August 6, 2015
The success of the class of 2015 is credited to the outstanding group of students, as well as the support and guidance of the College of Pharmacy faculty.

While all PharmD graduates from the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy are set on a path to success, many seek to continue their educations and advance their careers through a residency program. Half of the class of 2015 chose the path of residency, with a 93% success rate for those who applied. Though 64.5% is the national average for being successfully matched as a resident, 78.6% of the College of Pharmacy graduating class obtained a match, with 6/9 scrambled successfully. The career paths of the graduates who did not pursue residency vary: 22% went into the job market, 19% were undecided or unsure of their career path at the time of survey, 8% selected fellowships, and one student will be attending medical school in the fall. 

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) is responsible for accrediting pharmacy residencies. Residencies are assigned via a matching process similar to how residency matches in other health professions, such as medicine, are conducted.

Many see pharmacy residencies as the next step of their training, such as Yihan Sun, PharmD’15. “My long-term career goal is to become an academic pharmacist with multiple responsibilities in teaching students, conducting translational research, and practicing clinical pharmacy at a university hospital,” said Dr. Sun.

“Post-graduate residency training provides me with unique learning opportunities to solidify therapeutic knowledge, mentor students and develop my own teaching philosophy, engage in multidisciplinary research and disseminate new knowledge through publication, and practice personal and group leadership to advocate for the pharmacy profession,” continued Dr. Sun. “I hope to gain a set of core skills including critical thinking, effective communication, and time management to help me achieve my professional goal.”

Katie Dudzinski, PharmD’15, saw residency as an opportunity to gain the expertise to fill a gap she recognized in pharmacy care. “I am currently a PGY1 community resident with Meijer, Ferris State, and Pfizer, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I decided to pursue a community residency because I wanted to have the advantages of residency training without being required to work in a hospital or inpatient setting,” said Dr. Dudzinski.

“With my residency, I work as a staff pharmacist four to eight hours per week and spend the rest of my time formulating my research project and business plan, providing ambulatory care services, conducting comprehensive medication reviews, and teaching pharmacy students from Ferris State University,” continued Dr. Dudzinski. “After this year, I hope to use my residency experience to introduce additional clinical services to community pharmacies and to continue precepting and teaching pharmacy students. Ultimately, I wish to help bridge the clinical gap between hospital and community pharmacy, and this residency will give me the resources, connections and skills to help me reach these goals.”

The success of the class of 2015 is credited to the outstanding group of students, as well as the support and guidance of the College of Pharmacy faculty.

“The College’s faculty excel at preparing our students for life after graduation,” said James Dalton, PhD, Dean and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences. “In addition to the rigorous academic program, they strive to integrate themes of professionalism and career exploration into every year of study. To further prepare our students, the faculty help them refine their curricula vitae, conduct mock interviews, and host career planning seminars. The residency match success is a reflection of the high caliber of our students as well as the dedicated efforts of our faculty and support staff.”