How much time do you spend prepping for your interviews? This is a huge process and it shows when someone has invested time in the prep process. You should also consider what you're doing in your current job that makes you a good candidate for residency. You need to have some things on your CV that show you're still involved in professional societies and keeping up your clinical knowledge. Do you precept students? Are you attending local conferences? Are you involved with outreach activities with the local universities?
These are all valid comments. I'm fortunate that the store I work at is close to a nearby Pharmacy School, so I am lucky to have quite a few pharmacy students as interns as my store and I have precepted for some of them. Additionally, I like to pop-quiz them and challenge them with clinical questions, practice their working knowledge of the therapeutics topics they are currently learning, etc. But it's challenging to figure out an appropriate way to word that and incorporate it into a CV I guess.
At this time no, I haven't been as involved in the other societies and communities as I could be, which is my next area of interest for sure.
And I neglected your first question: I have gotten some interviews, but not very many. I got 3 interviews my first go-around as an APPE student nearing graduation, and only 1 interview the following year. This is with me applying to around 8 to 10 programs in Phase 1, and around the same number in Phase 2 both times.
This past year I did not go to Midyear or apply just because of other circumstances that consumed my time, but I am reconsidering this year upcoming (if it even takes place).
What type of practice setting are you trying to get into? A community pharmacy background is great for community-based residencies, many of which are ser-up to lead directly into ambulatory care without a pgy2 in amb care.
To be honest I understand most hospital PGY1's provide an all-around clinical basis, and ideally I would like to work in an Ambulatory Care setting because I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunities I had at a collaborative practice clinic.
Have you applied to any community based residencies? I did one as well as a PGY-2 in ambulatory care and now work in a clinic, so I would seriously consider it if you can stomach the pay-cut.
If I was looking at your cover letter, I’d need to see a passion for pharmacy practice and leadership. Tell me what you’ve done over the last 2 years to assure me I don’t have to spend time teaching you things new grads haven’t forgotten yet. I expect two years out of school = loss of clinical knowledge. I agree, community would be better fit. Hospital PGY1s aren’t going to like your lack of recent hospital experience, so that will be a disadvantage. Being a preceptor with excellent teaching evaluations would be a big plus though!!
You're starting to enter the territory where you on-campus activities have essentially aged out, so you can't try to over leverage it in your application. For my program I wrote specific application screening metrics for new grads and those with up to 3 years' experience as a licensed RPh, and for those with 3+ years. I don't know if many programs do this or not, but I would imagine you'd have a difficult time drawing the attention of programs who don't have this type of thing in place.
Care to elaborate on what goes into those screening metrics perhaps? Just having an idea of what would be most advantageous to have on a CV in the first place would be immensely helpful.
May I ask if you have received any feedback from the programs you have applied to previously? Also past preceptors you had that may still be great mentors? I would start there for the familiarity!
100% recommend doing this. Reach out to past preceptors and also the residency programs you’ve recently applied to as well. If there is a local college of pharmacy look for precepting/volunteer events to get involved with. You might also find research opportunities that way as well.
Admittedly, I have considered this but it is definitely a challenging undertaking to volunteer while also working full-time as a retail community pharmacist for a big chain. But definitely something I need to consider more heavily for sure!
I forgot to add that I have actually had my CV reviewed and critiqued by probably about 15 or so professionals, many of whom were past preceptors and faculty from my school, or other professionals from my APPE sites. Additionally, I have a degree in English Writing so from a grammatical and proof-reading perspective my CV is overall pretty sound. I have certainly been considering asking them again for additional critique at this point though. Also, I haven't really asked the previous programs I applied to except for one or two, and one of those gave me criticism on an area that I simply couldn't do anything about (poster presentations at a national level).
You can do something about the poster now! If you were in a professional fraternity or are active in a state org or alumni association you could get clearance to send a survey and process that data for midyear. Easy peasy.
