Pharmacy Match - Eligibility

Eligibility

Programs

All PGY1 and PGY2 pharmacy residencies that are ASHP-accredited, have preliminary accreditation, or are in a candidate or pre-candidate status, must offer all positions through the Match. Only positions offered exclusively to commissioned pharmacy officers of the Department of Defense or the Public Health Service are exempt.

"Candidate" status is granted to a program that has applied to ASHP for accreditation and is awaiting the official site survey, and review and evaluation by the Commission on Credentialing. "Preliminary" accreditation may be granted to a program by ASHP, upon a recommendation by a site survey team. This may occur after the document review and site survey have been completed, and will be based on the finding that the program appears to meet the requirements for accreditation. Preliminary accreditation is conditionally granted until ASHP grants accreditation to the program.

Residency programs that intend to apply for ASHP accreditation ("pre-candidate" status) may also be able to participate in the Match. Such programs must have indicated to ASHP that they intend to apply for accreditation and wish to participate in the Match in order to meet the ASHP accreditation application requirements (contact ASHP at asd@ashp.org for additional information). Participation of a program in the Match must be approved by the ASHP, and the number of times a program can participate in the Match prior to applying for accreditation will be limited.

The accreditation status of each program is shown in the ASHP Residency Directory available at www.ashp.org (under the tab for Accreditation, select the link to the Residency Directory).

PGY2 pharmacy residencies must initially register all their positions that start training in 2012 with the Match. Under certain circumstances a PGY2 residency program may commit a position to a current PGY1 resident in advance of the matching process, through an Early Commitment Process.

Applicants

Any applicant interested in obtaining a PGY1 or PGY2 pharmacy residency position that is offered through the matching process must register for and participate in the Match.

To participate in the Match, an applicant must be a graduate of or graduating from an ACPE-accredited college of pharmacy, or otherwise be eligible for licensure. Applicants who are graduates of a foreign school of pharmacy must provide, at the time of registering for the Match, either a copy of their license for each state in which they are licensed, or a copy of their Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC) certificate. Information concerning the FPGEC certificate may be obtained by contacting the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, 1600 Feehanville Drive, Mount Prospect, IL 60056, telephone 847-391-4406, web site www.nabp.net.

To participate in the Match for a position that starts training at the PGY2 level, an applicant must have already completed a PGY1 residency, or currently be in training in a PGY1 residency program that will be completed before the start of the PGY2 residency. Applicants interested in PGY2 training who have not completed a PGY1 residency, but who have practiced at least three years as a pharmacist, are licensed to practice as a pharmacist in the US, and believe they have postgraduate experience that may be equivalent to PGY1 training, may apply directly to the ASHP for a special exemption from this requirement. For information on the criteria that must be met, and how to apply for this exemption, click here to view or download a document in PDF format.

Current PGY1 residents who are interested in continuing their training in a PGY2 residency offered by the same sponsor as the applicant’s PGY1 residency (e.g., the same or an affiliated organization) may be able to obtain the position through an Early Commitment Process. Applicants who are committed to a position in this manner do not need to register for or participate in the Match.