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Sandra Mullen, PharmD, BCPP
Amber Riesselman, PharmD, BCPS
Ericka Tillery, PharmD, BCPP, CGP
Megan Maroney, PharmD, BCPP
Michelle Radtke, PharmD, BCPP
Suzanne Harris, PharmD, BCPP
Traci Dutton, PharmD, BCPP, BCPS

View the Full Survey Results

For the 2014 Residency Program Director Survey, 64 distinct residency program directors were contacted and 55 responded (86% response rate). From the results of the survey, the current types of programs include:

  • PGY-1 with emphasis in psychiatry: 18 positions, reflecting a decrease of 3 positions since 2013
  • PGY-2: 62 positions, reflecting an increase of 29 positions since the 2013 survey results
  • PGY1/PGY2 combined residency program: 1 position, down from 4 positions last year
  • Other: 3 positions
  • Of those completing the survey, there were no MS or PhD programs and one combined psychiatry and neurology program

Question 8 inquired about ASHP accreditation status which is depicted in Figure 1.

Figure 1. ASHP Accreditation Status

Of the RPDs that responded 60.7% intend to remain ASHP-accredited programs. Thirty-four percent (34%) wish to become an ASHP-accredited program. Two residency programs have been discontinued because of lack of funding and lack of support for the program director to complete administrative duties to maintain the program.

The majority of programs offered a mixture of inpatient and outpatient settings (64.3%), followed by primarily inpatient programs (25%). Four programs (7.1%) offered primarily an outpatient program.

For the 2014-2015 residency year, 87% of respondents filled all of their residency slots. ASHP’s pre-commitment process to accept a PGY1 resident into the PGY2 program was utilized in 21 programs (38.2%). Five programs (10.2%) had unfilled positions that were converted to another position. Twelve programs (21.8%) participated in the post-match scramble.  Reasons for not filling a residency position included:

  • Lack of qualified candidates for PGY1 program
  • Lack of qualified PGY1 resident applicants for PGY2 programs
  • Loss of funding
  • Did not match

The majority of residents (84.8%) were able to obtain positions after completing their residency program; and only four respondents reported that their residents were still looking for positions at the time of survey completion. The majority (44.7%) of residents obtained Psychiatric or Neurologic Clinical Specialist positions (Figure 2). The top 2 practice settings of positions obtained were in VA Hospitals (40.6%) and Community Hospitals (17.4%) (Figure 3).

Figure 2. Positions Obtained After Residency

Figure 3. Practice Settings of Positions Obtained After Residency

When asked if they were involved in the hiring of applications for clinical practice or clinical faculty positions in psychiatry/neurology the following attributes were considered:

Figure 4. Qualifications Sought When Hiring for Clinical Practice or Clinical Faculty Positions

The majority of residencies (54.4%) currently obtain funding from the VA health system, while 30.9% and 27.3% obtain funding from college of pharmacy or hospitals, respectively. Only 3 programs (5.5%) anticipate additional funding that would allow them to expand the number of residency positions they offer.

Figure 5. Residency Funding Sources

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