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

OBJECTIVE

To compare and contrast experiential education perceptions of pharmacy residency program directors (RPDs) and doctor of pharmacy students in their last year of the curriculum for residency application considerations.

METHODS

The New England Regional Departments of Experiential Education (NERDEE) consortium developed a 17-question survey to assess residency factors, including those related to experiential education. The survey was dispersed to advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) students from six colleges/schools of pharmacy and RPDs nationwide.

RESULTS

Students have different values on experiential preferences compared to RPDs. Sample findings include internal medicine and specialty clinical elective experiences prior to American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear were extremely important to important for students, while RPDs viewed these experiences as somewhat important at best (p < 0.02). The majority of RPDs (67%) have no APPE schedule preference, while most students (77%) feel that certain APPE schedules may influence acceptance into residency.

CONCLUSION

Based on findings, information outlined can be used to dispel and/or validate common beliefs held by students regarding experiential factors that help or hinder a successful postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) residency match.