Potential Impact of Race and Ethnicity on Pharmacy Residency Match Rate and Match Participation

The purpose of this study was to investigate if a correlation exists between a student’s self-identified race or ethnicity and their rates of participating in the match or matching with a pharmacy residency. This retrospective cohort study included pharmacy graduates from 2016 through 2021 at two schools/colleges of pharmacy, a Historically Black College or University and a non-Historically Black College or University. The primary outcome was to compare the percentage of underrepresented minority (URM) students and non-URM students who successfully matched with a postgraduate year 1 pharmacy residency. The secondary outcomes compared rates of participation in the match and the effects of student-related factors that influenced match success and participation rates between URM students and non-URM students. Of the 900 included students, 273 participated in the match. The match rate among students participating in the match was 53.5% (146 of 273) with 50.3% (84 of 167) in the URM group compared to 58.5% (62 of 106) in the non-URM group (P = .186) successfully matching. Rates of match participation were lower for students identified as URM (26% vs 39.3%, P