ASHP announces accreditation milestone of 2,000 residency programs

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) has reached a new milestone with the accreditation of 2,000 residency programs throughout the nation. These programs included those that are being evaluated as well as those that have received full accreditation.

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While there was relatively slow growth in the 1980s and 1990s, residency programs took off in 1999 through 2009, in hospital, community, and managed care settings, reaching 1000 programs in 2009. Now that number has climbed to 2000, according to ASHP.

“For more than 50 years, ASHP has been at the forefront of accrediting residency programs to enhance pharmacists’ skills as clinical practitioners and leaders,” said ASHP CEO Paul W. Abramowitz, PharmD, Sc.D. (Hon.), FASHP.

The standards for the ASHP’s residency programs have also evolved, according to Janet A. Silvester, PharmD, MBA, FASHP, ASHP’s vice president of accreditation standards. “Our pharmacy residency training programs are designed to ensure that future pharmacists have the practical skills and advanced knowledge to meet the challenging demands of todays-and tomorrow’s-healthcare environment.”

By March 2016, ASHP will provide information about the number of applicants who are matched during the Second Residency Match as well as the number of residency positions that have been filled.