MUSC College of Pharmacy has history of success on Match Day

On March 13, pharmacy students hoping to match with a residency program will find out where they’ve matched. Students at the MUSC College of Pharmacy have traditionally done quite well in this intense competition, finishing first in the country for match rate in PGY-1 Phase I in 2018 and well above the national average in 2019.

The final match numbers for 2020 will be determined after Phase II results are announced on April 8 and the subsequent Post-Match Process has been implemented.

“The number of students seeking residencies has risen dramatically in the last 10 years, but the number of available positions has not kept up with the demand,” said Kathy Chessman, faculty advisor to MUSC’s Student Society of Health-System Pharmacists. “It is very competitive. Our students’ continued success in finding matches is a testament to their hard work in a vigorous program.”

The college finished with the highest Phase I post-graduate year one (PGY-1) match rate in the country in 2018, according to data released by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). MUSC pharmacy students had a match rate of 88.2%, against a reported national average of 64.2%. In 2019, nearly two dozen MUSC pharmacy students successfully placed in programs nationwide, from Boston to Chicago to San Diego. The college’s Phase I match rate was once again substantially higher than the national average, as it has been for many years in a row.