Pharmacy residencies date back to the early 1930s. Originally termed internships, their primary purpose was to train pharmacists in hospital pharmacy management. ASHP’s involvement began in 1948 with the development of standards for pharmacy internships in hospitals. In 1962, ASHP established an accreditation process and accreditation standards for residencies in hospital pharmacy. At this time, the term “internship” was replaced by “residency.”

During the early 1970s, residencies in clinical practice grew at a rapid rate, leading to the establishment of accreditation standards for clinical pharmacy and specialized residency training to ensure a quality training experience. At that time, most programs were conducted in colleges of pharmacy — general and clinical residencies were recognized separately. By 1993, the two types of programs were discontinued and replaced by pharmacy practice residencies with an emphasis on pharmaceutical care. Soon after, ASHP developed accreditation standards recognizing fifteen specialized areas of practice and offered other specialized programs the option of seeking accreditation utilizing an accreditation standard with broad applicability in any pharmacy practice setting. Accreditation standards are continually reviewed and revised to keep pace with the dynamics of the profession. Most recently, ASHP has formed partnerships with other pharmacy associations [e.g., Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP), American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), American Pharmacists Association (APhA)] for accreditation of residencies.  In 2005, together with the above mentioned partners, ASHP established new residency accreditation standards which resulted in the replacement of pharmacy practice residencies with postgraduate year one (PGY1) pharmacy residencies and specialized residencies with postgraduate year two (PGY2) pharmacy residencies.  One of the goals of these new accreditation standards is to heighten the awareness that pharmacists must complete or be enrolled in a PGY1 residency prior to applying to a PGY2 residency.  Additionally, credentials pertaining to a pharmacist's level of postgraduate training will be clearer to prospective employers.