Rotations/Clerkships/Internships

[GatorRX]

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Hi all,

What is the difference between rotations, clerkships, and internships? Aren't they all just a way to gain experience in certain different fields (thats why they call it a rotation)? It's like getting work experience, right? If so, shouldn't that be listed on one's resume under work experience? Also, are these clerkships/internships paid positions (during the 3rd and 4th yrs of pharmacy school)?

 

[spacecowgirl]

Hi all,

What is the difference between rotations, clerkships, and internships? Aren't they all just a way to gain experience in certain different fields (thats why they call it a rotation)? It's like getting work experience, right? If so, shouldn't that be listed on one's resume under work experience? Also, are these clerkships/internships paid positions (during the 3rd and 4th yrs of pharmacy school)?

I can only answer for my school, but I believe this is the standard:

Internship: Hours you accumulate on your OWN time, that you set up working in a pharmacy. For us that is 500 hours.

Clerkship: Hours worked at a community pharmacy and a hospital pharmacy (we have to do one each of two summers) for 40 hours/week for 4 weeks. These are set up by the school.

Rotations: Working in different pharmacy locations (clinical, hospital, oncology, pediatrics, etc). We have to do 8 - I believe they are 4 weeks each. These are also set up by the school.


About getting paid, gotta about that. No way - YOU HAVE TO PAY THEM! You're getting college credits for working so that is what you are paying for - sucks doesn't it???

 

[jdpharmd?]

They are essentially different words for the same thing. The ONLY paid positions would be positions that you set up on your own outside of school (i.e. working at walgreens after school or on weekends).

Anything through school is billed to our tuition. We pretty much pay to work, but it's the way it is everywhere.

I'm sure that you can find an appropriate place on your resume to list them.

 

[ultracet]

In Alabama, an Intern is a person who is enrolled in pharmacy school. Now during our rotations we are used as interns but NEVER paid. If you are hired at walgreens etc then you can be hired as either an intern (1st yr,2nd yr etc) or as a plain 'ole tech. The interns of course will make more money. After you graduate pharmacy school you are called an extern. And most places will pay pretty well for "graduate interns" which is just work during the limbo between graduation and finding out your NAPLEX scores.
I would probably put it on my CV under something like Clinical experience or Clinical Rotations while in school.. I don't know haven't gotten that far yet

 

[GatorRX]

For those of you at (or going to be at) UF, the clerkships start in the Spring Semester of the 3rd year. During that semester, you have other classes as well (Pharmacotherapy V, etc.), so this means that you will probably be assigned a clerkship somewhere in the same city as where your classes are (Orlando, St. Pete, or Gainesville). Then in the 4th year, there is only clerkships during the Summer and Fall terms, so I suppose that is when you might be sent out of town someplace else to do your clerkships. The last semester before graduation (Spring), there are some more didactic coursework needed, so I suppose that will require the student to be back at his/her home city.