Class of 2024 excels in residency program matches

Alexandra Almodovar’s journey has felt a little destined, like each step had the inevitability of the rungs of a ladder.

So it is hardly surprising that on March 13, 2024, during the national match day for pharmacy residencies, she was literally at the Veterans Administration (VA) when she got a call confirming the VA was her future.

That was the day Almodovar and her fellow pharmacy residency applicants went through the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) National Match Service. Nearly 5,700 applicants participated and 4,252 matched during Phase I.   

The MUSC Class of 2024 was highly successful in its match efforts, compiling a Phase I match rate of 77%, surpassing the national average.

Students started registering for the match service in November and, starting Feb. 12, 2024, began submitting preference lists. March 1, 2024 was the deadline for both applicants and programs to submit their lists.

The National Match Service uses an algorithm to match applicants and programs. The results for Phase 1 were released March 13, 2024. Unmatched programs or applicants resubmit rank order lists for a smaller, second round of matches in Phase II, and results will be released April 10, 2024. Final numbers are tallied after the system closes on May 31, 2024, following a post-match “scramble” for remaining slots and applicants.

Almodovar matched with the Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Health Care System Post-Graduate Year One (PGY-1) Residency Program. It was a natural next step:

• She discovered a love for pharmacy working at Walgreens in high school.
• She joined the U.S. Navy and found some MUSC pharmacy alumni mentors.
• The Navy transferred her to Charleston and enabled her to go to pharmacy school.
• She worked at the VA while doing pharmacy school prerequisites.
• She was an accomplished leader at MUSC, leading to a residency offer.
• Her offer came from her first and only residency program choice: the VA.

“It’s felt a little like it was just meant to be,” she said. “Today was nerve-wracking but I felt like I had been well-prepared. We had a residency advisory program with mentors giving us feedback, the rotations in experiential education were a big help, and, really, the whole curriculum prepared me for residency.”

The VA is a highly sought-after pharmacy residency. Almodovar applied to several but she had her heart set on Charleston’s Ralph Johnson VA, her first choice and only place to interview. Given her military history and the VA’s patient base, it loomed as the place where she best matched.

“As a veteran myself, I feel like I can connect with them on a certain level,” she said. “I have a lot of passion in helping them and knowing the struggles they’ve been through. It’s really fulfilling.”

A veteran’s unique experience is sometimes hard for a patient to communicate. Talking to a health care provider who understands can be a significant benefit.

“I can almost feel a wall come down when I tell them I’m a veteran, too,” she said. “They know I’ve been there and that I want to help in any way I can.”

Almodovar’s journey may have begun as a 16-year-old working at a Florida Walgreens, but it was the U.S. Navy that propelled her along. She joined as a pharmacy technician in 2013, serving at Joint Base San Antonio. From 2014-2017, she was a senior pharmacy technician in Naval Health Clinic Sigonella in Sicily, Italy, before landing in Naval Health Clinic Charleston in 2017 as assistant leading petty officer.

During her tour of duty, she met MUSC pharmacy alumni Lyly Ngyen, with whom she worked at the Naval Health Clinic, and Kyle Adkins; both encouraged her to consider a pharmacy career, starting with a degree from MUSC. But she actually got a taste of her post-MUSC life before starting at MUSC – her first job in civilian life was at the VA. She worked in its mail order operation from 2019-2023, during which she did her pre-requisites and then enrolled at the MUSC College of Pharmacy.

As a pharmacy student, she was highly decorated. She won a dozen scholarships and served in leadership positions in the Student Society of Health-System Pharmacy (the student chapter of the American Society of Health-system Pharmacists), Kappa Psi, the Student Government Association, and the Student Leadership Program.

Post-Graduate Year One (PGY-1) residents get additional pharmacy training that is non-specialized. Almodovar will rotate between the downtown VA and satellite clinics, experiencing multiple aspects of hospital pharmacy. She is particularly interested in ambulatory care. She may apply for a PGY-2 residency next year, in which she would get additional training in a specialized area like ambulatory care or transplant.

For now, she is happy to land exactly where she was meant to be.