Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
(a)
Pharmacy internship means the supervised practical experience required for
licensure as a registered pharmacist. The purpose of the pharmacy internship
program is to provide a registered intern with the knowledge and practical
experience necessary for functioning competently and effectively upon
licensure.
(b) Registration as a
pharmacy intern will be available to an individual of good moral character who
has completed at least 2 years of college and is enrolled or accepted as a
student of pharmacy in an ACPE-accredited pharmacy degree program. A person
desiring to register as a pharmacy intern shall do the following:
(1) Apply to the Board for registration
including the fee specified in §
27.91 (relating to schedule of
fees) for registering as a pharmacy intern.
(2) Forward to the Board acceptable
documentation verifying that the applicant has successfully completed at least
2 years of college and is enrolled or accepted as a student of pharmacy in an
ACPE-accredited pharmacy degree program. Acceptable documentation includes a
document bearing the school's seal received by the Board directly from the dean
or registrar of the ACPE-accredited pharmacy degree program which includes the
pharmacy student's name, address, Social Security number, and a statement
indicating that the student has successfully completed at least 2 years of
college and is enrolled or accepted as a student of pharmacy in, or has
graduated from, the ACPE-accredited pharmacy degree program.
(c) The Board will register an
applicant after it receives a completed application and other items in
subsection (b). A pharmacy intern registration is valid for 6 years from the
date of issue exclusive of time spent in the military. A pharmacy intern
registration will automatically become invalid if the pharmacy intern
permanently ceases enrollment in an ACPE-accredited pharmacy degree program
prior to graduation. A pharmacy intern whose registration becomes invalid under
this subsection shall immediately return to the Board the pharmacy intern
registration and preceptor approval documents.
(d) The following applies to internship
credit:
(1) An intern shall serve at least
1,500 hours.
(2) A maximum of 50
hours may be credited in 1 week.
(3) An intern shall serve at least 500 of the
1,500 hours in a pharmacy.
(4) An
intern may earn up to 1,000 of the 1,500 hours in an internship program
sponsored or approved by an ACPE-accredited pharmacy degree program.
(5) The Board may grant internship credit for
hours that an individual served in a pharmacy before the individual registered
as an intern only if the individual shows good cause for failing to register in
timely fashion.
(6) The Board will
not grant internship credit for hours which an individual served in a pharmacy
if the supervising pharmacist was not registered as a preceptor. An exception
to the requirement that the supervising pharmacist register as a preceptor will
be made for internship hours acquired in an internship program sponsored or
approved by an ACPE-accredited pharmacy degree program.
(e) The Board will grant internship credit
only for activities related to the practice of pharmacy. The following are
examples of these activities: scrutinizing prescriptions or drug orders, taking
oral orders for prescriptions by telephone or otherwise, compounding
medications and filling prescriptions. The Board will not grant internship
credit for activities which are not related to the practice of
pharmacy.
(f) An intern who wishes
to receive credit for internship experience that is not in a pharmacy or
sponsored or approved by an APCE-accredited pharmacy degree program shall apply
to the Board for approval before beginning an internship experience. Upon
receipt of the application, the Board will review and determine how much, if
any, credit will be given. Requests for approval shall be submitted at least 90
days before the internship experience begins. Credit given for a nontraditional
internship may not be used to satisfy the requirement of subsection (d)(3)
pertaining to the minimum amount of time the internship shall be served in a
pharmacy.
(g) A person may not be
eligible to become a candidate for registration to practice pharmacy unless the
person receives instruction in practical pharmacy and pharmaceutical technique
from an instructor, professor or faculty member who is a registered pharmacist
or from a faculty member who is a registered pharmacist at an ACPE-accredited
pharmacy degree program.
(h) The
following requirements are applicable to a pharmacy utilized for intern
training:
(1) A pharmacy may not have been or
be in violation of Federal, State or municipal statutes and ordinances
governing any phase of activity in which it is engaged. A pharmacy may appeal
to the Board for a waiver of this provision.
(2) A pharmacy shall be managed so that the
emphasis is on activities connected with the distribution of articles and
services pertaining to medical care, including drugs, medicines, prescriptions,
medical supplies and materials.
(3)
A pharmacy shall be kept in a sanitary, orderly and clean condition, and the
prescription department shall meet the requirements in the statutes and
regulations as they affect prescription departments.
(4) A pharmacy shall compound and dispense a
sufficient number of prescriptions including renewals so as to provide the
pharmacy intern with ample opportunity to scrutinize prescriptions and to
compound and dispense under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist.
(5) A pharmacy shall have in its employ a
licensed pharmacist who is registered as a pharmacist preceptor.
(6) A pharmacy which meets the qualifications
of this section shall be approved by the Board after proper notification by the
owner or manager of willingness to cooperate in the development of the
internship program. Whenever a new intern is accepted for training in the
pharmacy, the pharmacist preceptor shall notify the Board of the name of the
intern and his anticipated period of internship in the pharmacy.
(i) The requirements for
registration as a pharmacist preceptor are as follows:
(1) A pharmacist preceptor may not have been
convicted of a criminal offense relating to the practice of pharmacy.
(2) An applicant shall hold a license without
restriction to practice pharmacy in this Commonwealth and shall be engaged in
the active practice of pharmacy in this Commonwealth.
(3) An applicant shall be working on a
full-time basis in a pharmacy utilized for intern training.
(4) A pharmacist preceptor may not direct the
training of more than two pharmacy interns at any one time, unless the program
has been approved by the Board for a greater number.
(5) A pharmacist preceptor shall be willing
to cooperate with the Board in developing an intern program and shall apply to
the Board signifying the desire to do so.
(6) A pharmacist preceptor shall certify to
the commencement and completion of intern training and may make recommendations
to the Board concerning the competency of the intern under his
supervision.
(7) A pharmacist
preceptor shall report to the Board, as required by the Board, on the progress
of an intern under the pharmacist's supervision.
(8) A pharmacist preceptor shall be charged
with the responsibility for seeing that his intern receives proper
pharmaceutical training and experience, always keeping in mind the objections
of the practical training program.
(j) Credit will be granted for practical
experience gained in pharmacies outside this Commonwealth upon presentation of
evidence satisfactory to the Board to indicate that the experience gained is
substantially equivalent to that required by this chapter.
(k) The pharmacy internship may not be deemed
satisfactorily completed until the intern has filed affidavits with the Board
certifying that the intern has obtained a total of 1,500 hours of practical
experience since registration as a pharmacy intern.
(l) When a candidate receives his first
certificate and identification card to practice as a pharmacist, his
registration as an intern terminates.
This section cited in 49 Pa. Code §
27.1 (relating to definitions); 49
Pa. Code §
27.52 (relating to graduates of
foreign schools and noncitizens); and 49 Pa. Code §
27.402 (relating to application,
renewal and reactivation
procedures).
