Do I need a Pharmacy Inter License???

[eaglesfan1392]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I am a Pharmacy student at Philadelphia College Pharmacy. I'm currently a P1. I have been working at a retail pharamcy for about 1 month now as a Pharm Tech. I saw that some people in my class have applied for a Pharmacy Intern License already! I have no idea if its too early for me or if I even need it right now. Can someone give me some guidance! I live in PA and I want to know how this will affect my job as well.

Thanks in advance!

 

[ADN1226]

Yes! PA requires 750 of internship hours outside of school hours so you do need to accumulate those at your job in order to be licensed in PA. Other states have higher / lower requirements so its good to just have on hand since you may not know where you'll be employed in 4yrs. So in order for your hours to be recorded by the board of pharmacy in PA, you need to submit the application for an intern license.

 

[eaglesfan1392]

But even if I do not plan on doing retail pharmacy as a future career? And I do not know if I want to get a job in PA (not ruling it out, but I want to keep my options open in other states)...

 

[naseuy]

You are going to need your intern permit for IPPE/APPEs

 

[ADN1226]

There are very few states that don't have any intern hour requirements ....so if you want to work as a registered pharmacist in states that have them its easier to just transfer. You don't want to run into the situation where you are near graduation and you don't have enough hours for whatever state you need.

 

[bacillus1]

Yes, three reasons to get an intern license.

1)PA requires intern hours outside of school. Regardless of whether you work retail or not, you will need a pharmacist license for whatever job/residency you pursue. You will need intern hours to get a pharmacist's license.
2)Some chains require an intern license for any pharmacy students they hire.
3)If you are considered an intern (with an intern license), you get intern pay at most chains, which is significantly higher than tech pay.

It's not too early as it takes a few weeks to process.

 

[eaglesfan1392]

Ok so I'll fill out the forms and talk to my preceptors. Thanks! Any tips on how I can broach the subject of higher pay without sounding like a jerk? I'm only a P1 and I started working there 2 months ago...

 

[bacillus1]

If you're at Rite Aid, CVS or Walgreens, they should increase your pay automatically once you get your license. If they don't, tell them that you're an intern and they should either increase your pay or will tell you that they'll increase it at a later date (this happened to some people I know and I think some of them got back pay). If it's at an independent, you probably won't get a pay increase, as they often don't have differentiation between tech pay and intern pay.

 

[eaglesfan1392]

I work for a smaller chain (Landis Supermarkets) with only a few stores so I'll just ask. Thanks!

 

[eaglesfan1392]

Ok so I talked to my manager and my chain is way too small to increase my pay as much as you guys were saying. I'll probably wade it out another year and then apply to be an intern anywhere else

I just want to clear something up: I have to earn 750/1500 hours outside of school through some sort of job. But is the other 750 earned through IPPEs and APPEs? Because APPEs are only 5 weeks! And can someone explain then how the IPPEs would work?

 

[bacillus1]

Ok so I talked to my manager and my chain is way too small to increase my pay as much as you guys were saying. I'll probably wade it out another year and then apply to be an intern anywhere else

I just want to clear something up: I have to earn 750/1500 hours outside of school through some sort of job. But is the other 750 earned through IPPEs and APPEs? Because APPEs are only 5 weeks! And can someone explain then how the IPPEs would work?

Do some simple math. Each APPE is 5 weeks. 40 hours in a week. There are 7 APPEs. How many hours do you get?

 

[eaglesfan1392]

Ok thanks bacillus1!
Say I work at my current pharmacy as an intern for another year. And hypothetically, I get an internship spot at a Rite Aid right after. I have a feeling my hours will still count, but what would the procedure be to change internship spots so I can still count hours? Is it a matter of just filling out a form ( I attached it)?

 

[bacillus1]

Ok thanks bacillus1!
Say I work at my current pharmacy as an intern for another year. And hypothetically, I get an internship spot at a Rite Aid right after. I have a feeling my hours will still count, but what would the procedure be to change internship spots so I can still count hours? Is it a matter of just filling out a form ( I attached it)?

Yes. Your hours won't count at Rite Aid though until that form is processed (probably about 3-4 weeks). Don't know why you'd want to work at Wrong Aid, but that's your choice. They do hire a lot of pharmacists.