Got accepted into pharmacy school. Now what?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

WSUWarrior012

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
May 25, 2014
Messages
182
Reaction score
42
Hello everyone. I was just recently accepted into Wayne State University's (Detroit, MI) PharmD program and I am very ecstatic about it. However, now I am wondering about what my next step should be. I've heard some of the P1 and P2 students at my interview day mention something about applying for an internship right after you get accepted. Should I go through with this? Or would it be better to wait until after my P2 year to get an internship since the P1 year is just essentially a review of the pre-requisite courses from undergrad? P2 is the year where students start learning the technicalities of pharmacy as well as the drugs/medications in general. I hear a lot of people say not to wait too long to get an internship because it gets progressively more difficult the longer you wait. However, it doesn't make sense to make to get an internship in pharmacy without evening learning anything about the medications prior (P1). What do you guys think?

Overall, my main questions are:
1) When would be the right time to apply for an internship?
2) Internship or pharmacy technician?

Members don't see this ad.
 
From what I know, u cannot get ur intern license until you actually begin Pharmacy school, so you have to wait until next Fall. No point in getting a tech license now when you will have an intern license within a few months. For my school, you HAVE to apply for ur intern license your first semester even if you do not plan on using it so early. Just relax and enjoy ur last year as an undergrand :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Members don't see this ad :)
I had a similar concern. I am a senior and I've applied to my school's COP. I have an interview this week for my first pharmacy technician position at my school's medical center. If I work full time during school I can get most, if not all, of my tuition paid for. So my question is, once I get accepted into the COP should I work as a tech to get the tuition assistance, or transition to an intern position (which doesn't provide benefits)? What is the advantage of an internship over a tech position? Does a hospital internship look better, when applying for residency, than working full time as a hospital tech?
 
The advantage of an internship would be that you are allowed to do some of the pharmacist duties under their supervision as well as all of the technician duties. A hospital internship, in my opinion would look a lot better than just a technician job. Are you not able to work as an intern for pay at that specific hospital? Most internships pay better than a technician job.
 
The advantage of an internship would be that you are allowed to do some of the pharmacist duties under their supervision as well as all of the technician duties. A hospital internship, in my opinion would look a lot better than just a technician job. Are you not able to work as an intern for pay at that specific hospital? Most internships pay better than a technician job.
Yeah, but interns don't get the benefit of tuition assistance :meh:. Although, if internships look better then it'll be worth it in the long run.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Yeah, but interns don't get the benefit of tuition assistance :meh:. Although, if internships look better then it'll be worth it in the long run.

Your hospital offers tuition assistance for pharmacy students?! Haha I wish there was a hospital near me that did that. Another option to consider would be to do a hospital internship at one hospital and work as a technician for another, if that option still offers the tuition assistance and isn't too many hours where your GPA would be significantly affected.
 
Your hospital offers tuition assistance for pharmacy students?! Haha I wish there was a hospital near me that did that. Another option to consider would be to do a hospital internship at one hospital and work as a technician for another, if that option still offers the tuition assistance and isn't too many hours where your GPA would be significantly affected.
Yeah, it's the university's medical center so that's why. I thought about that, but how many hours do interns work? I thought someone told me they interned a couple days a month, but I'm not sure if that sounds right.
 
Ahh okay makes a lot more sense! And it really depends on how flexible the institution is. In my area, there is a hospital internship that is 10-15 hours a week. I currently work at walgreens as a technician, until I start pharmacy school, and my manager said I could work a day or two a month. You should contact the DOP and let them know you are interested and ask some general questions so you can get a better idea of how flexible they are and such. Even if you are unable to do a hospital internship, a retail internship would still benefit you more than no internship at all when it comes to applying for residency. Personally, I am aiming to do both retail and hospital internships simultaneously so that I can work more hours to decrease my loan. After looking through the SDN threads, most people I've seen work upwards of 20-25 hours a week during pharmacy school without much decrease in GPA so that gives me hope that it's doable.
 
1) When would be the right time to apply for an internship?

As soon as you get your intern license. You need to understand that job prospects in pharmacy are not what pharmacy schools make it to be. The rosy picture full of unicorns, butterflies and rainbows that the schools mentally paint for you could not be farther from the truth. Get your license and get to finding an internship position and hold it down for as long as you can.

2) Internship or pharmacy technician?

Internship of course. Job-wise, interns are able to do more than techs. Not to mention they get paid more.
 
You should absolutely look for a job now. I don't know what your state law is regarding intern licensure- you should talk to upperclassman about that.

If you can't register as an intern until school starts, apply for part-time tech jobs and tell your prospective employer you will be enrolling this coming fall - this allows you to complete your hiring and training before and not during school and gets your foot in the door for future intern position openings.
 
I've never worked as a tech before in my life and I didn't intend to either. If you're not looking for a career as a retail/community pharmacist and more of a specialty pharmacist do you still have to get an intern pharmacy license?

Sorry this is kind of new to me.
 
I've never worked as a tech before in my life and I didn't intend to either. If you're not looking for a career as a retail/community pharmacist and more of a specialty pharmacist do you still have to get an intern pharmacy license?

Sorry this is kind of new to me.
You will for clinical rotations
 
I've never worked as a tech before in my life and I didn't intend to either. If you're not looking for a career as a retail/community pharmacist and more of a specialty pharmacist do you still have to get an intern pharmacy license?

Sorry this is kind of new to me.

Just curious but what kind of specialty pharmacist are you looking into, if you don't mind my asking?
 
Top