Introductory Practice (IPPE) and Advanced Practice (APPE)

As a part of our Foundations of Professional Development (FPD) course series, students complete a minimum of two hours of community service per semester related to public health, precepted by a healthcare professional or pharmacist preceptor. This starts in their P1 year and encourages our future pharmacists to think about serving their community in ways that may be outside of their formal practice.

Our students, under the guidance of faculty members, provide medication counseling in community pharmacies. They are able to put their training to use and assist patients by providing critical information on their prescriptions. They can address any questions or concerns from patients and use this to inform their knowledge.

Students assist patients with selection of over-the-counter (OTC) medications, supplements, and other medical items at community pharmacies.

Students learn about and participate in the day-to-day operations of a health-system pharmacist. They may rotate through different aspects of the health-system pharmacist experience and learn the fundamentals of pharmacy practice in the hospital setting. Under the supervision of a preceptor, students participate in medication order processing, demonstrate basic use of a unit dose system and intravenous admixture system, articulate current institutional pharmacy standards of practice, and participate in a medication safety exercise, among other activities. This rotation occurs during the summer between the P2 and P3 years.

At the end of this IPPE, students will earn their APhA MTM certificate. Students participate in the day-to-day operations of a community pharmacist. The community-based IPPE is a longitudinal experience that takes place in either the fall semester or the spring semester of the P3 year.  It occurs in both a traditional community pharmacy and an ambulatory setting.  Within the community setting, students participate in a variety of activities to prepare them for the community pharmacy APPE, and also achieve Medication Therapy Management certification through APhA.  Students are also introduced to pharmacy practice in an ambulatory setting, providing them with an overview of services in a practice environment outside of community and hospital sites.

Our newest offering provides students the opportunity to experience the practice of pharmacy in a patient-centric setting. We offer various options for this experience, including traditional ambulatory care, anticoagulation clinics, MTM-based services, and more.

At the end of their P3 year, students will have completed over 300 hours of Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience. These will help guide students in the selection of P4 rotations, career inquiries, and provide a base for their future pharmacy learning.