(111) Post-Graduate Residency Opportunities for International Students with a PharmD from a U.S. School/College of Pharmacy

Objective : To identify what percentage of ASHP-accredited residency programs offer post-graduate year 1 (PGY1) residency to international students with a PharmD degree obtained within the United States and suggest strategies that that pharmacy programs can implement to support their international students.

Methods: A thorough search of the ASHP residency directory was conducted and two search strategies were used. The first search strategy was to filter through the search categories for “PGY1” programs within the residency directory and a review of individual program’s ASHP directory page and website was completed using specific search terms. The second strategy utilized the advanced search options filter on the directory and search terms were inputted under “Special Requirements for Acceptance” to narrow the search. For both search strategies, the search terms used include “International”, “Foreign”, “Citizen”, “Visa”, “H-1B”, “F-1”, “Optional Practical Training or OPT”, “Eligible to work”, “Sponsor or Sponsorship”.

Results: As at February 2024, 1,642 PGY1 residency programs were registered within the ASHP directory. Of these, 278 programs (17 %) accept international student applicants with PharmD degrees from a U.S. School/College of Pharmacy. Programs that accept international applicants vary on their requirement, for example, some programs accept OPT work authorizations but do not sponsor H1B work visas. Geographically, programs that accept the most international applicants are in Florida, followed by Ohio, then Texas.

Conclusions: The ASHP residency directory is an available, easy-to-use tool to identify residency programs that accept international candidates. Schools/Colleges of Pharmacy with international students can better support post-graduate residency interests. Both search strategies described can be utilized by schools/colleges of pharmacy looking to provide guidance to international students pursuing post-graduate residencies.