Pharmacy Internships, unlike traditional medical internships, are somewhat hard to come by. Go on indeed and type "medical internship", you'll find dozens of opportunities for pre-med or medical students to gain hands-on-experience, or patient care hours for their applications. Such opportunities include being a medical scribe (mentioned in my previous blog), an intern in a local family medicine office, or even being hired as a "medical assistant" at specialty offices to assist in benign procedures.
When I was considering the traditional medical route, these opportunities were everywhere! Especially in my little college town. I'd see ads such as "pre-med student wanted for help in family medicine office", "pre-vet student wanted for help in local veterinarian office", "pre-med student wanted for assistance in plastic surgery office" and more! This was NOT the same once I began to search for opportunities as a pre-pharmacy student.
As mentioned on my blog post, Finding Pharmacy, I was late to the pre-pharmacy party. I was approaching college graduation when searching for pharmacy internships and jobs. Specifically, I wanted something that I could do for one year until starting my PharmD that also gave hands-on-experience in the realm of pharmacy......this was so difficult. What's the first (and only) position that comes to mind when thinking of getting pharmacy experience? PHARMACY TECH! Yup, that's the only position you can think of right?
Being that I fell in love with pharmacy late in life, I didn't jump at the opportunity to get my pharmacy technician license for free when in high school via the County College and Career Institute program (CCI) in my district. I also didn't have the 2-3 months to enroll in the Pharmacy tech course at my local technical college just so I can accept the awesome tech positions in the hospital I currently work at.
It wasn't until January 2019, several months into my gap year and position as a medical scribe, that I came across a "Pharmacy Intern" position. This specific position was brought to my attention via a P2 enrolled in my college of pharmacy. She was a pharmacy intern at a large chain of Children's Hospitals in my state. She sent a message to all of us admitted P1's (around 80-90 of us at that time) looking for 3 incoming students to replace 3 interns who will be graduating soon. As an intern you would work full-time throughout the summers and breaks, and every other weekend (Saturday and Sunday) throughout school. You would not only gain hands-on-experience in the main pharmacy but also in the ICU, oncology center, IV room and more. You guys.....I applied within 3 minutes of reading that email.
It took almost a month before I heard back and was scheduled for an interview, March 21st. I was over the moon and barely slept at night the week leading up to my interview. I LOVED this hospital, as I spent a summer volunteering there before going away for college and I wanted this inpatient pharmacy experience more than anything!
I interviewed bright and early on March 21st. I was my normal bubbly yet professional self in my charcoal grey pantsuit, black undershirt and black closed-toe heels. My crazy curly hair was pulled neatly back into a low bun and secured with what felt like 50 bobby pins. The parking garage was quite full, forcing me to go down almost 5 levels to find a spot coincidentally near the elevator. I checked in with the young volunteer at the information desk and got my visitors tag from security before patiently waiting for my interviewer in the lobby.
It truly felt like an amazing interview; laughs, showing adoration for me and my intelligence, and great conversations...but I didn't get it.
After sulking for a few days, I hopped back on the horse. I set a goal to find a pharmacy internship prior to starting school, and here's how I did it:
LinkedIn: I set Job Alerts for postings titled "Pharmacy Intern". I honestly got new alerts maybe every few days for NEW postings in my area. Other than that, I mostly saw the same postings or old postings.
Indeed.com: I also set job alerts for postings titled "Pharmacy Intern". I mostly received alerts for postings catered to recent graduates and out of state postings. However, I did find and apply to some awesome inpatient pharmacy intern positions with large prestigious hospitals in my state.
Google: Searching "pharmacy internships" and "summer pharmacy internships" in my state. With this route I was actually led to the same positions on Indeed.com so I began to focus on summer internships for once I began my PharmD program. Check out the best opportunities below!
Kentucky, Traditional Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy
Johns Hopkins, Pharmacy Internship Program
Carilion Clinic, Pharmacy Summer Internship Program
University of Virginia, University of Virginia Health System Pharmacy Internship Program
University of Rochester, Summer Pharmacy Internship Program
Direct websites: While I was not initially interested in retail pharmacy, I did not want to miss out on a potentially amazing opportunity. What If I ended up loving retail by the time I graduated with my PharmD?! So I began searching retail pharmacy websites such as Kroger, Publix, CVS and Walgreen's. If I remember correctly, I was able to set job alerts for CVS and Walgreen's pharmacy intern positions.
Come May, I interviewed and secured a pharmacy intern position!
I accepted a position with a large retail pharmacy and I LOVE IT and everyone! During my interview I felt so relaxed and enjoyed my conversation with my interviewer. Knowing I had no pharmacy experience, she reassured me that Id' be caught up to speed in no time with on-the-job training. I even get a pay raise once school starts as I'll officially be an intern then!
For my specific pharmacy, I was hired on as a pharmacy technician until school begins in August. In the state of Georgia, you cannot have the title of "Pharmacy Intern" until you have started your program and submitted an application for your intern license.
Both jobs are vital to the function of a pharmacy. A pharmacist intern is someone who has begun formal training to become a licensed pharmacist. Generally, they can perform most of the duties of a pharmacist, but supervised by a fully-trained and licensed pharmacist. Interns are in the role to learn. A pharmacy technician has a much narrower role and cannot perform the same duties as a pharmacist. Technicians generally have not begun school, though they may intend to pursue pharmacy school in the future.
Upon my matriculation in August 2019, I will submit specific program related information to the Georgia Board of Pharmacy for my Pharmacy Intern License. Doing so, I will be able to perform most of the duties of a pharmacist, but supervised by a fully-trained and licensed pharmacist. Until then, I'm soaking up such important information from my fellow technicians that I hope to use in school and as an intern in August!
I really hope my route and information in this post helps someone!
Please note that this approach can be taken for pre-med internships, pre-dental internships, and even pre-vet internships.
Let me know if this helped you below in the comments!
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