Making the most of advanced pharmacy practice experiences

Colleges of pharmacy are asked to produce graduates who are prepared to contribute to patient care directly through collaborations with other healthcare providers.1 Advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) provide student pharmacists with opportunities to grow their knowledge, develop professionally, and apply skills acquired throughout their pharmacy training. Education in experiential environments facilitates the development of a “practice-ready” and “team-ready” individual through increased exposure to new areas of pharmacy, often alongside other healthcare professionals, while solidifying the foundation in areas of practice and knowledge already experienced. APPEs challenge students to grow in areas such as patient care, literature evaluation, oral presentations, and dissemination of written work. Each new experience provides a multitude of opportunities for students, and it is our hope that this guide will assist students along their journey. How APPEs can differ. Qualities and components of APPEs may vary among colleges of pharmacy. Two differences are the duration of the APPEs (e.g., 1 calendar month or 4–6 weeks) and the duration of APPEs in the college’s curriculum (e.g., 9–16 months). Other factors students may consider when requesting APPEs are the location and the variety of practice sites available. APPEs at academic medical centers may provide a greater breadth and depth of clinical, direct patient care opportunities and unique cases compared with other practice sites. In addition, the number of preceptors qualified and available to precept students may vary among colleges and may include residents as preceptors or copreceptors. Some colleges of pharmacy have a “track” or “block” program that allows a student to spend a significant portion or all of his or her APPEs at a single site. These programs help reduce the time the student and practice site must spend acclimating to each other and allow for efficiency in student learning and productivity. Students in these programs may be able to receive more individualized, longitudinal mentor-ship but often accept that the quality or quantity of their performance and assignments are met with higher expectations from preceptors. Some institutions view these programs as “mini-residencies” because of the clinical practice, service, and research components that many contain. This format may be attractive to students who are considering postgraduate training or who may be unable to complete postgraduate training but desire a challenging APPE year in preparation for their entry into the job market.2