As of May 2013, the Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy’s inaugural class has begun its advanced fourth-year rotations.  Each student will do nine, month-long pharmacy practice rotations over the course of one year, with four required rotations (Advanced Community, Advanced Institutional, Acute Care, and Ambulatory Care) and five elective rotations in an area or areas of their specific interests.

The students are in a variety of local, regional and national settings, with a few students doing rotations as far away as Alaska and Hawaii.  The second group of five students is gearing up for its July rotation in Maui.

With independent pharmacists, government facilities, and healthcare system partners throughout the Upstate, the Office of Experiential Education coordinates a massive effort to place 76 students with dozens of preceptors over the course of their fourth year.  The office staff traveled to Hilton Head in June 2013 for the annual South Carolina Pharmacy Association meeting, where they were able to connect with many current and potential preceptors.  Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive about PCSP students and PCSP’s curriculum.

Students are getting hands-on experience with the mentorship of professional pharmacists in such diverse settings as Veterans Affairs facilities, free clinics, teaching hospitals, retail and independent pharmacies, heathcare administrative organizations, and animal hospitals.   Applying the knowledge they have accumulated over the past three years of their pharmacy education, these students are taking the final steps toward becoming the new generation of pharmacists and healthcare team members.