Table 2. Responses from current and recently trained residents about residency training.

Level of residency training	How a residency compliments chosen career path	Deciding factors to pursue a residency	Should a residency be required of all pharmacists for patient care?	Back-up plan if match did not take place
PGY-2, Oncology	PGY-1/PGY-2 training was required for current position	Long held desire to obtain clinical oncology position; knew residency training was required	No. Pharmacy schools should be held responsible for providing adequate training. Residencies should be reserved for more specialized care.	Not at the time; probably would have pursued hospital position at previous internship site and reapplied the following year
PGY-2, Oncology	Residency training is required due to the specialty of the disease state and the patients treated	Of all the different areas in pharmacy, an inpatient career would allow for the ability to use clinical knowledge on a daily basis.	Yes for clinical practice; may be beneficial training for other areas	To relocate if needed and try again in the next match
PGY-1, Pharmacy practice (ambulatory care)	A residency will provide training to implement clinical services in the outpatient setting.	The extent to which a residency trained pharmacist could practice in the outpatient setting	Yes. It extends training beyond that provided in pharmacy school and allows for the discovery of new information.	To work in the retail setting of previous internship
PGY-2, Infectious disease	Residency training offers additional learning experiences that augment clinical experiences provided during school.	Knowledge that postgraduate training was required to pursue the path of a clinical pharmacist	No. Residency training improves disease state knowledge but nothing outweighs experience.	None. Scrambling was necessary to obtain residency position.
PGY-2, Emergency medicine	Residency training provided a foundation of knowledge and the ability to work closely with other health professionals.	Desire to work in a clinical hospital setting; knew that the experience a residency would offer would improve ability to obtain job in desired area	Yes, at least 1 year	Apply for staff positions in hospital setting to work up to a more clinical role; possibly reapply in the future