hospital pharmacy internship

[yuihong]

Hi,

I just wondering guys, is it possible to do pharmacy internship with a hospital after I'v got the FPGEC? It seems like everyone is going to do it with the big companies but no one has ever mentioned hospital.

Thanks.
-

[Verdeamarelo]

Hi!
From what I hear it is difficult to get an intern position at hospitals. Someone got it but doing it for free (there is a post about it in either the "pharmacy" or naplex forum).
Good luck.
-

[akres]

Yes you can. I'm on my last round or a couple of months away of finishing my internship in a tertiary hospital and it's for a fee. I'm getting half of my preceptor's salary.

One thing about the hospital is that they don't or seldom deal with H1B with regards to pharmacy internship unlike retail companies.

[nono03_2003]

Hi akres,
Are there any required qualifications (other than visa issues) to have an internship in a hospital pharmacy? If yes, could you please share them with us? Thanks.

[akres]

Hi nono03 2003,

In my experience, there is nothing really. I just walk up into the hospital pharmacy and asked to speak to the Pharmacist on duty and presented my case, a foreign graduate and just got my FPGEC certificate and just wondering if by any chance they have a position for a Pharmacist Intern, the Pharmacist asked me to come back the following day and bring with me my FPGEC certificate and other documents, he will make a note to the Director of Pharmacy for he is out on a meeting and will gladly see me the following day. To cut the story short I did not have a problem getting an intern position in a hospital and the Pharmacist that I talked to end up to be my preceptor. Overall I'm enjoying and learning a lot as an intern in this hospital.

My preceptor have a very good and organized training set up for me. I have a month or 2 training for each section of the in-patient. First, I was assigned in the unit-dose area, then IV, TPN, Chemo, satellite, drug information, rounds with the clinical staff, even a P&T Committee meeting just to get an idea. I was even send to participate in the midyear clinical meeting of ASHP, this is of course all expenses paid by them and I am not a volunteer. I am a normally hired employee with all the benefits offered by the hospital institution I worked for.

[yuihong]

That's really good to know! Very encouraging!! I don't think I will need to apply for a visa so hopefully that will make things easier for them!

Which state do you work in Akres?

[Verdeamarelo]

Hello Akres,
thanks for sharing your experience! Seems exciting. Where are you located?

[knok]

One of several concerns of hospital for accepting volunteers is that hospital has to abide by to the privacy act. They don't want those who are not their employees to access patients' profiles. However, my friend did voluteer in hospital only 200-300 hours though. You might have to find that kind of hospital in your areas. That hospital gave him coupons of food and facility access as benefits of a volunteer.

Medication used in hospitals and retailers are totally different. If you work only in hospital, you may not expose to any medication in retail channel.

[akres]

I believed that in any institution particularly in the medical field whether your working in a hospital setting or retail setting, volunteer or hired employee has to abide to the privacy act because that is a law.And for the medication used in hopital pharmacy, I don't agree with what knok said,"If you work only in hospital,you may not expose to any medication in retail channel". For one, hospital pharmacy abide by the formulary set forth by the P&T committee, that is to make sure there is no repetition or duplication of medication that has the same pharmacological category but only different in name and manufacturer at the same time there is also excemption to the rule, if the pharmacist think that the medication that the physician is asking which is not presently included in the formulary is necessary and is unique in its action, then the pharmacist can recommend to include the drug in the formulary with necessary documentation, or authorized to have an emergency purchased.
-

[knok]

Thank you for correcting me. I was supposed to say that in some hospitals such as cancer institutes or so on.