Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you may only apply to the UC San Diego PGY1 Acute Care Residency Program by registering for the ASHP Match and utilizing PhORCAS, the online application portal. You may begin using PhORCAS to upload application materials beginning October 1st, and you may start sending your application materials to UC San Diego and other residency programs beginning November 1st. It is expected that you complete the Supplemental Application Form, indicating your availability to interview, also available on PhORCAS.

No. While it is not required, many residents choose to apply to a post-graduate year two (PGY2) specialty program, either with UC San Diego or with another program. PGY2 Directors at UC San Diego may choose to offer early commitment to UC San Diego PGY1 residents, or to participate in the ASHP Match. Currently, UC San Diego offers PGY2 residency programs in Critical Care, Infectious Diseases, Oncology, Psychiatry, Transplant and Transitions of Care.

First-year residents "staff" 21 weekends during the year. This includes two minor holidays, such as Memorial Day and one major holiday, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's. Residents receive a generous benefit’s package which includes 20 vacation days. In addition, days that residents staff on holidays are added to the residents’ vacation “bank” and may be used at another time. Residents train on several weekends, and these training weekends count as staffing weekends. Residents are trained and staff in most areas of hospital pharmacy practice, including the central dispensing area and covering medical, surgical and ICU units, increasing the residents’ comfort and confidence as well as their marketability. Staffing is essential to becoming a fully competent practitioner and every year residents provide positive feedback regarding how valuable staffing is for their professional development.

Despite choosing electives in the first month, many residents discover new areas of interest. Each year more than half of our residents make changes to their rotation schedule. The program has been very flexible in changing the residency experience to accommodate the resident's changing interests and needs. In the past, special interests have been accommodated and encouraged. With over 25 electives to choose from, the challenge is choosing which electives to take!

Graduates from UC San Diego Health System Residency Programs have strong market value and have chosen many different professional paths. Many PGY1 residents match or early commit to remain at UC San Diego for PGY2 residency programs; others have stayed at UC San Diego, hired on as pharmacists in various capacities. Some areas that second-year residents and fellows have specialized in at UC San Diego are HIV/infectious diseases, managed care, drug information, pediatrics, critical care, and transplantation. Other residents have continued their education in other specialty residencies or fellowships outside the UC system. Many residents have gone on to clinical positions at other local institutions and at institutions around the United States. Still others have gone on to industry, FDA and faculty positions at various schools of pharmacy and their affiliated hospitals. Many graduate residents sit for board exams and become Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialists.

A lot! We are a teaching and research focused academic institution. Residents precept second year IPPE and fourth year APPE students from the SSPPS while on they are on rotation. Residents have been incorporated into the Therapeutics Course conferences taught at the SSPPS and are the primary preceptors/facilitators of the weekly case review Therapeutics Conferences. Collaborative teaching and information sharing occurs on a daily basis.

Residents may choose to live close to the Hillcrest Medical Center or close to our La Jolla Hospital campus, which is also close to the UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, or anywhere in between. There are many housing atmospheres in San Diego, and residents may choose to live near the beach or inland. Rent prices vary depending on location, age and size of the unit, averaging $900-1500/month for a one or two bedroom apartment. Some residents choose to live with a significant other or to find a roommate. After the match, residents are provided with contact information for the residency class and may discuss housing. Matched residents are also paired with a current resident “buddy”. Your buddy may help you navigate the San Diego housing market and provide you with good recommendations and hints as to where to live. The Reader, a free local newspaper, may also list apartments for rent and "roommates wanted" ads: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/classifieds/.

No. UC San Diego Health System and its residency programs have a long standing history of recruiting and matching with residents outside of California. We actively recruit at state and national professional meetings and we consider all residency applicants. It is common to have a mix of students from the various California pharmacy schools as well as from throughout the United States.

Residents are required to take and pass the NAPLEX and the California Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam (CPJE). This law exam typically contains a high percentage of clinical questions. Please start to make arrangements to take both exams as soon as you have decided to apply to residency programs in California. Many out of state applicants take the NAPLEX in their own states and then score transfer. You are required to have a valid California Intern Pharmacist license by July 1st and to have a valid California Pharmacist license by September 15th of your residency year. Contact information for the California State Board of Pharmacy may be found at: http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/about/contact_us.shtml

Yes. The pharmacy enjoys a strong, collaborative relationship with other health care professionals at UC San Diego Health System. The residents are an integral part of this relationship..