The West Virginia University School of Pharmacy and its latest group of residents reached new milestones during 2019’s Pharmacy Match Day.
The WVU School of Pharmacy is in the top five schools of pharmacy for match rates — pairing 87 percent of the postgraduate year one (PGY1) applicants seeking residency through Phase I of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Resident Matching Program. In addition, the School surpassed last year’s numbers for most students pursuing a residency in history.
This year, the School of Pharmacy had more participants than ever in the Match. Thirty-eight students participated out of a total class size of 72 students. In the coming months, WVU pharmacy students will be headed to 13 different states to do their residencies.
“Participation in residencies signifies a PharmD graduate is interested in aspiring to the highest levels of training for their future pharmacy practice," said William Petros, Dean of the WVU School of Pharmacy. "The extraordinary rate of successful PGY-1 residency placement of our students is a direct reflection of their incredible efforts in addition to that of their faculty and preceptors."
Pharmacy Match Day is held each year on March 15. The Match provides an orderly process to help applicants obtain positions in residency programs of their choice and to help programs obtain applicants of their choice. Similar matching programs are in use in many other health professions, including medicine, dentistry, psychology, podiatry, optometry and others.
ASHP is responsible for establishing the rules and for monitoring the implementation of the Match. The administration and conduct of the Match are carried out by National Matching Services Inc. on behalf of ASHP.
According to the ASHP, of the approximate 5,134 residency positions available, 4,697 are now filled. The remainder of the open positions is expected to be filled in April during Phase II of the Match.
