Posted on: March 12, 2020
March 13 is Decision Day, a day full of excitement and anticipation for many of our University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy students. It’s the day they learn their destination for residency after graduation. And you have a chance to learn where they are going almost as soon as they do!
For the past five years, Brandon Bookstaver, '04 Pharm.D., associate professor and director of Residency and Fellowship Training, has been using social media to let followers know about Match Day by live-tweeting as each student lets him know what program they ‘matched.’ This year, you can follow Bookstaver and the UofSC College of Pharmacy on Twitter with the hashtag #UofSCMatch2020. Students will learn their results via email early Friday morning.
Students have spent the past two months interviewing with residency programs both close to home and around the country. Students submitted their preferences to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Matching Service at the end of February, and that information, combined with information based on their interviews with the various programs, is fed into an algorithm system which places or ‘matches’ the student in a position
Not all fourth-year pharmacy students seek a residency, but for those who intend to work in a clinical setting such as a hospital, a one- or two-year residency will move them closer to their career goal.
Our match rate for last year’s class was #1 in the Southeastern Conference.
Brandon Bookstaver, Pharm.D. Director of Residency and Fellowship Training
“35% of our students typically apply for a residency,” says Bookstaver, “and our match rate for last year’s class was #1 in the Southeastern Conference.”
Students who pursue a Post Graduate Year 1 (PGY-1) residency work as a licensed pharmacist while receiving more in-depth training under the guidance and supervision of a preceptor. For residents who want to specialize even further, a PGY-2 residency may also be available at many programs in areas such as critical care, ambulatory care, pediatrics and infectious disease.
Follow the UofSC College of Pharmacy on Twitter