Questions about P4 Rotation Facilities

[KKHeal]

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Regarding choices for P4 rotation sites. I was looking these out-of-the-ordinary experiences:

FDA Rockville Maryland
Dover Airforce Base
IHS New Mexico
Mail Order Pharmacy
Bureau of Prisons
Compounding Pharmacy

Does any one have P4 experience with any of these sites that they wanna share? Any heads up?? Whats one thing you got out of it??
I will greatly appreciate no matter if its a word or two..Thanks

 

[MyTalon4U2NV]

well i used to WORK at a mail order pharmacy as a tech and it was a medicare reimbursement pharmacy.

so pretty much all we dispensed was things medicare would pay for... asthma meds for nebulizers so i did some compounding like albuterol/ipratropium etc and then we also dispensed all diabetic testing supplies.

the facility is pretty much a huge warehouse with 55 employees on the fone all day with md offices and patients that call in from the advertisements they got in the mail.

pharmacist consults some whenever the rare occasion of a patient needed legit consultation... anyways... thats my two cents!

 

[KKHeal]

well i used to WORK at a mail order pharmacy as a tech and it was a medicare reimbursement pharmacy.

so pretty much all we dispensed was things medicare would pay for... asthma meds for nebulizers so i did some compounding like albuterol/ipratropium etc and then we also dispensed all diabetic testing supplies.

the facility is pretty much a huge warehouse with 55 employees on the fone all day with md offices and patients that call in from the advertisements they got in the mail.

pharmacist consults some whenever the rare occasion of a patient needed legit consultation... anyways... thats my two cents!

Thanks for your insight, hmm so i'm guessing it wasnt fun

 

[rxlynn]

Regarding choices for P4 rotation sites. I was looking these out-of-the-ordinary experiences:

FDA Rockville Maryland
Dover Airforce Base
IHS New Mexico
Mail Order Pharmacy
Bureau of Prisons
Compounding Pharmacy

Does any one have P4 experience with any of these sites that they wanna share? Any heads up?? Whats one thing you got out of it??
I will greatly appreciate no matter if its a word or two..Thanks

I have several friends who did an IHS P4 rotation, and they all LOVED it! It's competitive to get into at my school, so it's consider an honor to get to go. The people I know that did a compounding pharmacy rotation had very variable experiences depending on site. Generally, they did a lot of very repetitive compounding, but it depends a lot on what the individual preceptor wants/will let you do. Ask around at your school to find out which ones are the really good sites.

 

[theunderminer]

Regarding choices for P4 rotation sites. I was looking these out-of-the-ordinary experiences:

FDA Rockville Maryland
Dover Airforce Base
IHS New Mexico
Mail Order Pharmacy
Bureau of Prisons
Compounding Pharmacy

Does any one have P4 experience with any of these sites that they wanna share? Any heads up?? Whats one thing you got out of it??
I will greatly appreciate no matter if its a word or two..Thanks

Are you at an east coast school (ie. maryland, temple, usp, wilkes, rutgers?)

In any case, I just finished up a rotation at Dover Air Force Base last month. It was a good rotation and I liked it a lot. It was particularly helpful as I am in process of joining the Air Force as a pharmacist. A Lt. Col. is in charge of the Pharmacy (The Col. is a guy, dont let the first name throw you).

You spend a few days in the pharmacy itself with the pharmacists and the Airmen/Sgts. The pharmacy is pretty easy to get a grasp of, kinda similar to retail in a way (but without all the hassles). The retirees you see are all awesome! Then for the next couple of weeks you get to spend time with the physicians upstairs as well as in flight med. Its a very interesting experience, and I loved it. You get to spend time with the civilian docs as well as the military providers and you will see how things work in the military (for better or worse). I recommend it.

I also did compounding in PA. Its definitely something to experience, although it does get pretty repetitive after a few weeks. Its interesting when you start out because of a lack of experience in that arena, but once you get the hang of it, it can be boring (if you let it be).

I would recommend you to try as many things as you can, it may enable you to find out what setting you fall in love with (and those that you cannot stand, as well!).

(Oh, and I know someone who went to new mexico, if you enjoy the outdoors, you will like it for sure, if you dont, its still pretty interesting).

 

[Old Timer]

The students that I have had loved the IHS rotations. But rotations are what you out into them. It's a learning experience. So getting a crappy preceptor is a learning experience. I personally think the FDA site looks like a lot of fun...

 

[willrocks]

To the student who did a rotation at the Air Force Base:
Do you know the specifics of the military health professions tuition reimbursement plan? It states on military websites that this can be up to $40k/year. Are pharmacists receiving this sum?

 

[theunderminer]

To the student who did a rotation at the Air Force Base:
Do you know the specifics of the military health professions tuition reimbursement plan? It states on military websites that this can be up to $40k/year. Are pharmacists receiving this sum?

In the Air Force, there are two ways to get money for tuition. A friend of mine did it through the scholarship program which will pay for the last year of school (plus 2k a month, i believe) and you owe them 3 years after you graduate. Or you could do the tuition reimbursement which is 40K for a 3 year commitment (I believe its 40k for the 3 years, not 40k per year). Also apparently, after you join, you can do the tuition reimbursement again (presumably another 3 years comes with it). And yes, pharmacists do get this.

If you are interested in the Army, they offer up to 100k in tuition reimbursement.

 

[willrocks]

What is the service commitment for the army's 100k reimbursement? Much appreciated.

 

[theunderminer]

In looking at the army program, I believe that is the one you were originally looking at. It is 40K/year for 3 years.
I am not too familiar with the army program other than I have heard it is similar to the AF program, for army specific questions, an army recruiter would be able to answer your questions.