ETSU Gatton College of Pharmacy ranks 6th nationally for PGY1 match rate

ETSU Gatton College of Pharmacy ranked 6th nationally for PGY1 match rate. 

The Class of 2024 at East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy got some incredible news on Match Day, which was Wednesday, March 13: Their Postgraduate Year One (PGY1) match rate of 92% ranked No. 1 in Tennessee and the Southeast, as well as No. 6 in the nation among pharmacy schools. 

The national average is 74%.

The Class of 2024 matched in the following places for their PGY1 residency: Bristol; Johnson City; Kingsport; Knoxville; Mountain Home; Sebring, Florida; Edgewood, Kentucky; Hazard, Kentucky; Natchitoches, Louisiana; Augusta, Maine; Greeneville, North Carolina; and Columbia, South Carolina.  

The college’s PGY1 pass rate follows recent national news this year when the Class of 2023 achieved a 95.4% first attempt pass rate on their North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) exam scores, placing the college at No. 2 in the country among accredited pharmacy schools.

The Class of 2023 achieved a 78% PGY2 match rate, also above the national average. Pharmacy graduates, like other health professionals, can specialize their training in residency programs. The PGY2 residents are going into a wide range of specialties, including critical care, psychiatry, geriatrics, ambulatory care, internal medicine, emergency medicine and infectious diseases.

Four P4s will be staying in the Tri-Cities for residencies at Ballad Health facilities or at the James H. Quillen Mountain Home VA Medical Center.

“Our match results, as well as our recent NAPLEX ranking, demonstrate the incredible work going on at our college,” said Dr. Debbie Byrd, dean of ETSU Gatton College of Pharmacy and interim dean of the ETSU College of Nursing. “Our graduates are high achievers who are ready to make a positive impact on patients’ lives. I can’t wait to see what they do next.”

For more information about the ETSU Gatton College of Pharmacy, visit etsu.edu/pharmacy/.