ASHP to Begin Offering Second Residency Match in 2016

PRESS RELEASE

To meet the needs of the rapidly growing number of pharmacists and student pharmacists who are seeking residencies as well as residency programs that are seeking applicants, ASHP will hold a Second Residency Match beginning in March 2016.

ASHP is collaborating with National Matching Services (NMS) and the Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service (PhORCAS) to institute a second NMS Match (Phase II) after the first round (Phase I).

In recent years, the number of pharmacy students who wish to match with residencies across the U.S. has grown exponentially. The 2015 Pharmacy Resident Matching Program boasted the highest number of available positions since the program began in 1979. However, the post-Match figures showed 382 unfilled positions and 1,755 unmatched applicants—60 percent more unfilled positions and nine percent more unmatched applicants since 2013.

The new Phase II Match will ensure that student pharmacists have another structured opportunity to connect with open positions, helping to level the playing field and providing an orderly application process. Prior to this initiative, students who did not match in Phase I participated in an informal “Post-Match Scramble.”

“The old ‘scramble’ method to fill open positions is no longer the best option due to the rapid increase in the number of positions as well as the number of unmatched candidates in recent years,” said Janet Silvester, Pharm.D., M.B.A., FASHP, vice president, ASHP Accreditation Services Office. “This new second Match will ensure that a predictable, fair process is available for both students and residency programs.”

Silvester added that a Post-Match Scramble will still be held after the Phase II Match, but that ASHP predicts it will include far fewer applicants and programs than in the past.

The new Phase II Match process requires that all pharmacy residency programs in the accreditation process (pre-candidate, candidate and accredited) participate in PhORCAS this fall. Critical NMS dates and processes include the following:

Nov. 1, 2015: List of ASHP match programs available.

March 4, 2016: Rank order lists submission deadline for Phase I Match

March 18, 2016: Results of Phase I Match are released to applicants, program directors.

March 23, 2016: Applicants who either did not obtain a position in the Phase I Match or did not participate can submit applications to programs participating in Phase II Match.

April 1, 2016: Rank order lists submission deadline for Phase II Match

April 8, 2016: Results of Phase II Match are released to applicants and program directors.

According to Silvester, the above dates include extra time between the different Match phases to allow participants to become acclimated to the new process. The timeline may be tweaked in coming years, if necessary. Click here for more information about the 2016 ASHP Match process.