What exactly is the difference between a pharmacy extern and a pharmacy intern?

[DrAriPharmD]

I'm having trouble finding a clear answer on this. I'm applying for different jobs now (CVS, Walgreens, hospitals, etc.) and some things I've looked up have said that an externship is unpaid and basically like shadowing. Is this true? Thanks in advance for your help people! 🙂

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[ChalupaBatman86]

A pharmacy extern is more friendly and outgoing, a pharmacy intern likes to keep to themselves.

 

[DrAriPharmD]

A pharmacy extern is more friendly and outgoing, a pharmacy intern likes to keep to themselves.

Lol thanks for the comedy.

 

[boriqua]

lol yeah that was kinda corny bro.

don't know the answer but i do know that not all interns necessarily get paid either. so if an extern is just "shadowing" for free, is there a special word we should use to say what the intern is doing for free?

 

[SnickerDoodlez]

afaik, interns usually get paid for the shift they work (never heard of unpaid pharmacy interns), externs dont get paid

 

[297point1]

afaik, interns usually get paid for the shift they work (never heard of unpaid pharmacy interns), externs dont get paid

It's not usually tied to payment-
"Externs" are usually tied to an academic activity (IPPE, APPE)
Interns are on your own activities (paid work and volunteer)

It is called different things in different states.

 

[owlegrad]

Yeah, I am not sure the terms are properly defined really. UF told us to just call ourselves interns and not use "extern".

 

[DrAriPharmD]

Okay thanks everyone! I'm just going to apply for an internship.

 

[deleted723470]

I believe externship is the title granted to interns post-graduation, but before licensing. Basically, it's your training period before you transition into the role of a pharmacist. I believe the pay is better than internship (~1/2 of a licensed pharmacist salary). At least this is what I have heard, please enlightenment me otherwise.

 

[DrAriPharmD]

I believe externship is the title granted to interns post-graduation, but before licensing. Basically, it's your training period before you transition into the role of a pharmacist. I believe the pay is better than internship (~1/2 of a licensed pharmacist salary). At least this is what I have heard, please enlightenment me otherwise.

Okay, cool thanks. I have no idea, but if this is true then I should definitely be looking at internships since I'm just now about to start my first year of pharmacy school.

 

[297point1]

I believe externship is the title granted to interns post-graduation, but before licensing. Basically, it's your training period before you transition into the role of a pharmacist. I believe the pay is better than internship (~1/2 of a licensed pharmacist salary). At least this is what I have heard, please enlightenment me otherwise.

Those are usually called "graduate pharmacists" (as opposed to "registered pharmacist").

 

[Litha]

I believe externship is the title granted to interns post-graduation, but before licensing. Basically, it's your training period before you transition into the role of a pharmacist. I believe the pay is better than internship (~1/2 of a licensed pharmacist salary). At least this is what I have heard, please enlightenment me otherwise.

I think that depends on the state..., at least my state is opposite. Externs are those currently in pharmacy school, while interns are those who have graduated pharmacy school but are not yet licensed. Yeah, doesn't make sense really. My school just told us to call ourselves 'student pharmacists', which is inclusive of both terms.

 

[owlegrad]

I've always heard the term grad intern used for that.

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[DrAriPharmD]

Okay the consensus seems to be that externships and internships are different depending on the state/job, Etc.

 

[Ladyg228]

It's different for each state I believe. For some states, externs are pharmacy students who have not yet completed pharmacy school nor obtained a PharmD. Externs cannot be paid for IPPE/APPE but can be paid if obtained a paying position. Interns are pharmacy students who have completed pharmacy school but not yet obtained a PharmD. In other states, Interns are same as externs and grad interns are the latter.

 

[Wickett]

I believe externship is the title granted to interns post-graduation, but before licensing. Basically, it's your training period before you transition into the role of a pharmacist. I believe the pay is better than internship (~1/2 of a licensed pharmacist salary). At least this is what I have heard, please enlightenment me otherwise.

Yea here in Texas, externs refers to people that have graduated from pharmacy school, but are not yet licensed. That is the term our school uses for us, although my work officially has me down as a graduate intern. So yea, it is kinda nebulous. And the 1/2 pay until licensing doesn't seem to be the standard anymore like I thought it was....I am lucky enough to be getting 1/2 right now until I get licensed in the next month, but my friends that are starting at CVS are getting 1/4 pay (pretty much the equivalent of P2 intern pay/some are making less at the moment than they did as interns in school), while Wags seems to be paying $25 an hour.

 

[BidingMyTime]

When I went to school, pre-pharmD, we didn't have "rotations", we had "externships"....externships were like rotations and were required for graduation--difference was we had 1 semester of externships, as opposed to the 1 year rotations done for pharmD--why the name changed, or what the name change is supposed to signify, I have no idea.

 

[lane one]

Yea here in Texas, externs refers to people that have graduated from pharmacy school, but are not yet licensed. That is the term our school uses for us, although my work officially has me down as a graduate intern. So yea, it is kinda nebulous. And the 1/2 pay until licensing doesn't seem to be the standard anymore like I thought it was....I am lucky enough to be getting 1/2 right now until I get licensed in the next month, but my friends that are starting at CVS are getting 1/4 pay (pretty much the equivalent of P2 intern pay/some are making less at the moment than they did as interns in school), while Wags seems to be paying $25 an hour.

CVS calls those "Grad Interns" (graduated but not yet licensed pharmacists). The only time I've seen the term extern officially used is referred to technicians completing a requirement of technician program. Those externships are essentially unpaid work for experience.

 

[confettiflyer]

I've only seen "extern" used for pharmacy technicians in school doing the experiential part of their program.

We employ students as interns, and students rotating through are just students.

Grad intern = PharmD/but RPh license pending.


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[Wickett]

CVS calls those "Grad Interns" (graduated but not yet licensed pharmacists). The only time I've seen the term extern officially used is referred to technicians completing a requirement of technician program. Those externships are essentially unpaid work for experience.

Yea my work refers to me as a Graduate Intern, but my pharmacy program calls us externs/classifies the time between us having graduating and getting licensed as our externship phase. It seems pretty clear this is wildly different, depending on state and/or school.

 

[confettiflyer]

Yea my work refers to me as a Graduate Intern, but my pharmacy program calls us externs/classifies the time between us having graduating and getting licensed as our externship phase. It seems pretty clear this is wildly different, depending on state and/or school.

Must be a regional thing, but I've never seen extern used that way in California or Pennsylvania, at least.


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[Wickett]

Must be a regional thing, but I've never seen extern used that way in California or Pennsylvania, at least.


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Yea honestly, I have only been called an extern by my school. This was the phrase I ended up associating with a new grad only because the phrase was drilled into my head all through school. I have never heard this term used once in regards to my job title in the past few months I have been out in the working world.

 

[lord999]

The old definition for "extern" was the timeframe when a BSPharm had to do their 1000 post-graduate hours as the BS program only provided for 500 of the 1500 hours before sitting for their practical board (FL, MN, WI, AR, and NY) or NABPLEX (basically everyone else and that was the old spelling of NAPLEX) depending on the state prior to the widespread use of PharmD. Intern implies that the experience was under academic supervision. Even though the PharmD usually certifies the normal number of hours required to sit for the boards, there's still states that require 500 of the hours to be in 'extern' and not be from required "intern" when it was under academic supervision.

Then of course, when the PharmD's showed up, the term changed since pharmacy bad with their use of language. The extern referred to rotations that were not under faculty supervision. In the old days, you'd have to do your 8 hours in the area and then come back to the school for additional discussion/training.