ASHP 2020 Residency Match Phase I Signals Steady Growth in Positions

Phase I of ASHP’s 2020 Residency Match today was a resounding success for thousands of student pharmacists. With a total of 5,327 residency positions, 4,923 positions are now filled, with the remainder to be filled in Phase II of the Match.

Over the last five years, PGY1 residency positions have grown by 27% and PGY2 positions by 56%. Specifically, PGY2 programs in ambulatory care residencies grew by 85%, infectious disease residencies by 66%, and critical care residencies by 34%. Expansive growth occurred in emergency medicine residencies, which grew by 141%, and in pain management and palliative care residencies, which increased by 145%.

“The 2020 Match results for Phase I show the continued growth of residency programs and available positions,” said Janet A. Silvester, Pharm.D., M.B.A., FASHP, vice president, ASHP Accreditation Services Office. “The expansion in PGY2 programs is particularly encouraging as these positions are critical to support the increasing demand for pharmacists with advanced training to fill medication expert roles on the patient care team.”

In recent years, the number of student pharmacists who wish to match with residencies across the United States has increased significantly. In 2016, ASHP collaborated with National Matching Services and the Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service to create a two-phase Match process to help meet the needs of not only the rapidly growing number of pharmacists and student pharmacists who are seeking residencies, but also residency programs that are seeking applicants.

Now in its fifth year, ASHP’s Phase II of the Match gives student pharmacists who did not match in Phase I another opportunity to apply for a number of exceptional postgraduate training programs. The deadline to register to participate in Phase II of the Match is March 31, 2020. The informal post-match scramble will be held following Phase II of the Match to ensure that individuals have as many chances as possible to connect with a residency program.

Visit ASHP’s Match Day Resources for guidance on navigating the Match process, advice for Phase II of the Match, interview tips, and more. In addition, National Matching Services Inc. provides an overview of the 2020 ASHP Residency Match process.

About ASHP
ASHP represents pharmacists who serve as patient care providers in acute and ambulatory settings. The organization’s nearly 55,000 members include pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians. For more than 75 years, ASHP has been at the forefront of efforts to improve medication use and enhance patient safety. For more information about the wide array of ASHP activities and the many ways in which pharmacists advance healthcare, visit ASHP’s website, ashp.org, or its consumer website, SafeMedication.com.