ChoosingYourAPPERotations
PresentedbyMaraKieser,MS,RPh
ResidencyClub
September21,2016
ThingstoconsiderwhenchoosingyourAPPErotations...
1. Keepinmindthattheseexperienceswillbethebaseofyourfuturecareerasapharmacist.Don’tshort
change yourself. Pick rotations that will challenge you to be the best pharmacist you can be. Take
advantageofhavingthepreceptoravailableforquestionsandguidance.Onceyougraduateandare
licensed,youmaypossiblybeworkingonyourownwithnoonetoask. 2. Whatareasofpharmacypracticeinterestyou?Thisistheonlytimeinyourcareerthatyouwillhave
time to try out different pharmacy settings and practices. Don’t be afraid to explore your interests.
Evenifyoufindoutthatthepracticeisnotwhatyouthought,itisgoodtoknowina6-weekexperience
ratherthantakingajobandworkingatthepositionforpossiblyayear. 3. Choose a variety of experiences. Again, this is the time to get a wide exposure to pharmacy and to
understandhowthingsworkinmultiplepracticesettings.Thinkabouttransitionsofcare.Wheredo
patientsgetcare?Ambulatory,community,toacute,homehealth,andlongtermcare.Itwillhelpyou
laterknowingwhathasorwhatwillhappentothepatientinthepreviousornextcaresetting.Youwill
mostlikelyspecializebydoingapost-graduatetraining. 4. Don’t be afraid to do a rotation that is not in your local area. There are many hidden gems waiting for
studentstocomeandlearn.Don’tletdistancebeabarrier.Checktoseeifhousingisavailableas
somesitesdoofferhousing.Checktheclerkshipwebpageforhousinginformation. 5. Manyofyourrotationsmaybeconsidereda6-weekjobinterview.Ifyouareinterestedinworkingatasite
consideringdoinganAPPEtheresoyoucangetafeelforthepharmacypractice.Justremember,while
youarelookingatthem,theyarelookingatyou!!! 6. Timing.Somestudentsprefertogettheirrequiredcoursesdonefirsttoprovideabasistobuildonforthe
remainingelectivecourses.Youmaybeabletodothisbuteveryonewillnotbeabletoschedulethe
rotationsinthisorder.Somestudentslikedoingthecommunityinthespringblockssothatcanreview
WIlawclosertowhentheywilltaketheMPJE. 7. Timing.Ifyouareplanningonapplyingforaresidency,youmaywishtogetrotationsatthesiteorasimilar
siteinthesummerorfallrotations.Thisallowsyoutoseeifyoudolikethetypeofpracticeandto
potentiallyestablisharelationshipwiththepreceptortoobtainlettersofreference. 8. Timing.YoumaywishtoconsiderwhentheASHPresidencyshowcaseis(block5).Therewillbeanextra
weekbuiltinforstudentstoattendtheAHSPMidyearmeeting.ApplicationsaredueonPhORCASby
January1formostsites.Youmayalsowanttoconsidertherotationsthatyoudoinblocks6and7as
interviewstakeplaceduringthistime.Youmayneedtomisstimeandneedtomakeuphoursduring
theseblocks.Checkthetimesthesiteisavailableforstudentstoseeifyouwillbeabletomakeup
missedtime.(IEweekends,nights).
_____Blk1May22-June30,2017
_____Blk2July3-August11,2017
_____Blk3Aug14-Sept22,2017
_____Blk4Sept25-Nov3,2017
_____Blk5Nov6–Dec22,2017
_____Blk6Jan1-Feb9,2018 _____Blk7Feb12–Mar23,2018
_____Blk8Mar26–May4,2018
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9.Wheretofindinformationabouttherotations:
a.
Clerkshipwebpage-youcansortsitesbytypeandregion.Whenreadingaboutthesites payattention
tothePRE-SITEREQUIREMENTS.JustlikewithyourIPPEs,theserequirementsmustbecompleted
priortothestartoftherotation.Ifyouarenon-compliant,youmaydelaythestartofyourrotations.
Somerequirementsincludebutarenotlimitedto....10-panelurinetests,otherheathvaccinations,
pre-siteorientationmodules,fingerprinting,HIPAArequirements. b.
Careerfair-siteswillhaveboothsatthefairforyoutoaskaboutAPPEsiteinformation.Therewillbe
roundtablediscussionsforyoutomeetinsmallgroupdiscussionswiththepreceptors.Lookfor
moreinformationtocome. c.
ExperientialEducationOfficeMondays8am-noon.Iamhappytoadviseaboutrotations. d.
