Practical Steps to Maximize Your Pharmacy Assistant Practicum

What truly sets pharmacy assistant graduates apart, what gives you the competitive advantage when looking for a career after college … practical, hands-on experience. Your pharmacy assistant externship offers you the opportunity to apply the theoretical knowledge and skills learned in your program, on the job. It gives you the chance to be mentored and contribute within a professional environment. It may even lead to a career opportunity as you work alongside potential employers.

To make the most of your experience and ensure your pharmacy placement success, you simply need to apply the right steps. The goal is to glean all you can from your pharmacy assistant practicum and leverage the experience to launch the career you’ve imagined.

Here are the actionable pharmacy practicum tips to get you there.

7 Steps to Empower You to Succeed in Your Pharmacy Assistant Practicum

1. Know What to Expect

To begin, you want to be clear about the details around your pharmacy assistant diploma practicum purpose and the expectations for successful completion.

• Review the goals of your practicum program.
• Understand what is expected of you – the role you’ll play, hours you’ll work, what tasks you will need to know and apply on the job, how you should dress.
• If you have questions, talk to your instructor.
• Ensure your ‘in the know’ on day one of your internship.

2. Be a Professional on the Job

While this is a required part of your program, and a practicum, in order to get the most out of your experience, you want to treat it like an actual job, from day one.

• Arrive prepared:
• Punctual
• Positive
• Dressed in the proper attire
• Have any materials or tools you need with you, including a notebook for tracking your experience, questions and progress
• Maintain a positive attitude
• Be enthusiastic to learn and connect with colleagues.

3. Observe and Apply

You are there to absorb all you can in a relatively short period of time so watch, learn and implement.

• Glean all you can by:
• Watching how the pharmacists and pharmacy technicians interact, engage with each other and with customers
• Observe the flow of work and inventory
• Ask questions
• Ask to step in when you feel confident with a task
• Offer help everywhere you can
• Take copious notes.

4. Be Enthusiastic and Leave Them Wanting More

The ultimate goal is to shine so brightly, contribute so much to the work environment, that they will never want to let you go, or will brag about what a stellar pharmacy assistant you are growing to be and recommend you highly.

• Show them you love the work you’re doing by:
• Being enthused, eager
• Asking for tasks to do
• Actively looking for ways to contribute, to test and expand your abilities
• Show an interest in learning and helping behind the scenes and on the front-end
• Step outside all your comfort zones and be of value every day to the team.

5. Communicate and Be a Team Player

You want the team to feel like you’re one of them right from the start.

• Get to know your colleagues, and be genuinely interested in who they are and the work they do
• Interact with patients and colleagues respectfully and professionally
• Work closely with your mentors and team members, get comfortable with supervision – practice giving and receiving feedback and collaborating.

6. Track and Reflect Upon Your Experience

The best way to solidify what you’re learning on the job is to take notes, and to reflect on your progress.

• Bring a notebook from day one.
• Journal your activities, questions, the answers you learn, what you’re mastering and what needs improvement.
• At the end of each day, reflect on your learnings and progress, making lists of prompts and / or questions for clarification for the next day.
• Self assessment is key. With this information you will be sure to gain the most out of your practicum and can update your resume along the way with the skills you’ve mastered.

7. Set Your Sights on Career Planning and Next Steps

All along the way you want to be assessing your progress, determining what resonates for you and strategically envisioning and planning for your career ahead.

• Your practicum is a time to gain macro and micro skills, learning about the industry and about the day-to-day duties.
• Listen, learn and ask questions about the industry, the local job market and opportunities in community and hospital pharmacies.
• At Anderson College, our career services are available to support you as you craft and build your resume, learn how to ace an interview and professionally position yourself in the marketplace – leverage our team.
• Consider advancing your skills even further through Anderson’s accredited Pharmacy Technician Program, designed for those who want to become regulated professionals in Ontario.

Practicums are your gateway to career success.

Maximizing your pharmacy assistant practicum means arriving prepared, being engaged from the get-go, making yourself indispensable and of real value to your team and proving to yourself that you have the skills, training and attitude to confidently shine in this industry long-term. Use every second to observe, gather, reflect, evaluate and build pharmacy knowledge and contacts. These are the steppingstones and taking them with conscious action and passion, will empower you to soar into the career you want the moment you graduate.

Know if you have any questions or want industry-expert guidance on how to engage in your practicum for short- and long-term success, your instructors, and our team are at the ready to help. For 140 years we’ve been helping students just like you achieve the dreams they hold most dear.

If you’re still wondering if this is the position is for you take the “Pharmacy Assistant Discovery Quiz”.

But when you’ve ready to gain real-world pharmacy experience, contact our Admissions team to learn how our Pharmacy Assistant program’s practicum can jump-start your career.

Quick Links to Fuel Your Success!

We want to make sure you have what you need to succeed! Check out these reference links:

• Pharmacy Assistant Program – Anderson College
• Top Jobs in 2024 – How to Ready and Launch Your In-Demand Career Now!
• The Essential Role and Daily Duties of a Pharmacy Assistant
  Pharmacy Assistant vs Pharmacy Technician – The Differences and Your Best Career Move