What does a pharmacy internship do?
When it comes to a pharmacy internship, one of the primary responsibilities is to observe pharmacy operations and develop efficient communication skills as most of the tasks will revolve around customer service, such as providing instructions on when to take medications and what could be the side effects. Moreover, working as a pharmacist requires excellent attention to detail, ensuring that all customers receive the correct type and amount according to their prescriptions. Among the duties can also revolve around administrative tasks such as verifying prescriptions, keeping and maintaining accurate records, and responding to inquiries.
Pharmacy internship responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real pharmacy internship resumes:
- Attain thorough knowledge of processes involving medication delivery, compounding, IV/TPN/ chemotherapy preparation, and other hospital pharmacy operations.
- Counsele patient with regard to OTC medications and Rx medications under the supervision of the pharmacist (s) on duty.
- Interview patients to obtain information regarding drug allergies and sensitivities and document the information in the pharmacy system.
- Collaborate with referring physicians in providing diabetes education to patients with multiple chronic conditions individually and in group sessions.
- Provide diabetes counseling and conduct informational lectures regarding blood glucose monitoring and insulin administration to patients recently diagnose with diabetes.
- Offer and provide consultation to patients under the supervision of the RPh on duty
- Assist pharmacist with Rx entry, dispensing, patient counseling, narcotic records, inventory maintenance and drug orders
- Discuss criteria to deescalate antibiotics or discharge patients during team meetings.
- Work with PYXIS and other automate dispensing technology to supply correct medications for individual patients.
- Perform pharmacy consulting services for skil nursing and rehabilitation facilities, and rural health clinics.
- Implement a diabetes awareness clinic within the pharmacy, providing educational material to customers in this special population
- Provide patient counseling including clinical pharmacy services and recommendations for OTC products under supervision of staff pharmacist.
- Perform review of pharmacy and override process in compliance with pharmaceutical relate company and state Medicaid guidelines.
- Provide patients with counseling on prescription and over-the-counter medications including allergy information, adverse drug interactions and side effects.
- Verify prescriptions for appropriate dosage, drug interactions, allergies, and contraindications before dispensing medications to maximize patient safety.
Pharmacy internship skills and personality traits
We calculated that 22% of Pharmacy Interns are proficient in Patients, Customer Service, and Patient Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Computer skills.
We break down the percentage of Pharmacy Interns that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 22%
Provided diabetes counseling and conducted informational lectures regarding blood glucose monitoring and insulin administration to patients recently diagnosed with diabetes.
- Customer Service, 15%
Prepared medications and distributed prescriptions, maintained client records through entering their insurance information while providing customer service at the counter.
- Patient Care, 8%
Worked to becoming an independent practitioner to provide patient - centered care by effectively communicating and applying direct patient care skills.
- Blood Pressure, 7%
Included weekly blood pressure and glucose monitoring for residents as well as occasional cholesterol monitoring and fielding of drug/prescription questions.
- Allergies, 5%
Verified prescriptions for appropriate dosage, drug interactions, allergies, and contraindications before dispensing medications to maximize patient safety.
- Math, 5%
Organized math, reading, and General Educational Development lesson plans for adolescent girls involved in the juvenile system.
