APPEL (Affiliation for Pharmacy Practice Experiential Learning) is now seeking expressions of interest from pharmacists in community and hospital pharmacy settings who would like to facilitate an experiential learning placement for a final-year pharmacy student next year.
Pharmacy students in Ireland now undertake a 5-year integrated masters programme to become qualified pharmacists. Key to this new programme are the experiential learning placements that students undertake throughout the course. In the 5th-year of their studies, students solidify their learning by completing an eight-month placement in a patient-facing setting before becoming eligible to sit the Professional Registration Examination (PRE) and enter the PSI register.
Pharmacists who have previously facilitated APPEL placements have found the experience enjoyable and rewarding. In surveys, 90% of pharmacists said they would recommend facilitating a placement to other pharmacists. The advantages of facilitating an APPEL placement include:
- Continuing Professional Development - APPEL Trainer Training can contribute to pharmacists CPD, as can the experience of facilitating a placement.
- Development of your talent pipeline – many students will look to start their career in the organisations or practice settings where they undertook their placements
- Engagement – participating in the APPEL programme provides you with the opportunity to increase awareness of your pharmacy/organisation. APPEL training and events provide fantastic networking opportunities.
The next 5th-year placements will run from the 4th of January to the 27th of August 2021. The deadline to confirm your interest in offering placements is the 9th of March 2020. You can do this by clicking on the link below: https://forms.gle/GT7AsjjA6ZbKRrwx8
If you are interested in facilitating future pharmacists’ training, please call 01-4025129, email ops@appel.ie or go to www.appel.ie to find out more