Experiential Education
Experiential education offers each student real-life, active participation in contemporary pharmacy practice within a variety of pharmacy practice settings. Introductory and advanced experiences are designed to allow the student to integrate, apply, reinforce and advance the knowledge, skills, attitudes, abilities, and behaviors developed throughout curricular and co-curricular activities.
The Union University College of Pharmacy provides a continuum of required and elective pharmacy practice experiences throughout the curriculum. From introductory experiences in the first three professional years to advanced experiences in the third and fourth years, experiential education represents approximately one-third of the four-year curriculum.
The Office of Experiential Education (OEE) is responsible for the planning, scheduling, assessment, and quality oversight of the experiential education program. In collaboration with Clinical Preceptors, advisory committees, and students, the OEE strives to ensure that the experiential program meets or exceeds ACPE Standards as well as the college's mission and educational outcomes.
What Students are Saying about Preceptors
I am so thankful for how Dr. Eschete at North Mississippi Medical Center challenged me this month. She had me thinking in ways that I normally wouldn't and put me to work on things that were new to me (i.e. TPNs). She helped me address my weaknesses and grow and learn from them. She also provided me with different avenues to learn and new experiences. She provided me guidance, yet also allowed me time to learn things on my own. It was evident that the patient comes first. Dr. Eschete went to great lengths to make sure that every patient received the care that they deserved. She was a true team player. She was compassionate and passionate about patient care. I really wish I could have had this rotation with her during a longer month!
INTRODUCTORY PHARMACY PRACTICE EXPERIENCES (IPPE)
The Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs) are completed by students in the first 2.5 years of the didactic curriculum. IPPEs are designed to expose students to contemporary pharmacy practice models, including interprofessional practice involving shared patient care decision-making, professional ethics and expected behaviors, and direct patient care activities. IPPEs are structured and sequenced to intentionally develop in students a clear understanding of what constitutes exemplary pharmacy practice.
ADVANCED PHARMACY PRACTICE EXPERIENCES (APPE)
The Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs) are completed by third- and fourth-year students during the final fifteen months of the curriculum. The APPE curriculum consists of 10 one-month rotations which collectively emphasize continuity of care and incorporate acute, chronic, and wellness-promoting patient-care services in both the outpatient (community practice/ambulatory care) and inpatient (hospital/health system) settings. They expose students to diverse patient populations, and they promote the delivery of direct patient care as part of an interdisciplinary team. APPE are typically 40-hours per week, however the daily schedule is left to the discretion of the individual Clinical Preceptor.
Six Required APPEs:
- Advanced Institutional Practice
- Advanced Chain Community Practice
- Advanced Independent Community Practice
- Ambulatory Care
- Acute Care Internal Medicine
- Acute Care (various options)
Elective APPEs are offered in a variety of practice settings to provide students with the opportunity to explore additional areas of pharmacy practice. Elective APPE include the following:
- Acute Care (in addition to the required APPEs)
- Advanced Chain or Independent Community Practice (in addition to the required APPE)
- Community Practice Management
- Institutional Practice Management
- Pharmacy Association Management
- Home Infusion
- Managed Care
- Medication Safety
- Pharmacy Informatics
- Pharmacy Telemedicine
- Nuclear Pharmacy
- Compounding
- Sterile Products
- Veterinary Pharmacy
- Pedagogy
- Research
IPPEs and APPEs are scheduled throughout the four-year program with Clinical Preceptors at affiliated practice sites throughout Tennessee and in more than 30 states. In aggregate, the required and elective APPEs strongly support the preparation of collaborative practice ready pharmacists.