Association between student characteristics and rankings when applying for a residency in health-system pharmacy administration

Abstract

Purpose: Results of a study to identify characteristics associated with pharmacy residency applicant success in obtaining an invitation to interview and a top candidate ranking are reported. Subsequent development and initial validation of a predictive model based on those characteristics are described.

Methods: Bivariable analyses were performed for planned stratifications of applicants to a health-system pharmacy administration residency program according to whether they were offered an on-site interview or were among the 8 top candidates by final candidate ranking. A Random Forest algorithm was created to identify predictors of the likelihood of an applicant being offered an on-site interview.

Results: Applicants who were offered interviews had a higher median pharmacy school grade point average (GPA) than those not invited to interview: 3.63 (interquartile range [IQR], 3.46-3.79) versus 3.35 (IQR, 3.2-3.49); p < 0.001. Invited applicants also received more scholarships during pharmacy school (median, 2 [IQR, 1-3) versus 1 [IQR, 0-2]; p = 0.002). Applicants with prior work experience as a hospital pharmacy intern were also more likely than those without such experience to be offered an interview (70.0% versus 37.8% were invited, p = 0.001), as were applicants who presented a poster at a national meeting during pharmacy school (80% versus 60%, p = 0.02) or who served in a national pharmacy organization leadership position (41.4% versus 20%, p = 0.03). Pharmacy school GPA was associated with final candidate ranking; top-ranked candidates had a significantly higher median GPA than lower-ranked applicants (3.68 [IQR, 3.51-3.8] versus 3.48 [IQR, 3.23-3.7]; p = 0.003).

Conclusion: Objective criteria within the realms of academic performance and prior work experience may be used to streamline the applicant screening process when determining candidates to invite for an on-site interview. Pharmacy school GPA was the only characteristic found to be associated with applicant final ranking.

Keywords: application process; health-system pharmacy; matching; on-site interview; residency.