where to intern

[pharmasaur]

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Hi everyone,

As a P1 a bunch of opportunities for internships are coming about and I was wondering what you guys recommend for someone who is interested in pursuing a residency (possibly). At first I thought hospital/in-patient made the most sense and was the way to go...but I spoke to some P2's-P3's who work in hospitals and all they do is make IVs, load Pyxis machines, etc, and honestly I don't see how that helps you for residency. Unless being in the hospital environment counts. I wasn't considering retail but I realized at least those interns are gaining patient interaction skills which is *supposed* to be what clinical pharmacists with residencies do.
I spoke to the residency director at my school and he said some residency directors he's spoken to don't like retail experience compared to inpatient experience.

I don't know. What do you guys think 😕

(Thankfully I'm in a city where there are lots of opportunities for internships in variety of settings...jobs on the other hand is something else...)

 

[deleted205891]

Making IVs is a good skill to have, as you may have to be able to do that during some part of your residency staffing, depending on the program. Even if you never make IVs again, you'll be able to tell what's filled in D5W vs. normal saline and in what quantities, usual dosage strengths of common meds used in the hospital, as well as common processes such as missing meds, cart fills, barcode printing, etc... I didn't have inpatient experience, and am still pretty clueless on how to process some inpatient orders.

 

[Its Z]

Your P2 and P3 who gave you advice are myopic. As one makez IVs and fills pyxi, you can gain valuable knowledge....how and why those IVs are made....why certain units have certain meds etc. Get an intern job at a hospital.

 

[BidingMyTime]

haha, I would say, intern wherever you can get an intern job....they aren't always that easy to come by. If you do end up with a choice, I would pick according to which internship would most easily fit my schedule/financial needs. For most people, I don't think where you interned will have that much effect on getting you a residency--there are exceptions, and it probably wouldn't hurt to ask places where you are thinking of a doing a future residency, what they look for....but honestly, I think your clinical rotations are going to hold more weight than your internship.

 

[joetrisman]

haha, I would say, intern wherever you can get an intern job....they aren't always that easy to come by. If you do end up with a choice, I would pick according to which internship would most easily fit my schedule/financial needs. For most people, I don't think where you interned will have that much effect on getting you a residency--there are exceptions, and it probably wouldn't hurt to ask places where you are thinking of a doing a future residency, what they look for....but honestly, I think your clinical rotations are going to hold more weight than your internship.

I hope you're joking

 

[deleted205891]

I hope you're joking

To be fair, he/she is partially right. As long as you have had an internship, where you intern may not matter as much as what type of rotations you did to some programs. Most programs I interviewed with commented on the types of rotations I did. No programs asked me anything about my internship at Rite Aid. To other programs, however, hospital internship may matter a lot. Seems like it just depends on the individual residency.

 

[pharmasaur]

Your P2 and P3 who gave you advice are myopic. As one makez IVs and fills pyxi, you can gain valuable knowledge....how and why those IVs are made....why certain units have certain meds etc. Get an intern job at a hospital.

my school has a 3 week mandatory parenteral rotation 2nd year where we go to the county hospital for 4 hours a day and all we do is make IVs for free. so..is that enough experience? I dunno. I was also thinking maybe outpatient pharmacy in/next to hospital? I would imagine you see more interesting cases than at your regular chain?

My school basically has a monopoly on the internships lol the nearest pharmacy is school is like 30 miles south and...300 miles north...😎 and we keep getting emails regarding internships and it's hard to know which one is actually a *true* internship (as in you learn while you work) vs a tech job in disguise with no learning

 

[smercer]

If you are making IVs you will typically be in a room with one other pharmacist who is entering orders. I dunno, maybe you could talk to them and learn about order entry. You can learn about calculations used for NICU and Chemo patients. Some hospitals prepare their own TPNs, this could be valuable. There is a lot more to learn than just putting Med X in NS.

If you want to work in a hospital setting, then it will be good way to start getting your name out to pharmacists who work in a hospital setting.

 

[Its Z]

my school has a 3 week mandatory parenteral rotation 2nd year where we go to the county hospital for 4 hours a day and all we do is make IVs for free. so..is that enough experience? I dunno. I was also thinking maybe outpatient pharmacy in/next to hospital? I would imagine you see more interesting cases than at your regular chain?

My school basically has a monopoly on the internships lol the nearest pharmacy is school is like 30 miles south and...300 miles north...😎 and we keep getting emails regarding internships and it's hard to know which one is actually a *true* internship (as in you learn while you work) vs a tech job in disguise with no learning

Ive done the same IV rotation.....its not enough.

 

[pharm B]

Like others have said, you learn more than you think, being at an internship like the one you described. It's the same with any job. You can just punch a clock and do as you're told, or you can ask questions and branch out. I've been in a scenario where I very easily could have just sat at a desk all summer and learned nothing. It's up to you to make something better happen.

Edit: full disclosure: What little retail experience I've had was in an under-staffed chain company, so I was basically pigeon-holed into filling. Occasionally, my preceptor would have times to discuss things, but he was typically too busy trying to manage his station.

 

[pharmasaur]

thanks for the input guys. i guess hospital is way to go. some friends told me some chains require a minimum of 4-8 hours week so some students have 2 jobs, maybe if i have time i can do both...the thing is competitiveness with residency is gonna be so unpredictable 4 years from now, and if i focus just on hospital, i might lose out on other opportunities if i dont get into a residency. maybe its a good idea to get my foot in the door at some chain just in case as a backup plan because they only hire interns now, and not even all of them.

 

[joetrisman]

thanks for the input guys. i guess hospital is way to go. some friends told me some chains require a minimum of 4-8 hours week so some students have 2 jobs, maybe if i have time i can do both...the thing is competitiveness with residency is gonna be so unpredictable 4 years from now, and if i focus just on hospital, i might lose out on other opportunities if i dont get into a residency. maybe its a good idea to get my foot in the door at some chain just in case as a backup plan because they only hire interns now, and not even all of them.

Do both. There are many here that have. The experiences you have will take you far 👍