When the pharmacy residency match results for the class of 2024 came in, Christina Beran was too nervous to look for herself.
Happily, the friend she put in charge of opening the letter gave her the two words she was looking for: Johns Hopkins.
Beran
Beran, who graduated Friday, May 4, with her Pharm.D. from The University of Toledo College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, is heading to Baltimore to continue her training at one of the most selective post-graduate programs in the country.
“It was special to just be chosen for an interview at Johns Hopkins,” Beran said. “I ranked them first because I thought they would be the best fit for me. I was very stressed on match day, because I knew it was a competitive program with a lot of great applicants. When I found out I got it, I was very excited.”
Unlike medicine, where residency training is a requirement after graduation, pharmacy graduates have the option of going straight into the workforce or applying for a one-year residency.
This year, 35 UToledo graduates matched into residency programs in Toledo and across the country, where they’ll gain additional training and experience to prepare them for practice in specialized areas like infectious diseases or oncology.
“There are so many options for our pharmacy graduates, and it’s important for us as faculty to show them those opportunities and help them prepare for whatever path they want to take,” said Dr. Julie Murphy, associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. “If you want to practice as a community pharmacist, we can help you get there. If you would prefer to pursue additional post-graduate training, we can help you get there too. Each of the 97 members of the Class of 2024 have worked so hard; I’m proud of them.”
While residency is not required to practice as a pharmacist, many specialized clinical roles do require the additional post-graduate education gained through residency.
The College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences hosted a reception last month to recognize its students who are going into residency.
Pharmacy students who elect to pursue a residency after graduation interview with prospective programs and then rank their top choices. Residency programs also rank their top applicants, and the matches are made by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
More than half of the Pharm.D. students entering residency this year will stay in Ohio, with others heading to states including California, Florida, Texas and Massachusetts.
Rowell
Hanna Rowell, who grew up in northeast Ohio and got her first introduction to UToledo during pharmacy camp between her junior and senior year of high school, will embark on her residency at The University of Toledo Medical Center focusing on inpatient pharmacy.
She chose to stay local in large part because of the strength of UTMC’s kidney transplant program.
“I’m really interested in transplant pharmacy, and I had the opportunity to do a lot of my rotations in the past year at UTMC,” she said. “I’ve seen how involved pharmacy is in the lives of our transplant patients, and that’s one of the things that drew me to stay. It’s very patient-care heavy, which is what I love.”
Rowell also is excited to remain involved with patient care in the Toledo community.
“I’ve had great support from all the faculty I was involved with. It was always an open-door policy for any kind of help I needed,” she said. “I felt very supported by the program, and having a residency here definitely feels like a way to give back to the community and the program that helped train me.”
As Beran reflects on her time at UToledo before heading to Johns Hopkins to pursue her dream of specializing in infectious disease and critical care pharmacy, she said she’s grateful for the varied opportunities that set her on her career path.
“I think the biggest thing I’ve taken away from this is that Toledo might not be the biggest pharmacy school, but they offer an affordable education that gives you all the resources to succeed,” she said. “The flexibility Toledo provides throughout the curriculum and clinical rotations is incomparable. If I could do it again I would 100% choose Toledo.”
