Ippe

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So I've read through quite a few threads on IPPE. I am about to start my second IPPE in a week at a rural medical center in the outpatient (retail)pharmacy. My preceptor sent me an e-mail with instructions. He mentioned that my rotation will consist of time spent in the retail portion, alternative care pharmacy, compounding lab, and home infusion pharmacy.
He also stated this:

>>"We can then meet to review your experience, (bring a resume if you have one) set your goals for the rotation, discuss what learning experiences we have to offer and set up a schedule."

So, reading through all these threads, it seems that IPPE rotations vary greatly by site with some not letting you do anything at all and others letting you jump right on in.

With that said, I have a lot of experience (since 2004)- retail, mail order, and the most experience in the inpatient pharmacy. After my last IPPE at the LTC and shadowing at Campus Health, I found out that I am a bit rusty talking to patients.

To the preceptors, do you think it would be fair to ask the preceptor if I could spend most of my time in the retail and alternative care pharmacy? How would I go about having this conversation without sounding like an idiot or a prick? I don't want to come off like I know everything because I don't, but I certainly don't want to be spending a lot of time drawing up solutions in the home infusion pharmacy or compounding meds in the compounding lab since I make IVs and do compounding at my job every weekend. I feel like the statement above gives me some leeway to ask for this. Also, this will be my first official encounter with a preceptor. At the LTC our IPPE coordinator was there at the facility but we were on our own for most of it. We didn't interact with the docs or pharmacist that worked there (just the nurses).

I am pretty nervous about this rotation because it is 2 hours away from Phoenix and 4 hours away from my house in Tucson- they are putting me up in a condo near the hospital and I will be by myself for half of my rotation because I had to move my rotation back two weeks (I would otherwise be rotating with one other P1 or P2). Not that being by myself is a problem or anything. I am highly independent and motivated. But, I don't want to be one of those interns that ends up being largely invisible.

Thoughts?

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A good way to start is by discussing your past experiences and your self identified weakness (ie: talking to patients). I think most preceptors would be happy to see that you've actually put thought into what you want to get out of the IPPE and what area(s) you need improvement in.
 
I think that's perfectly reasonable to ask. From the sound of it, it's what he is looking for. As long as you approach it openly and honestly, saying up front that you'd like more outpatient experience, any reasonable preceptor would be happy to say yes.
 
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Sounds like you have a good preceptor. I like preceptors that take a student's weakness into account when working with them. Don't be afraid to discuss your concerns with him. there are still a lot of good preceptors out there and this sounds like one of them.
 
I'd focus on the positive when you state your goals for the rotation. "I'd like to get more experience counseling patients" or "I'm excited about the opportunity to ________________ in the alternative care pharmacy."

I'd avoid stating that there are things you would prefer not to do or tasks you think you already have enough experience with. They may have a set syllabus where you rotate through each of these work sites and may not appreciate being asked to make big modifications. Plus, there are are always things you can learn about how that particular site handles tasks you are familiar with from work.

Preceptors don't seem to like it when students appear to think they have nothing to learn from certain tasks. You can ask for additional learning opportunities or responsibilities in the areas you already have experience with, AFTER you have demonstrated your competency in those areas AT THAT SITE. Don't come in on the front end and say, "I don't think I need to do this and that and ____________." There is always more to learn. Period.

I worked in the IV room on my Advanced Hospital rotation, even though I've been a paid tech/intern at that hospital for 4+ years. Every Advanced Hospital APPE works in the IV room and I didn't expect to be treated differently. Actually, it was a bit of a mental break at times, which is always nice.
 
I worked in the IV room on my Advanced Hospital rotation, even though I've been a paid tech/intern at that hospital for 4+ years. Every Advanced Hospital APPE works in the IV room and I didn't expect to be treated differently. Actually, it was a bit of a mental break at times, which is always nice.

Random question about working in the IV room. Does anyone else feel like they get drowsy/sleepy a few minutes after entering a "clean" IV room?

The nursing home where I work doesn't have a clean room. You just walk into the room, put some wash hands, gloves on, start preparing IVs.

However, 2 of the hospitals where I've worked and the specialty pharmacy where I'm at now have a "clean room" where I have to first walk in through the static/sticky mat, put on all the different clean clothes in a middle room, and then walk into the actual IV room. Is there a lower air pressure in IV rooms? I get the same feeling of drowsiness during flights.
 
