Not your typical Internship

[dreamofdental]

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So has anyone here done an internship that is not a "typical" pharmacy internship? If you have please share info such as what company and what you did? I'm using the word typical to mean retail, hospital, mail order e.t.c. I am also accepting hear say so if you haven't done it but know someone who has, pitch in as well.

 

[bacillus1]

Hearsay: industry internships on the East Coast and in Indiana (people that I know did these had good experiences with them), hospital internships that have clinical components to them (example: VA VALOR program), USPHS internship, pharmacy legislative internship in DC. There are all kinds of opportunities, but a lot of them tend to be super-competitive.

Done: public health internship where I was in an underserved area with 2 med students and pretty much taught the community about health related topics. This didn't count for intern hours. This program is only for students living in certain areas though and is handled by the individual schools.

 

[ChicagoPharmD]

I think after years and years, this may be my first post!

I did a 12 week managed care internship summer after P2 year, as well as a 12 week corporate internship at a large retail chain summer after P3 year. Made a lot of great connections, was stretched out of my comfort zone (both professionally and geographically!), learned a lot - including some types of jobs that I never would want to do.

 

[Eichhoernchen]

How do you go about finding such opportunities? Did you just talk to your deans or research online?

 

[ChicagoPharmD]

I found these opportunities online. Also discussed with dean and the advisor of AMCP for managed care opportunity. I know I was very lucky to be able to do two unique internships. I cannot say enough how much of an impact these experiences have had on my professional life. These internships always came up in residency and even post-residency job interviews.

With that being said, I also did a 12-week community pharmacy internship after P1 year. This was also a good experience, in part because I worked to make it a good experience. I definitely sought out more than what was required, did pharmacy manager training, worked with the store manager, did MTM, etc. Most internships (and really most jobs) are all about what you make of them.

Don't forget - an internship is like a really long job interview. Use that to your advantage!

 

[StreetFarmercy]

I found these opportunities online. Also discussed with dean and the advisor of AMCP for managed care opportunity. I know I was very lucky to be able to do two unique internships. I cannot say enough how much of an impact these experiences have had on my professional life. These internships always came up in residency and even post-residency job interviews.

With that being said, I also did a 12-week community pharmacy internship after P1 year. This was also a good experience, in part because I worked to make it a good experience. I definitely sought out more than what was required, did pharmacy manager training, worked with the store manager, did MTM, etc. Most internships (and really most jobs) are all about what you make of them.

Don't forget - an internship is like a really long job interview. Use that to your advantage!

Nice!

Where did you wind up (just curious)? Something in managed care?

Seems like a really good fit for someone who enjoys making presentations and working on various projects.

 

[ChicagoPharmD]

I did a post-grad community pharmacy residency focused in specialty pharmacy and ambulatory care. Wound up working in a pharmacy in a doctor's office. Love it, love the combination of clinical with the providers I work with (have started my own role as a clinician a half-day per week with them), dispensing, managing complex patients and therapies, etc. Managed care.....maybe someday. But for now, loving where I am!!!

 

[dreamofdental]

Nice! There is all this talk about the many different paths you can take as a pharmacist so it's always nice to hear what others have done that is not retail or hospital.

 

[UofK]

Nice! There is all this talk about the many different paths you can take as a pharmacist so it's always nice to hear what others have done that is not retail or hospital.

I agree. I just obtained my intern licence and these types of threads have me excited about all of the possibilities ahead. Hopefully I'm not met with disappointment by not landing a quality spot.

To answer the OP, I'm assuming your talking about rotations during school, but I will be doing an "internship" as a researcher on a project that I've worked on as an undergrad student turned employee for the COP I'll be attending this fall. It won't really be anything different than what I've been doing other than the fact that I can now count the hours. As a hospital tech, I can also count those as intern hours as one of my pharmacists agreed to become a preceptor for me. I'm still looking for a local retail internship for the summer (third job😎) but I haven't had any luck yet getting in touch with the people that I need to speak with. If I could work 60 hours per week this summer between all positions, I absolutely would.