Influence of the number, timing, and types of advanced pharmacy practice experiences on residency matching

To characterize the association between number, timing, and type of Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs) and likelihood of postgraduate year one (PGY1) residency match outcomes.

A retrospective cohort study was performed among PGY1 residency-seeking pharmacy students from graduating years 2018-2021 as identified from the National Matching Services Inc. enrollee list. The number of APPEs of interest (AOI) most likely to align with general PGY1 residencies (acute care, ambulatory care, and elective rotations with significant direct patient care interactions) completed before January of the respective graduation year (GY) was compared between matched and unmatched students to a PGY1 program in any phase. Classification and regression tree (CART) analyses were performed to identify the AOI threshold associated with an increased likelihood of matching.

Among 155 students meeting inclusion criteria, 115 students (74%) matched during the study period. The probability of matching was 36%, 74%, and 83% for students completing two, three or four AOI, respectively. CART analyses identified three or more AOI completed prior to January of the GY as the threshold significantly associated with PGY1 residency matching.

Completing at least three AOI before January of the GY was associated with a significantly increased probability of PGY1 residency matching. These findings may influence students' preferences for sequencing of APPEs to improve match results, but may be limited by institutional capacity.