Confused about working as a pharmacy intern

[stablecarbocation]

I will apply for 2016.

I am confused about working during pharmacy school as an intern. I understand that some states require a certain number of hours as an intern outside of pharmacy school IPPEs and APPES. If this is the case, is a pharmacy student guaranteed a job to procure these required intern hours? Does the school set them up or do pharmacy students apply for these jobs and hope to get them ? Are there even enough pharmacy intern jobs to go around?

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[Old Timer]

If you want to be a pharmacist, you need to be an intern. Forget the law. If you think you will get enough experience in your IPPE and your APPE, you are sadly mistaken. You need the classroom and you need the real world. I don't care if it's hospital or retail. You need to have some experience or you will never be able to get a job. You need to find a preceptor who will see to it that when you graduate you are prepared to be a pharmacist. If not, you are screwed....

 

[stablecarbocation]

If you want to be a pharmacist, you need to be an intern. Forget the law. If you think you will get enough experience in your IPPE and your APPE, you are sadly mistaken. You need the classroom and you need the real world. I don't care if it's hospital or retail. You need to have some experience or you will never be able to get a job. You need to find a preceptor who will see to it that when you graduate you are prepared to be a pharmacist. If not, you are screwed....

Yes. I actually want to work during pharmacy school. I realize that. My question were:

"I understand that some states require a certain number of hours as an intern outside of pharmacy school IPPEs and APPES. If this is the case, is a pharmacy student guaranteed a job to procure these required intern hours? Does the school set them up or do pharmacy students apply for these jobs and hope to get them ? Are there even enough pharmacy intern jobs to go around?"

That's what confuses me.

 

[mustang sally]

No, if you are in a state that requires intern hours outside of IPPEs/APPEs, you are not guaranteed a job. It's something you will have to find on your own. Whether or not there are enough intern jobs is debatable, but I would work hard from day 1 to secure something for yourself.

 

[trailerpark]

I dealt with this in PA and so did all of my classmates. You get all 750 on your own or retail chains will hire you as a grad intern if you need 200 at most, if not you have to go out of state for jobs. Most went all of state. You have to do it on your own though.

 

[BeLikeBueller]

You can also get licensed in a state that doesn't have the external hours requirement and reciprocate, but I will echo what @Old Timer said....wait. Old Timer is back?!? When did this happen and where was I?

Anyways, intern experience will greatly benefit you during school and beyond. Just make sure you get flexible hours. You don't want to be an intern to the detriment of your academics. Also, don't be afraid to say no when they ask you to work if you have legitimate school reasons for not doing so. They're not hiring you as a technician, they're hiring you as an intern. You should be an extra person, for the most part, so that you are able to learn and practice being a pharmacist. That being said, you will probably do 99% tech work as an intern. I'm just saying this because you shouldn't feel obligated to work 25 hours a week because your store manager is trying to meet hours/budget cuts.

 

[Doc Hawaii]

California requires 1500 hrs to sit for the boards. Some are earned as part of your IPPEs/APPEs, and the rest through working (usually with pay).

 

[deleted390966]

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[PharmEcon]

@PhoenixFire Try contacting district managers or going into stores and talking to the pharmacy managers about it possibly. Networking to an extent is important here. Obviously attending a career fair or something would be good too if possible. As for IPPEs/no time during summers - there are always weekends. I worked on weekends throughout the school year.

 

[Sparda29]

At minimum, work 8 hours a week as an intern. When I was at CVS, I did 12 hours a week. Usually worked Friday night from 4pm-9pm and Saturday 10am-5pm.

 

[Dred Pirate]

i went to school in Iowa - we required 500 hours during non-school time (chrsitmas and summer and spring breaks). It was up to us to find the hours, if that meant volunteering, so be it. Luckily I worked 30 hours a week during school and 65+ during breaks. But like they said, if you want a fighting chance at a job, you need to intern outside of your school/state's requirements

 

[deleted390966]

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[ali110884]

So Do/Can you get a paycheck?

 

[kendrick lamar]

I will apply for 2016.

I am confused about working during pharmacy school as an intern. I understand that some states require a certain number of hours as an intern outside of pharmacy school IPPEs and APPES. If this is the case, is a pharmacy student guaranteed a job to procure these required intern hours? Does the school set them up or do pharmacy students apply for these jobs and hope to get them ? Are there even enough pharmacy intern jobs to go around?

no you're not guaranteed a job with IPPEs and APPEs, (depending on the school) those hours are unpaid hours that the school gives you so that you fulfill the requirements to become a licensed pharmacist.
An IPPE/APPE is simply a requirement that the school gives you. These are the bare minimum hours you complete during your coursework. However a paid internship is SEPARATE from IPPE/APPEs. You have to find this on your own, like a job. You work a standard number of hours a week that will well prepare you to work as a pharmacist when you graduate. Although these days, not all interns are guaranteed a job as a pharmacist at their store, in my school most interns have all gotten jobs within their companies as pharmacists. Plus, internship hours are critical if you want to do residency. I suggest if you still have not applied to get a job as a pharm tech. This will give you the exposure to the pharmacy environment that will give you a sense of what a pharmacy job entails and your store can upgrade you to an intern once you have started your P1 year.

 

[kendrick lamar]

If you want to be a pharmacist, you need to be an intern. Forget the law. If you think you will get enough experience in your IPPE and your APPE, you are sadly mistaken. You need the classroom and you need the real world. I don't care if it's hospital or retail. You need to have some experience or you will never be able to get a job. You need to find a preceptor who will see to it that when you graduate you are prepared to be a pharmacist. If not, you are screwed....

Better to start as a tech now, imo, since he's not even in pharmacy school yet