IPPE rotations

[ZakMeister]

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Hi folks,

I wanted to know how the first or second yr rotations r like? Do you get to shadow/the preceptor gives you the hands on experience of retail dispensing? I am talking from the perspective of someone who may be going into pharmacy school with no pharm tech experience.

Thanks!

 

[gtpederson]

Your rotation will depend a lot on your preceptor, your site, and you.

In a busy CVS, you might end up doing primarily filling or tech work.
In an indpendent, you might get "quizzed" by your preceptor about OTCs and Top200 drugs.
What you SHOULDN'T have to do is cashier work. Most places have rules against students handling money. Most places won't want you to answer phones by yourself unless you have previous experience with that chain. That said, it's not unheard of for some places to try to use you as free labor.

When we get students, we'll start them out filling prescriptions, taking blood pressures, then maybe calling other pharmacies and giving/taking transfers, then maybe counseling patients on questions that they feel comfortable answering, then maybe even verifying prescriptions.

However, some students never make it past filling. We asked one student to call transfer something from another store, and ended up GIVING them the prescription, despite not having any directions/quantity - which he must've pulled out of his ass. He was bumped back to filling and not allowed to talk to patients out of earshot of a pharmacist.

 

[ZakMeister]

Your rotation will depend a lot on your preceptor, your site, and you.

In a busy CVS, you might end up doing primarily filling or tech work.
In an indpendent, you might get "quizzed" by your preceptor about OTCs and Top200 drugs.
What you SHOULDN'T have to do is cashier work. Most places have rules against students handling money. Most places won't want you to answer phones by yourself unless you have previous experience with that chain. That said, it's not unheard of for some places to try to use you as free labor.

When we get students, we'll start them out filling prescriptions, taking blood pressures, then maybe calling other pharmacies and giving/taking transfers, then maybe counseling patients on questions that they feel comfortable answering, then maybe even verifying prescriptions.

However, some students never make it past filling. We asked one student to call transfer something from another store, and ended up GIVING them the prescription, despite not having any directions/quantity - which he must've pulled out of his ass. He was bumped back to filling and not allowed to talk to patients out of earshot of a pharmacist.

Thanks for the reply. It seems that the students then start out as perfect newbies and work their way up as new tasks are given to them. I have transferred from a pharmacy program in the UK, and have some dispensing experience from there. But I know that the dispensing practice is way different in the US. So, I am kinda nervous but excited at the same time.