Eman Gabal was about to consult a patient during a hospital rotation when an incoming email stopped her in her tracks. The fourth-year University of Florida College of Pharmacy student received word that she had matched into a residency at her top-ranked program: University of Florida Health Jacksonville. A wave of exhilaration washed over her.
“It was truly a moment I’ll never forget,” recalls Gabal, who will begin her residency this summer. “I’ve known that UF Health Jacksonville would be my top choice since I worked there as an intern and shadowed a lot of pharmacists to see all the different areas of clinical pharmacy. Honestly, I had been looking forward to this moment for a very long time, and it was very gratifying to know that I matched with this program.”
Gabal is one of 139 UF College of Pharmacy students and graduates who successfully matched into a residency this year through the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, or ASHP, match process. In this year’s match, 107 matched with first postgraduate year, or PGY1, programs, and another 32 matched with second postgraduate year, or PGY2, programs, making 2026 the ninth time in 11 years that the UF College of Pharmacy led the nation in total residency matches. Gator pharmacists matched in 19 states, along with Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.
“For more than a decade, the UF College of Pharmacy has led the way in helping students and graduates secure residency positions and pursue their dreams of practicing in a clinical setting,” said Peter W. Swaan, Ph.D., M.Pharm., dean and professor of the UF College of Pharmacy. “We celebrate with our fourth-year student pharmacists and graduates who secured residencies this year, as they advance their careers and step into roles that directly impact patient care.”
For Gabal, matching at UF Health Jacksonville marks the culmination of a dream that began in high school, when her chemistry teacher and mentor posed a question that would ultimately steer her professional trajectory.
“I told my teacher, ‘I don’t know what I should do with the rest of my life,’ and he asked me, ‘If you could wake up tomorrow and have absolutely no responsibilities, what would you want to do?’ I tried to picture what that future might look like, and I just knew I wanted to be in health care, where I could help people,” she said.
As she prepares for residency and her years-long dream crystallizes into reality, Gabal said she’s especially interested in perfecting her skills in emergency medicine and critical care, specialties where she can create life-changing impacts for her patients.
“I’m so inspired by the interventions that the pharmacists at UF Health Jacksonville have made for their patients and the incredible care they provide,” Gabal said. “I’m really excited to join their team and see where my future takes me.”
More than 5,900 residency positions were available in the ASHP match this year, with nearly 5,300 pharmacists or student pharmacists matching or committing early to a residency.
