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Melissa S Medina, Anthy L Tran, Kajal Bhakta, Robert A Klatt, Jamie L Miller, Tips for writing pharmacy residency letters of intent, American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Volume 77, Issue 8, 15 April 2020, Pages 605–607, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxaa026
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The most recent statistics on the 2018 ASHP Resident Match indicate that 5,560 applicants for postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) residency positions and 973 applicants for postgraduate year 2 (PGY2) residencies participated in the Match, competing for 4,452 positions (3,662 PGY1 and 790 PGY2 positions).1 The statistics also reveal that 1,925 (35%) PGY1 candidates and 232 (24%) PGY2 candidates went unmatched in the 2018 cycle.1 Because the number of pharmacy residency applicants outpaces the number of available positions, it is important for applicants to distinguish themselves. Students may work on a research project or serve as an organization officer to distinguish themselves from other candidates for these highly competitive residency positions, but students should also pay specific attention to compiling and completing the actual application itself. A pharmacy residency candidate’s curriculum vitae and letter of intent are oftentimes the first items screened in a candidate review and offer the initial introductions to those reviewing the application. In a competitive environment where candidates may look very similar to each other on metrics such as grade point average, a student’s letter of intent may undergo extreme scrutiny to narrow the applicant pool. Even small grammatical mistakes may determine which applicants are offered an interview. Hillebrand and colleagues2 conducted a study evaluating residency program screening tools and revealed that residency program directors (RPDs) across the country felt that the letter of intent was as or more important than other factors, including leadership roles, grade point average, and involvement in research.2 The study also noted that the letter of intent, along with leadership roles and extracurricular activities, can be used to distinguish between candidates when inviting applicants for interviews.2 Therefore, a strong letter of intent is vital during the residency application process; unfortunately, the literature lacks guidelines for letters of intent. Students may be unaware of the importance of the letter of intent and unclear of what fundamental content should be included. The following recommendations are offered to define letters of intent for pharmacy residency applicants, and 4 suggested steps for writing an effective letter of intent are provided.
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