Assessing experiential education factors contributing to a PGY1 residency match: Pharmacy residency program director and comparative student survey

Impact of Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences on Residency Interview Invitations

“…A necessity for candidates to have completed a longitudinal APPE was not found, supporting the findings of Prisco and colleagues. 18 Preferences for the mix of elective APPEs a candidate had completed was the second APPE structure factor examined in the survey. While the mean scores for desirability were equal, completing more inpatient electives than outpatient electives received almost twice as many responses of "highly desirable" than a balanced mix of electives.…”

“…This preference has been documented in other studies; however, one study's findings suggested that pass/fail grading had no impact on residency match rate. 13,18,30 Residency directors' preference for letter grades may be due to their perceived ability to use grades to differentiate between applicants. However, experiential education program directors at pharmacy schools may prefer that pass/fail grading be used for APPEs.…”

“…This supports previous studies finding APPE timing did not influence pharmacy residency match rates, and although residency program directors placed some importance on APPE timing, this importance was significantly less than students perceived. 18,32 Although APPE timing was considered the least influential of the five categories, desire for completing specific APPEs before ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting was reported. However, desirability for the timing of completing specific APPEs should be placed in context with the lower influence of APPE timing as an overall category.…”

“…[2][3][4][5][6] Because of this competitive environment, residency applicants are likely interested in learning what factors may be influential in the PGY1 resident selection process. Previous studies suggest positive contributors include reference letters, [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] pharmacy grade point average (GPA), [7][8]11,[14][15][16][17] work experience, [7][8][9]11,[13][14][15] advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs), [7][8]10,[15][16]18 professional leadership, 8,10,11,[14][15][16] letters of intent, 7,9,13,14 and program fit. 8,12,15 Although APPEs were highly ranked in these studies, how APPEs influenced residency placement was unclear because of study limitations such as the types of APPEs studied, inconsistent and ambiguous definitions of APPEs, or limited study scope.…”

“…8,12,15 Although APPEs were highly ranked in these studies, how APPEs influenced residency placement was unclear because of study limitations such as the types of APPEs studied, inconsistent and ambiguous definitions of APPEs, or limited study scope. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]18 Advanced pharmacy practice experiences also indirectly influence other important applicant information such as reference letters [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] and letters of intent. 7,9,13,14 Because of the potential direct or indirect influence of APPEs on the resident selection process, a greater understanding of which APPE-related factors are preferred by residency directors would help guide pharmacy students when selecting APPEs.…”