"patients," "customer service," and "patient care" are among the most common skills that pharmacy interns use at work. You can find even more pharmacy internship responsibilities below, including:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a pharmacy internship to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "pharmacists must evaluate the contents and side effects of prescribed medication to ensure that the patient may safely take it." Pharmacy interns often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "performed data entry, filled prescriptions, counseled patients, filed insurance claims, maintained inventory, and prepared vendor orders. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling pharmacy internship duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "pharmacists frequently must explain to patients about how to take medication and what its potential side effects are." According to a pharmacy internship resume, here's how pharmacy interns can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "provided services such as otc product consultation, and patient/prescriber communications"
Detail oriented. pharmacy internship responsibilities often require "detail oriented." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "pharmacists are responsible for accurately providing the appropriate medication for each patient." This resume example shows what pharmacy interns do with detail oriented on a typical day: "assisted with inventory control including incoming and outgoing shipments; keeping a detailed record of all medications in stock. "
Managerial skills. Another common skill required for pharmacy internship responsibilities is "managerial skills." This skill comes up in the duties of pharmacy interns all the time, as "pharmacists, particularly those who run a retail pharmacy, must have good leadership skills." An excerpt from a real pharmacy internship resume shows how this skill is central to what a pharmacy internship does: "assisted in managerial duties: maintained prescription records, drug inventory reports, calculated weekly inventory costs. "
The three companies that hire the most pharmacy internships are:
- Walgreens2,581 pharmacy interns jobs
- Kroger134 pharmacy interns jobs
- Walmart130 pharmacy interns jobs
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Compare different pharmacy interns
Pharmacy internship vs. Clinical staff pharmacist
A Clinical Staff Pharmacist is responsible for supervising pharmacy dispensing processes and the consultation of patients. They analyze prescribing trends to ensure patient compliance and to prevent excessive usage or harmful interactions.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a pharmacy internship are more likely to require skills like "customer service," "blood pressure," "math," and "diabetes." On the other hand, a job as a clinical staff pharmacist requires skills like "pharmd," "medication therapy," "pharmacy services," and "oncology." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Clinical staff pharmacists really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $88,734. Comparatively, pharmacy interns tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $95,157.The education levels that clinical staff pharmacists earn slightly differ from pharmacy interns. In particular, clinical staff pharmacists are 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a pharmacy internship. Additionally, they're 19.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Pharmacy internship vs. Accredited pharmacist technician
A medical laboratory technologist intern is responsible for assisting laboratory technologists in performing examinations and medical procedures. Medical laboratory technologist interns perform administrative duties under the supervision of a medical professional such as collecting laboratory samples, sending out reports, responding to patients' inquiries and concerns, and ensuring the adequacy of laboratory inventories. They also maintain the cleanliness of the facility, including the sterilization of equipment and segregation of disposable materials to avoid contamination and potential hazards that may affect medical results and processes.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that pharmacy internship responsibilities requires skills like "patients," "customer service," "patient care," and "blood pressure." But an accredited pharmacist technician might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "pharmd," "clinical rotations," "internal medicine," and "infectious disease."
Accredited pharmacist technicians earn similar levels of education than pharmacy interns in general. They're 2.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 19.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for pharmacy internships in the next 3-5 years?
Antoine Al-Achi Ph.D.
Professor of Pharmaceutics and Biomedical Sciences Track-Head/Industrial Pharmacy (Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences), Campbell University
Pharmacy internship vs. Medical laboratory technologist internship
A certified pharmacist technician is responsible for assisting patients by providing medicines based on their needs or their physicians' prescriptions. Certified pharmacist technicians must be able to supply the correct medications, including the right dosage to patients. They must also have a broad understanding of the medical industry, providing medicinal information to patients and referring them to the right health professionals as needed. Certified pharmacist technicians also monitor medicine inventories, manage supplies, and create sales reports.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from pharmacy internship resumes include skills like "customer service," "blood pressure," "allergies," and "math," whereas a medical laboratory technologist internship is more likely to list skills in "lab equipment," "microbiology," "hematology," and "laboratory procedures. "
Most medical laboratory technologist interns achieve a similar degree level compared to pharmacy interns. For example, they're 1.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 25.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Pharmacy internship vs. Certified pharmacist technician
Even though a few skill sets overlap between pharmacy interns and certified pharmacist technicians, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a pharmacy internship might have more use for skills like "customer service," "blood pressure," "diabetes," and "pharmacy intern." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of certified pharmacist technicians require skills like "telephone calls," "basic math," "hipaa," and "hippa. "
The health care industry tends to pay the highest salaries for certified pharmacist technicians, with average annual pay of $37,078. Comparatively, the highest pharmacy internship annual salary comes from the health care industry.In general, certified pharmacist technicians hold similar degree levels compared to pharmacy interns. Certified pharmacist technicians are 2.6% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 25.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of pharmacy internship
Updated January 8, 2025
