Experiential Pharmacy Education

The Office of Experiential Pharmacy Education at the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences oversees the experiential portion of the PharmD program. Preceptors, experiential sites, and students can find relevant documents and updates, including information on IPPE and APPE rotations.

What is Experiential Pharmacy Education? 

• Structured learning under the supervision of preceptors (pharmacists and other licensed professionals) in an authentic pharmacy setting outside of the classroom
• Augments classroom education by providing applied experiences in many contemporary aspects of pharmacy practice 
• Practice sites include:
  • community pharmacies
  • hospitals
  • ambulatory care clinics
  • research laboratories
  • managed care facilities
  • academia 
  • government agencies 
• Goals: to provide students the opportunity to apply their knowledge and develop the skills required of a practicing pharmacist. 

Why is Experiential Pharmacy Education Important? 

It provides the opportunity to:

• apply what you have learned in the classroom and in the laboratory to real-world settings
• problem solve, develop skills, and provide patient care services 
• make decisions based on professional knowledge and judgment
• interact with diverse patient populations 
• network and collaborate with established clinical practitioners 

Our Team

Rotations

• Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience
  • IPPE Syllabus – Community
  • IPPE Syllabus – Institutional
  • IPPE Syllabus – Elective
  • IPPE rotations occur during the first three professional years of the PharmD program, providing a total of 320 hours of direct pharmacy experience.
  • IPPEs include community practice, institutional practice, integrative health, and elective experiences.
• Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience
  • APPE Syllabus (coming soon)
  • APPE rotations occur during the final year of the PharmD program. Students complete six rotations, 6-weeks each, providing 1440 hours of pharmacy practice experience across a range of practice sites.
  • Required rotations include community, institutional, acute care, and ambulatory care.
• Experiential sites:
  • The students will be exposed to rotation sites that offer a broad variety of experiences including UCI Medical Center, a Level I trauma center which offers a wide range of general and specialized pharmacy services. Our students will have additional learning opportunities at affiliated medical centers, Federally Qualified Health Center clinics (FQHCs), University of California healthcare locations, pharmaceutical companies, regulatory and government entities, as well as specialized pharmacy practice locations. 
  • Students are offered a wide range of APPE rotations in order to allow a personalized experience while meeting or exceeding required educational objectives. In addition to required APPEs, students will select from a complement of rotations that meet their experiential goals in settings providing high-quality pharmacist services– Community

Preceptor Benefits