Working with Patients
Our PharmD students share how their clinical training prepared them to be great pharmacists.
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Hands-on Clinical Training For Patient Care Experience
The Experiential Education Program is the practical component of the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum, also known as clerkships or rotations. Students apply knowledge and gain skills in real pharmacy settings where they can care for patients and work alongside licensed healthcare professionals under the supervision of a pharmacist preceptor.
The required hours are broken into two categories: introductory experiences (IPPEs) and advanced experiences (APPEs). They are crucial parts of our curriculum because they help our students experience different pharmacy career paths and health care settings while growing into industry-leading professionals over the course of their time at UW–Madison.
Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs) are part-time experiences where students begin to engage in professional pharmacy work. Students observe professionals, complete guided activities, reflect on what they’ve seen, and participate in pharmacist roles in a variety of pharmacy settings.
PharmD students complete IPPEs during their first, second, and third years of the curriculum. Students may elect to complete IPPE hours during the academic year, or during summer or winter breaks.
Over the course of these practice experiences, you’ll be provided with opportunities to grow and learn.
Year One Students (DPH-1):
- Engage with pharmacists in the community, institutional, and elective settings in guided experiences.
- Care for their community through partnership with local older adults for a longitudinal intergenerational learning experience.
- Work as a team with their older adult partner to enhance their communication and collaboration skills while promoting successful aging.
- Promote the public health role of the pharmacist during community outreach activities.
Year Two Students (DPH-2):
- Engage with pharmacists at three unique practice sites. In addition to community and institutional sites, students choose an elective site in a specialty practice area.
- Participate in community pharmacy and patient health literacy assessments.
- Observe interprofessional communications and explore public health related services in institutional settings.
Year Three Students (DPH-3):
- Actively provide care for patients under the supervision of pharmacist preceptors.
- Apply critical thinking skills in answering an authentic complex medication- or practice-related question assigned by their preceptors.
- Critically review complex medication regimens to identify potential medication-related problems.
Our students complete IPPEs at sites in six different regions in Wisconsin (see map below). PharmD students must complete a total of 300 IPPE hours during the first three years of the PharmD program.
IPPE Experience of a PharmD Student
PharmD student Hunter Furley shares his observations during his IPPE rotation and discovers the innovative patient care practice of community pharmacies, where they are ambulatory care pharmacists working in a community setting.
Read his blogAPPEs are full-time experiences where students in their fourth year learn and practice the role of a pharmacist under the supervision of a pharmacist preceptor.
APPEs are completed in the fourth year, beginning in late May and continuing full-time for a calendar year. They may be completed in six different regions in Wisconsin (see map below) or at locations around the world. Students will complete 7 to 8, 6-week experiences.
- Actively provide care for patientsUnder the supervision of the pharmacist preceptor, students continue to build on skills learned in introductory experiences to manage patient care. Students complete at least one rotation in a hospital and at least one rotation in a clinical pharmacy settings focusing on patient care.
- Assess medication systemsStudents review medication systems and make recommendations to optimize the safety and efficacy of medication use in pharmacy settings. Students complete one rotation in a hospital and one rotation in a community pharmacy settings focusing on medication systems management.
- Teach health and wellnessStudent pharmacists work to ensure patients attain healthy lifestyles. Students administer immunizations, perform tobacco cessation counseling, and provide nutrition and physical activity education and support.
- Engage with patients and providersStudents work with the interprofessional health care team in patient care decision-making to provide optimal drug therapy. Students learn critical team-based interaction skills including team dynamics, conflict resolution, and respect for other members of the team.
- Practice professionalismAs they transition from student pharmacists to professional pharmacists, PharmD students demonstrate professionalism in their attitudes and behaviors consistent with a respected member of the pharmacy profession.
- Explore pharmacy practice optionsPharmD students select up to four elective rotations that range from pediatrics, geriatrics, transplant, infectious disease pharmacy practice to non-patient care settings such as research, teaching, state organizations and the FDA. Students may also select from international rotations in different countries — Belize, China, England, Oman, South Africa, Spain, and Thailand.
- Other opportunities for Year 4 studentsStudents can participate in a residency track APPE to prepare for post-graduate training, take part in global/public health focus rotations to complement a Masters or Certificate in Public Health, or participate in UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research programs to obtain a Masters or Certificate in translational research.
See degree options
Both Introductory and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences are available in six regions in the state of Wisconsin. The star represents the rotation center in each region.
