Pharmacy Practice Experiences

Experiential Education is the pharmacy practice component of Butler’s PharmD curriculum. Its purpose is to strengthen student pharmacists’ knowledge of medications, patient care, and pharmacy operations—while also shaping the professional skills, values, and judgment needed to become practice-ready, compassionate, and innovative leaders in the field of pharmacy.

Experiential education benefits both student pharmacists and their preceptors. Students gain hands-on experience in community, hospital, and other pharmacy practice settings, building confidence in clinical reasoning, patient counseling, and interprofessional teamwork. Preceptors serve as mentors and role models, and Butler’s high-quality students make the experience rewarding for everyone involved.

Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE)

Curriculum

Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs) represent the first experiential learning opportunities for Butler University PharmD students. The IPPE are incorporated into the early phases of the professional curriculum and are designed to expose students to the common contemporary pharmacy practice models and to facilitate the development of knowledge application and clinical reasoning skills in preparation for the Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE).

Butler PharmD students are required to successfully complete two 160-hour IPPE rotations prior to commencing APPE rotations.

Community IPPE

The Community IPPE is a 160 hour on-site rotation conducted in a community or retail pharmacy practice setting. The Community IPPE is designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of community pharmacy practice and engages students in learning opportunities to enhance technical, clinical, and professional knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes. Community IPPE rotations introduce students to interprofessional practice involving shared patient care decision-making, professional ethics and expected behaviors, and direct patient care activities.

The Community IPPE takes place following the completion of the first professional (P1) year. Students are assigned a Community IPPE rotation block by the Experiential Education Office. All Community IPPE rotations take place during summer rotation blocks one through four which take place May through August.

Institutional IPPE

The Institutional IPPE is a 160 hour on-site rotation conducted in a hospital or institutional pharmacy practice setting. The Institutional IPPE is designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of inpatient pharmacy practice and engages students in learning opportunities to enhance technical, clinical, and professional knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes. Institutional IPPE rotations introduce students to interprofessional practice involving shared patient care decision-making, professional ethics and expected behaviors, and direct patient care activities.

The Institutional IPPE takes place following the successful completion of the second professional (P2) year. Students are assigned an Institutional IPPE rotation block by the Experiential Education Office.

Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE)

Curriculum

The purpose of the Advanced Practice Experiences (APPE) is to allow students to demonstrate acquired knowledge, skills and attitudes in a professional setting. Students are required to complete and pass all the practice experiences in order to qualify for graduation.