Random question about working in the IV room. Does anyone else feel like they get drowsy/sleepy a few minutes after entering a "clean" IV room?

The nursing home where I work doesn't have a clean room. You just walk into the room, put some wash hands, gloves on, start preparing IVs.

However, 2 of the hospitals where I've worked and the specialty pharmacy where I'm at now have a "clean room" where I have to first walk in through the static/sticky mat, put on all the different clean clothes in a middle room, and then walk into the actual IV room. Is there a lower air pressure in IV rooms? I get the same feeling of drowsiness during flights.

It's positive pressure- and yes just like in an airplane.
 
I was talking to a P3 this weekend about her community IPPE, and she said it was pretty terrible. Like others have mentioned in various threads, she was basically treated as free extra labor and learned virtually nothing from the experience. I asked if it was possible to set up my own IPPE if I could find a pharmacist to precept and she said it was. I'd love to have one of the pharmacists I work with now precept my IPPE, but is this a good idea? They're both fantastic pharmacists and I feel like I could learn a ton from them, but would it be more beneficial to gain some new experience and take my chances somewhere else?
 
I'd love to have one of the pharmacists I work with now precept my IPPE, but is this a good idea? They're both fantastic pharmacists and I feel like I could learn a ton from them, but would it be more beneficial to gain some new experience and take my chances somewhere else?
Most schools won't let you do a rotation somewhere that you've worked. I guess the thought is that you're not learning/experiencing anything new, and they're more likely to treat you as labor, since that's what you usually are to them. If they have tons of things to teach you, you should be picking up on them while you work.
 
Most schools won't let you do a rotation somewhere that you've worked. I guess the thought is that you're not learning/experiencing anything new, and they're more likely to treat you as labor, since that's what you usually are to them. If they have tons of things to teach you, you should be picking up on them while you work.

That makes sense, but it sounds like a lot of people aren't getting anything out of their IPPEs anyway. My thinking is that, once I have a year of pharmacy school under my belt, they'd be more likely to let me do some basic counseling or take new prescriptions than would strangers. I probably won't be working there next year when the IPPE would be taking place, but you might be right that they still wouldn't allow it, I'm not sure on that.
 
That makes sense, but it sounds like a lot of people aren't getting anything out of their IPPEs anyway. My thinking is that, once I have a year of pharmacy school under my belt, they'd be more likely to let me do some basic counseling or take new prescriptions than would strangers. I probably won't be working there next year when the IPPE would be taking place, but you might be right that they still wouldn't allow it, I'm not sure on that.

Ask your IPPE cooridinator. I had wondered about the same thing for rotations, but apparently, it's not a problem. :thumbup:
 
That makes sense, but it sounds like a lot of people aren't getting anything out of their IPPEs anyway. My thinking is that, once I have a year of pharmacy school under my belt, they'd be more likely to let me do some basic counseling or take new prescriptions than would strangers. I probably won't be working there next year when the IPPE would be taking place, but you might be right that they still wouldn't allow it, I'm not sure on that.

When I attended that school, we were prohibited from doing our EPPE (now IPPE) at a place we'd already worked. That was a while ago though.
 
That makes sense, but it sounds like a lot of people aren't getting anything out of their IPPEs anyway. My thinking is that, once I have a year of pharmacy school under my belt, they'd be more likely to let me do some basic counseling or take new prescriptions than would strangers. I probably won't be working there next year when the IPPE would be taking place, but you might be right that they still wouldn't allow it, I'm not sure on that.
Definitely ask for specifics, because I know the timing can vary. If it was only a year ago, might not work, but I believe some students did their APPEs at a place they worked before, since a few years had passed.

Personally, I had a pretty good experience at my IPPE. Already had a good amount of retail experience, just not much in the way of counseling. But I picked a store that was completely different from mine (900rx/day with 4 rph vs my usual 100-200 rx with one rph) so I got to experience a lot of different things which made it interesting. I completely agree that some people won't get anything out of it if you have a store that's basically the same as your job. Still, even just talking to a different pharmacist and getting their take on issues that come up can be interesting.
 
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