(35) Delivery of a Virtual Residency Mock Interview Experience to Student Pharmacists

Objective : Student pharmacists who are on advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) rotations need individualized mentorship throughout the residency application and interview process. A virtual mock interview experience (MIE) may be an accessible alternative to the traditional in-person MIE. The purpose is to assess whether a virtual MIE is beneficial in preparing students for their residency interviews to be able to successfully match to a pharmacy residency program.

Methods: Virtual residency MIEs were conducted from 2020 to 2023 for professional year four pharmacy (P4) students. After the MIE, a survey was sent to gather information about whether MIE participants matched to a pharmacy residency program. Match rates of non-MIE participants were determined through published match data by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). The primary outcome was the difference in match rate between MIE participants and non-participants within the college of pharmacy. Chi-squared test was used for comparisons.

Results: A total of 97 P4 student pharmacists participated in the virtual MIE. Out of those participants, 59 (60.8%) responded to the post-MIE survey. Overall, 51 (86.4%) survey respondents matched to a residency program. Compared to non-MIE participants, significantly more students who participated in a virtual MIE had a successful match result (86.4% vs. 59.1%, p<.001).

Conclusions: Participation in a virtual residency MIE was utilized by student pharmacists while on APPE rotations and was associated with a higher match rate to a pharmacy residency program at one institution.