Pharmacy Practice Experiences
Experiential education is a central component of the Doctor of Pharmacy program, beginning virtually the first day of the professional program and continuing until graduation.
Under the mentorship of over 500 leading practitioners at some of the nation’s top hospital systems, including Mount Sinai, New York Presbyterian, and NYU Langone Health, our students are introduced to the pharmacy profession and the provision of pharmaceutical care through practical experience rotations in different healthcare environments.
Experiential rotations prepare students for the real world by giving you the opportunity to interact with other members of a health care team in various patient care settings. Throughout the three years of the professional phase, students will build the confidence, professionalism, and competency to participate in the drug use decision making process, to select the correct medication and dosage for a given situation, to interact with health-care professionals and peers, to communicate with patients and/or care-givers, to solve issues related to the use of medications and document them, to utilize drug information skills to respond to queries, to assist pharmacists in dispensing medications, and to develop in-depth pharmaceutical care plans.
In addition to becoming practice ready, practical experience rotations are also a unique opportunity to make an impression, build a professional network, and learn what areas of the profession is right for you. Pharmacy students often receive job offers at former experiential placements after graduation.
All students enrolled in pharmacy courses with an experiential component are required to have satisfactory yearly physical examination reports. A completed health form must be submitted to the Office of Experiential Education by the deadline dates established for each academic term. It is the responsibility of each student to visit a physician and to obtain a physical examination, specific laboratory tests and immunizations at the student’s own expense. Students must show proof of quantitative positive titers for rubella, rubeola, mumps, varicella and hepatitis B; proof of vaccination and/or qualitative reports are not acceptable to practice sites for these tests. Additionally, students must show proof of a baseline hepatitis C titer which can be qualitative, laboratory report of baseline urinalysis, CBC(complete blood count), and basic metabolic panel as well as proof of having received appropriate booster doses of diphtheria and tetanus (or Tdap). Students need to obtain a test for exposure to tuberculosis – e.g., a PPD (or Mantoux tuberculin test) or a QuantiFeron – immediately before and then every year during experiential education. If a PPD is performed, a 2-step test is required annually; other assessments during the year may be with a 1-step procedure if performed within one year of a previous test. A positive Mantoux (PPD) test will require that the student get a chest x-ray and be assessed for the presence of tuberculosis. The decision to treat the student needs to be discussed with the individual physician. In addition, all students are to be tested for syphilis before commencing an experiential course. Students are also required to obtain an influenza vaccine each year (usually due in October).
The College reserves the right to require additional medical tests or documentation it determines are necessary for protecting the health of the student, other health-care providers and patients. Individual sites affiliated with the pharmacy program may require additional medical information from students, and may require that students submit various forms directly to the experiential site prior to beginning an experiential course.
It is the student’s responsibility to fulfill these requirements in order to participate in experiential courses. Failure to submit required reports within the specified time period automatically results in a monetary fine and may deny admittance of students to pharmacy courses with experiential components. Students must prove that they are knowledgeable of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) as it relates to pharmacy and complete appropriate OSHA training. As such, students will complete College-approved HIPAA and OSHA training programs and might need to complete additional training at individual practice sites.
Prior to beginning introductory and advanced pharmacy practice experiences, each student needs to submit proof of being a U.S. citizen or non-citizen national, is a lawfully admitted immigrant for permanent residence, or is a temporary visitor lawfully admitted for educational study. In addition, students are required to complete an annual criminal background check, and undergo a toxicology screen to identify drug use. Many sites reserve the right to repeat background checks and drug screens prior to or during an experiential course.
CONTACT
LIU Pharmacy
Arash T. Dabestani
PharmD, MHA, FASHP, FABC
Dean
718-488-1004
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