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G. Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience Overview

The Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPE) at SWOSU College of Pharmacy will provide the student pharmacist with opportunities to observe the application of knowledge in a variety of pharmacy practice settings and provide opportunities for professional growth.

IPPEs, by their very nature, begin early in the curriculum yet interface readily with didactic and laboratory course work to provide an introduction to the profession of pharmacy. IPPEs continue progressively in a manner designed to lead to and prepare the student for entry into the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences. Students earn both academic credit and State Board of Pharmacy intern hours during their IPPE rotations.

The four major components of this more than 300-hour IPPE program at SWOSU are:

  1. Integrated IPPE activities involve patient care activities and occur as components of, and are associated with, several didactic and laboratory courses, for tracking purposes. Examples of these activities include: physical assessment skills training, patient interview training and performance, patient counseling training and performance, patient physical assessments, health care screenings, patient case preparation and presentations, emergency room rotations and observations, blood pressure skills training, and medication therapy management, to name a few. These activities are primarily associated with courses within the pharmacy practice department course offerings such as the Introduction to Pharmacy course, the Drug Information course, the Foundations in Pharmacy Practice course, and the Pharmaceutical Care 4 Lab course
  2. Simulated IPPE activities will take place at various times during the curriculum and involve structured activities that are intended to replicate or simulate selected activities/duties/processes that occur in pharmacy practice. Examples of these activities include: Interviewing skills simulations and immunization training. These activities are primarily associated within the pharmacy practice department course offerings such as Introduction to Pharmacy course and Pharmaceutical Care 4 Lab course.
  3. Pharm 3213 Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience – Community
    Full-time, three-week practicum conducted in a community pharmacy; provides introductory experiences in contemporary pharmacy practice including:  dispensing, prescription processing systems, management, and patient counseling.
    Prerequisite:  PHARM 3311, PHARM 3813
    The Community IPPE component will consist of a three-week length rotation (three workweeks of 40 hours per week of on-site time) at an approved introductory community pharmacy practice site.  This rotation will generally be schedule to occur after the completion of the 1st or 2nd semester of pharmacy school enrollment.  The rotations will be scheduled to occur during the summer months (May, June, July, or August).
  4. Pharm 4223 Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience – Institutional
    Full-time, three-week practicum conducted in an institutional pharmacy, provides introductory experiences in contemporary institutional pharmacy practice including:  dispensing, medication management systems; policies and procedures in institutional pharmacy.
    Prerequisite:  PHARM 4142, PHARM 4331
    Institutional IPPE.  This three-week course is taken during the summer at the end of the third or fourth semester of the pharmacy curriculum.