1/15/2020
I just finished up my first official rotation of pharmacy school! At Mercer, we have a 2-week community rotation that we can complete after our P1 year, either in the Summer or Winter break during P2 year. I chose to do mine during Winter break at Poole’s Pharmacy, an independent pharmacy here in Atlanta. It was an absolutely amazing experience and I learned so much! I decided to create a list of the top 10 tips to having a successful rotation, so enjoy!
- Arrive early, every day! Nothing makes a better impression than punctuality. Make sure you arrive with plenty of time to spare, especially in that busy traffic in Atlanta.
- Take initiative and ask if there’s anything you can do, special projects, etc. If you’re interested in a specific area of patient care or business, ask if there’s a way you can take on more responsibility. For example, I love compounding so I took on the task of doing all the compounds for the time I was there, and learned so much!
- Be ready to learn! Always step up to take on a task, even if you may have never done it before. I was always quick to take on counseling opportunities, immunizations, and learn about the clinical services that Poole’s offers.
- Go above and beyond, stay late if needed, be willing to do things that may not technically be a part of your “job description” as an intern. For example, especially at a community pharmacy this may mean completing inventory, pulling expired drugs, taking out the trash. Though they may not be the most glamorous, these are all things that a pharmacist would do and help to make a good impression on your preceptor and coworkers.
- Ask questions! Don’t take the chance of making an error that could cause extra work to correct or put a patient in danger if you are unsure of procedures. Every pharmacy works a little differently, so you may have a bit of a learning curve at first, but it never hurts to ask if you are confused!
- Build long term relationships with the people around you, get contact information for your pharmacists so that you can continue maintaining that connection throughout the future. You may want to do another rotation during P4 year at that pharmacy, or may need career advice or a letter of recommendation at some point.
- Dress professionally. Wear your white coat, pressed and clean, don’t forget your name tag. I was allowed to wear scrubs at my specific rotation, but some pharmacies will require business casual or professional. Always be sure to make yourself presentable as you are representing your college of pharmacy, and want to make a good impression.
- Give excellent patient care and use your clinical knowledge whenever possible. Remember, this pharmacy is allowing you to represent them as well. You should always be kind to patients and try to practice all those skills you’ve been learning during school, that’s the whole point of a rotation!
- Have a good attitude, be positive about everything you’re asked to do. Never complain or act like a task is beneath you. This is a huge part of making a good impression on everyone around you!
- Bring thank you notes for your last day. I even added cupcakes and caramel M&Ms (a pharmacy favorite) with mine! Your preceptor and all the other members of the team put in a lot of time and effort into teaching you over the past couple of weeks, and deserve to be recognized for that!
Thank you again to everyone at Poole’s Pharmacy for letting me join your family for the past couple of weeks! I hope to be back soon!
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