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Pharmacy Practice Experiences in the Pharm.D. Program
All students are required to be registered pharmacy technicians with student designation in the state of Illinois by the end of the first quarter of enrollment. This registration must be maintained for the entire enrollment period.
Students must be in full compliance with University requirements regarding student health insurance, criminal background checks, drug-free and substance abuse policies and immunizations prior to beginning any experiential course.
All students must successfully complete 12 credit hours of introductory pharmacy practice experiences (IPPEs) during the second professional year. These must be completed in community and health-systems. Students must complete six full-time (40 hours/week) advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) during their third professional year. Each rotation is 6 weeks in length. APPEs include rotations in community advanced pharmacy, health system advanced pharmacy, ambulatory care, general medicine, patient care and one elective.
Distant Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences
Distant Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs) are defined as 6-week APPEs that are at practice sites outside the greater Chicago area. The greater Chicago area is defined as sites within Chicago and the surrounding counties of Cook, Will, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Kendall, and Grundy, as well as parts of DeKalb and Winnebago County, Northwestern Indiana and Southeastern Wisconsin. Students in good academic and disciplinary standing as determined by the College may participate in distant APPEs. Distant APPEs are subject to final approval on an individual basis by the Director of the Office of Experiential Education (OEE). During their PS-2 year students may apply to be considered for placement on distant APPEs. Students must attend all mandatory distant APPE meetings and adhere to all assignment deadline dates. All requests will be considered, but placement priority will occur in the following order:
- Students requesting distant APPEs in the same city as their permanent (family) address within the United States.
- Students requesting distant APPEs administered by the United States Public Health Services (e.g. Indian Health Services, Bureau of Prisons).
- Students requesting distant APPEs in cities within the United States where relatives will provide housing for the student.
- Students requesting a distant APPE in a state they may be moving to after graduation.
All distant APPE sites and preceptors must be approved by OEE, and an affiliation agreement must be executed prior to the student beginning the rotation. There is no guarantee that requested distant APPEs will be approved and scheduled. Schedule changes resulting from changes in a preceptor's availability may result in a denied distant APPE request. Students doing distant APPEs are also responsible for contacting the Board of Pharmacy in the state where they are placed to determine the licensure requirement(s) for students on rotations in that state. The student must comply with the requirements for that state and provide proof of compliance to OEE. All travel and living expenses are the student's responsibility.