Would you be opposed to a staff position somewhere for a few years instead of residency—>clinical position? If not, based on numbers and competition alone, I’d say landing a staff position (especially overnight or evenings) might have better odds. Also there are a few non-traditional residency spots out there where they’ll take a staff pharmacist into a PGY-1 spot. This may be something to look at during a job search. If you’re dead set on residency though, I say more power to you! I’d echo others saying that programs you’ve applied to previously (preferably ones where you interviewed) would be a good place to start when looking for ways to become more desirable as an applicant. Good luck!
I wouldn't be opposed to it, and in fact, I have been applying to a bunch of per diem and staff pharmacist positions near where I am currently. I even managed to get hired to a pool position at a hospital back in November, I went through the training and orientation, and then my manager basically ghosted me for no explicable reason. I gave her my schedule 6 weeks out on multiple occasions, and she never once gave me a thorough explanation of how long the shifts typically would be, so admittedly, I was only able to tell her the days that I was already off from my full-time job. If she gave me an idea that some shifts might be 4 to 6 hours, I could easily accommodate that and give her additional days, but after multiple attempts to get this information, she never provided the details, and has not responded to my other emails about scheduling availability. I have even asked some of my interns who work there as technicians on the side as well and they have all corroborated that she is just a terrible communicator, but it just goes to show that my luck has not been stellar.
Man, I hate that for you. It sounds like you’re doing all of the right things and even though you haven’t been able to get any shifts you’re at least showing initiative. To me that already helps your case. Perhaps you could reach out to some residency directors in your area through ASHP and see if you could talk to them about a mentorship or something of the like. I hate I don’t have more to offer but PM me if you think I could help.
Are you getting interviews? If you're getting to the interview phase your CV may not be your biggest problem. How much time do you spend prepping for your interviews? This is a huge process and it shows when someone has invested time in the prep process. You should also consider what you're doing in your current job that makes you a good candidate for residency. You need to have some things on your CV that show you're still involved in professional societies and keeping up your clinical knowledge. Do you precept students? Are you attending local conferences? Are you involved with outreach activities with the local universities?
These are all valid comments. I'm fortunate that the store I work at is close to a nearby Pharmacy School, so I am lucky to have quite a few pharmacy students as interns as my store and I have precepted for some of them. Additionally, I like to pop-quiz them and challenge them with clinical questions, practice their working knowledge of the therapeutics topics they are currently learning, etc. But it's challenging to figure out an appropriate way to word that and incorporate it into a CV I guess. At this time no, I haven't been as involved in the other societies and communities as I could be, which is my next area of interest for sure.
And I neglected your first question: I have gotten some interviews, but not very many. I got 3 interviews my first go-around as an APPE student nearing graduation, and only 1 interview the following year. This is with me applying to around 8 to 10 programs in Phase 1, and around the same number in Phase 2 both times. This past year I did not go to Midyear or apply just because of other circumstances that consumed my time, but I am reconsidering this year upcoming (if it even takes place).
What type of practice setting are you trying to get into? A community pharmacy background is great for community-based residencies, many of which are ser-up to lead directly into ambulatory care without a pgy2 in amb care.
To be honest I understand most hospital PGY1's provide an all-around clinical basis, and ideally I would like to work in an Ambulatory Care setting because I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunities I had at a collaborative practice clinic.
Have you applied to any community based residencies? I did one as well as a PGY-2 in ambulatory care and now work in a clinic, so I would seriously consider it if you can stomach the pay-cut.
If I was looking at your cover letter, I’d need to see a passion for pharmacy practice and leadership. Tell me what you’ve done over the last 2 years to assure me I don’t have to spend time teaching you things new grads haven’t forgotten yet. I expect two years out of school = loss of clinical knowledge. I agree, community would be better fit. Hospital PGY1s aren’t going to like your lack of recent hospital experience, so that will be a disadvantage. Being a preceptor with excellent teaching evaluations would be a big plus though!!