Otherstudents–Keepinmindthateachstudenthashis/herownbiaswhichmaynotapplytoyou.I
have students who love a site and others who dislike the same site. It depends on what you are
lookingforandyourskillssets. e.
Avoidcontactingsitesviaemail.Theyarebusywiththeircurrentstudentsandwesurveythemon
theiravailability. f.
Books–
i. MaximizeYourRotationsbyMateM.Soric.ASHP2013. ii. The AACP Field Guide to Becoming a Standout Pharmacy Resident Candidate by Jerry L.
BaumanandKeriA.Sims.AACP2012. iii. Get the Residency. ASHP’s Guide to Residency Interviews and Preparation by Joshua
Caballero,KevinA.Clauson,andSandraBenavides.ASHP2012. g.
Article– i.MorganJ.Choosingyourfourth-yearrotationswisely.ASHP.2015;72:22-23.
10.
Comeupwithyourlistofpotentialsites.Youwillbeassignedyourregionpriortopickingspecific
rotations.Youneedtohaveoptionsforeachround.Acute/hospital;ambulatory/community;elective
1;elective2;elective3;elective4.Therewillbeaweektoreviewbytheexperientialeducationoffice.
Youwillhaveasignuptimeandstudentssignupeveryfewminuteseachday. 11.
Avoidpickingduplicatetypeexperiences...egtwochainpharmacies,twoICUrotations,twosurgical
rotations, two long term care rotations, two independent pharmacies. You will be asked to switch
duringthepost-weekvettingifyoupickduplicateexperiences. 12.
Haveabackupplanreadyatthetimeyouarepicking.Knowthatyouwillendupwhereyoushould
be.Youwilllearnwhatyouneedatthesites. 13.
Details–BIDifyouhaveapositivebackgroundcheck,wewillbesendingtheinformationtothesite
andthesitewillhavethefinalsayiftheywilltakeyou. 14.
Beopentolearning.Youmaybetheratelimitingstepinthelearningprocess.Mostpreceptorswill
teachasmuchasyouarewillingtolearn.Youwillneedtoworkharderthanthepreceptorwhenit
comestoyourlearning. 2
AudienceQuestions
Q:Howmanyoftheeightrotationsneedtobeinourhub?
A:Fouroutoftheeightrotationsmustbeinthehub.
Q:Whatorder(elective,required,etc)dowepickin?
A: International rotation slots will count as first elective rotations, otherwise it will be required hospital
pairingsfirstround,thesecondroundisrequiredcommunityoutpatient,thefollowing4dayswillbepicking
electives.Requiredhospital“pairings”meanshavingthesamehospitalandcommunity/Ambsite,likelybackto-backblocks.SomestudentssendpreliminarylistofsitestoProfKiesertoverifythatrequirementsarebeing
metandthattheyaresetupforbestexperiencepossible.Studentsareencouragedtotakesomequiettime
andfocusonwhatyou’relookingfor(e.g.morehospital,morecommunity)fromtheAPPEexperience.
Q:Whatisthebestwaytogetsomebackgroundinformationoneachsite?
A:Canlookatdescriptionsimmediatelyfollowingtonight’smeeting
Q:CanIdoAPPEsoutofstateofWisconsin?Ifso,what'stheprocess?Aretherelimitations?
A: Students who want to do out-of-state APPEs need to follow out-of-state policy aka needs to have been
arrangedintheSpringbeforerotationsarepicked.Thereisanon-bindingsurveysentouttoDPH-2classin
thespringsemestertogaugeinterest.Tobeapproved,theAPPEsitemustnothaveacomparableexperience
withinthestateofWI(duetoaccreditationguidelines).
Q;Isthereatimeyou’dsuggesttodoaninternationalrotation?
A:ProfKiesersuggestedBlock6ifit’sstillavailablebecausetherearetwoextraweeksbuiltinleavingmore
timetogettorotationearlyandtravel.
Q:OncetheAPPE-RTstudentshavebeenidentified,whatfactorsaretakenintoconsiderationwhendeciding
region?
A:AtfirstallDPH-3studentswillbeputintheirdesiredhub.AtthatpointProfKieserwillmakereadjustments.
Forthisreason,studentsarerequiredtorankall6regions.Hubconsiderationsaremadeforuniquesituations
thatstudentsmakeknowninthecommentssection.
Q:Howdoeshousingworkforsuchashortperiod(now6weeks)?
A:Seekoutmonth-to-monthleaseoptionswithinthehub.
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