A look inside the brave new world of residency

For many pharmacists, the future starts Friday. The national pharmacy Match Day is March 19, when students applying for residencies find out if and where they matched.

MUSC College of Pharmacy students have traditionally fared extremely well in the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) National Match Service, with a Phase I match rate well above the national average for many years -- including no. 1 in the country in 2018.

The college celebrates Match Day week with a little insight into what life is like as a pharmacy resident, as recent graduates/current residents conduct a takeover on Instagram to share their experiences. The social media series began with Mary Stewart Leatherwood ’20, who matched with a residency at the Tennessee Medical Center.

“One of my favorite things is working closely with interdisciplinary teams,” she posted. “I love that pharmacists are incorporated into every aspect of patient care, including making evidence-based medication recommendations in collaboration with attending physicians, medical residents, nurse practitioners, and more. We get to respond to code blues, code strokes, and intubation codes and assist in medication recommendation/preparation.”

The featured pharmacists in the social media series illustrate the range of programs available to a successful match candidate, such as Tramauni Brock ’20 (PGY1 Health Systems Administration and Leadership resident at the Medical University of South Carolina) or Marissa Allinder ’20 (clinical veterinary pharmacy resident at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Raleigh, N.C.). 

The Class of 2021 had the formidable task of interviewing with residency programs during a pandemic, so in large part they interviewed online rather than in person. Seeing Leatherwood’s ultimate assessment of her experience so far should be both inspirational and reassuring.

“Don’t get me wrong — residency is a challenge and there have been some very hard days — but I am SO thankful to be here,” she posted. “I still get so excited about the work I get to do, all that I’m learning and the patients I get to take care of. My time at MUSC prepared me so well to be a resident, and I know it will do the same for each of you who are interested!”

See more about each resident takeover on Instagram