The purpose of Introductory Pharmacy Practice experiences is to allow students to gain a greater appreciation for the profession of pharmacy as practiced in the community, and to develop professional attitudes, judgment and skills needed to function in that setting. The setting for this IPPE is select community pharmacy environments (chain and independent) that will incorporate students into the daily operation of the pharmacy.
Community pharmacy training is an integral element of pharmacy practice. It is imperative that all future pharmacists receive training in this pharmacy practice setting. Due to ease of accessibility, community pharmacists can have an enormous impact on patient care. In order to provide a more thorough education to students, the community pharmacy practice experience provides an early experience to reinforce concepts learned in the classroom. As students engage in this IPPE, they will learn the key concepts involved with the basic operations of community pharmacy practice.
Upon completion of this IPPE, the following goals should be accomplished:
- The student demonstrates an acceptable level of professional maturity.
- The student demonstrates appropriate initiative regarding experience activities and assignments.
- The student exhibits responsibility and dependability regarding experience activities.
- The student demonstrates the ability to utilize basic drug information resources.
- The student demonstrates the ability to process prescriptions accurately and efficiently.
- The student demonstrates the ability to obtain and maintain accurate and current patient profiles.
- The student demonstrates the ability to acquire and retain new knowledge regarding common disease states and medications encountered during the experience.
- The student demonstrates the ability to identify basic medication-related problems and discuss basic patient treatment goals and options encountered during the experience.
- The student displays appropriate verbal and written communication skills and is receptive to feedback.
- The student will demonstrate satisfactory achievement or better on competency skill set as outlined in Part II of the evaluation.
Upon completion of this IPPE, the student should be able to:
- Demonstrate a concern for a patient’s health and identify the health promotion role of the pharmacist in the community.
- Conduct a patient interview and obtain a basic medication history.
- Convey basic information regarding nonprescription medications.
- Demonstrate knowledge of various aspects of community pharmacy practice including but not limited to: inventory procedures, pricing, pharmacist-technician interaction, third party payments and plans, pharmacy licensing, recordkeeping, and security.
- Demonstrate an understanding of legal requirements, recordkeeping, dispensing, or sale of different drug classes.
- Demonstrate effective patient counseling skills.
- Communicate effectively with healthcare providers.
- Demonstrate mature and professional attitudes, habits, values, ethics, and behaviors.
- The student can conduct a patient interview and obtain a medication history.
- The student can record the appropriate information when taking a prescription by telephone or when receiving a prescription from a patient.
- The student can process a written or telephone order by entering the prescription for a patient.
- The student can demonstrate the assembly of a prescription including retrieval of prescription label, selection and verification of correct drug selection, counting the medication, fixation of prescription label and auxiliary stickers, and preparation for final verification by a pharmacist.
- The student can explain the difference between medication schedules and the appropriate measures taken in inventory, ordering, and dispensing of certain scheduled medications.
- The student can describe legal issues that are pertinent to community pharmacy practice.
- The student can perform applicable calculations related to filling a prescription.
- The student can describe inventory management processes such as ordering, receiving, checking in, and recording medication stock.
- The student can retrieve and provide nonprescription and prescription drug information.
- The student can identify brand and generic names, dosage forms and strengths, therapeutic class and basic indication for frequently prescribed medications.