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Monday, March 23, 2015

Thinking about a Residency


In many ways residency can be scary. Many different people will tell you that it’s the best thing they’ve ever done, while others may say that they’re glad that they didn’t do one. Although residencies can be challenging, they can also bring a great reward. Preparing yourself and earning a residency can open up many new doors of pharmacy that you never thought existed.

When it comes to the topic of pharmacy, many people have the perception of a person who fills prescriptions and makes sure the correct customer gets the correct medication. While this is certainly part of each pharmacist’s role, pharmacists with residencies can be trained for specialty roles in pharmacy as well. Upon completion of a residency program, a pharmacist gains 5 years of work experience for every 1 year of residency. Furthermore, a pharmacist can be trained in other specialty pharmacy areas such as psychiatric, pediatric, ambulatory care, geriatric, infectious disease and many others.

If you’re unsure of what area of pharmacy you’d like to pursue always keep residency in mind just in case you decide that you’d like to specialize or gain more experience so that you’re more competitive in the job market. To prepare for a residency make sure that you’re involved in community service, take on a leadership role of an organization, participate in extracurricular activities, do independent studies/research,  poster presentations on research, keep your grades up as much as possible, and attend national/local pharmacy meetings to network with other students and established pharmacists. All of these are not only important to your career, but also for getting a residency as well. While residency isn’t for everyone, it’s good to be open to it since you never know how much your mind may change or what types/areas of pharmacy that you may find that you enjoy. As always, if you have any questions or want to learn more, many students and faculty would be glad to talk about residency programs.

Casey

P3 - Class of 2016

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