What I Wish My Preceptor Knew: A Student Perspective

As students begin pharmacy school, there are many challenges that build us into stronger future pharmacists. Didactic courses teach us the fundamentals and patient care labs teach us how to communicate, but IPPE and APPE rotations are where we learn to be a pharmacist. We look to our preceptors to guide us, especially on early rotations, as we slowly gain our confidence and knowledge base. On those early rotations, there are many things we want our preceptors to know but are too intimidated to tell them.

1. Please respond to our introductory email. We understand the life of a pharmacist is hectic and an email from a student a month before rotation is low priority; however, please just send us a reply. Something short like “Looking forward to seeing you on Friday. I’ll email you closer to that date when I have your schedule.” I guarantee there is a student nervously waiting for your reply.

2. Hospitals are confusing buildings. The most daunting part of the first day of rotation is getting there. Froedtert, for example, is a huge hospital, and inpatient pharmacies always seem to be in the basement or down some dark hallway. My best preceptors have given me detailed instructions on where to park, where to go, and who to call if I got lost. I never needed to call for help, but it put my mind at ease.

3. Our curriculum is unique. Our program is fast paced, and our classes are in a different order than other programs. We understand if you do not know what we have covered in class. The best preceptors I have had asked me on the first day what courses I am taking and assigned me patients that reinforce my classroom learning with practical experience.

4. We are here to learn. As students in an accelerated program, we are always stressed and tired; however, being on rotation is an eight-hour reprieve from the long lectures and endless flashcards. We want to be on rotation. We want to be pushed to improve. My best preceptors have had me investigate more complex patients and topics that pushed my knowledge and made me grow.

5. Sometimes technology is more difficult than pharmacy. Every pharmacy I have been at uses a different EHR system. While Epic is the most common, not all institutions use it, and every institution’s version of Epic is different. Prior to my first rotation, I had never used Epic. I may have known what different medications were and what lab values meant but did not know where to find any information on Epic.

As students, we are grateful for all the time preceptors spend with us. I have learned more through the real-life situations on rotation than I have in class. One day, we will be in your shoes just as you were once in ours.