Developing Beneficial Introductory Pharmacy
Practice Experiences (IPPEs)
Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital (RB&C)
Jacalyn Rogers, PharmD, MS, CHM, BCPS
Pediatric Pharmacy Manager
Scott Naples, PharmD, MBA
Operations Coordinator
Hannah Goldstein, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacist
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Objectives
• Identify the barriers to taking IPPE students within a
health-system
• Assess one hospital’s rationale for taking IPPE students
• Review the essential elements of an effective IPPE
program
• Describe the benefits for the students and the pharmacy
of creating an effective IPPE program
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Audience Poll
• How many of you currently take IPPE students?
• How many IPPE students do you take each year?
A. 1 to 5 Students
B. 5 to 10 Students
C. 10 to 15 Students
D. 15+ Students
• What are common barriers you have to taking IPPEs?
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Common Barriers
Preceptor Time
Rotation expectations
Quality of Students
Time limit of rotation
Integration into
department
“All my expirations are done...”
Too many requests
Knowledge deficits
Space limits
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Definitions
Community Service
Meets the learning needs of both the student a community
IPPE
Early experience exposure to pharmacy outside the walls of the college of pharmacy
APPE
Experiential education building on coursework with a goal to establish practicitioners and expose students to practice
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Each experience is a part of a continuum to prepare the student for post-graduation…
IPPE Standards
• Experiences must include:
– Direct interaction with patients
– Collaboration with other health care professionals
– Supervision by a pharmacist preceptor
• Suggested formats
– Shadowing pharmacists or APPE students
– Patient interviews
– Real practice experiences
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Appendix C Additional Guidance on Pharmacy
Practice Experiences
http://www.acpeaccredit.org/pdf/ACPE_Revised_Ph
armD_Standards_Adopted_Jan152006.DOC
“Real Practice Experiences”
• What I thought that meant as an IPPE student…
• What I actually did as an IPPE student…
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RB&C Goals
1. Develop and build confidence in new preceptors
2. Meet institutional goal of “To Teach”
3. Involve technicians
4. Create a pipeline for internship program
5. Extenders of pharmacists and technicians
6. Expose more students to pediatric pharmacy
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IPPE Students at RB&C
• 12 IPPE students from NEOMED each year
– P2 Students: 2 each block (6 each year)
• 8 hours/week x 8 weeks
– P3 Students: 2 each block (6 each year)
• 8 hours/week x 8 weeks
• Year-Specific Themes
– Medication-Use Systems
– Patient Safety
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IPPE Students at RB&C
• Current Structure:
– Exposure to pediatric pharmacy through many different:
• Departmental areas
• Pharmacy personal
• Activities
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IPPE Students at RB&C
• Functional Areas
– IV Room
– Unit Dose (HUB)
– General Pediatrics
– Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic
– Meds-to-Beds
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IPPE Students at RB&C
• Pharmacy Team Members
– Clinical Pharmacists
– Pharmacy Specialists
– Pharmacy Technicians
– Safety/IT/Operation Coordinators
– Pharmacy Manager
– System Office
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IPPE Students at RB&C
• Activities
– Shadow Pharmacists
– Prepare Medications (IV and PO)
– Topic Discussions
– Journal Club
– Attend Meetings/Presentations
– Help coordinators with projects
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Top 10 Things We Learned Through IPPE Feedback
10. Allow the student to see behind the curtain into hospital
administration’s world
9. It is important to customize the rotation experience to fit
the student’s interest
8. When something went wrong, blame it on Jackie
7. When something went right, give credit to your staff
6. Offer more clinical rotations
Top 10 Things We Learned Through IPPE Feedback
5. IPPE rotations are a great time to “try before you buy”
when hiring interns at your site!
4. Making IPPEs work in your IV room is great
experience… and is free labor
3. IPPEs can help cover technician turnover
2. Make sure the IPPEs feel like they have more than one
person they can reach out to when they have questions
Top 10 Things We Learned Through IPPE Feedback
1. Make sure all your staff knows all the IPPE student’s
names and can identify them.
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Future Improvements
• Visibility to the schedule for both
student and preceptor
– Schedule 360
• Offer the ability to shadow
clinical decentralized services
– Meds to Beds counseling
– Generalist Pharmacist
– Renal Pharmacist
– Pulmonary rounds
Future Improvements
• Meeting half way through the
rotation to check in with student
– Assign student (intern) mentor
• Great precepting opportunity for
residents
• Future longitudinal projects will
be assigned at the start of the
rotation
Conclusion
• Rotation goals align with focus of your department
– Safety
– Operations
– Clinical
– Regulatory
• Design a program that meets the unique needs of your
department and the students
• Feedback and quality improvement is instrumental in
creating a beneficial program
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