Completing a PharmD program is challenging, with doctorate-level students overcoming stringent academic loads, intense clinical rotations, and working toward becoming a licensed healthcare professional. Since pharmacy school can be more demanding than other graduate programs, many previously successful college students struggle to ascertain pharmacology studies at the required pace. For instance, graduation requires hundreds and even thousands of rotation hours, and a failure to achieve that high mark can spell the end of the hopes of a long and successful career.
A myriad of factors can cause failed rotations:
- Overwhelming academic loads
- Stressful work environments
- Unfair expectations
- Personal struggles
Despite the origin of a student's poor performance during a rotation, the school or program may attempt to right the ship with a one-size-fits-all remedial approach. Not to mention, remediation programs are completed alongside everyday program work, meaning PharmD students can quickly be set on the path towards failing or dropping out altogether.
To defend your opportunity to graduate from your PharmD program, get in touch with the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team today. Our attorneys have years of proven experience helping students navigate rotation issues, including ensuring programs educate students, not punish them. Call the Lento Law Firm at 888-535-3686 now or submit your case online, and we will contact you.
What is Rotation?
Rotation is a significant part of a PharmD student's pathway toward graduation. Also known as a pharmacy practice experience (PPE) or clerkship, it provides students with hands-on, experiential learning, allowing them to apply theoretical knowledge gained in the classroom to real-world scenarios. These rotations will occur throughout four-year academic programs and are often classified into two sets:
- Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE)
- Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE)
IPPEs are structured and supervised components of a pharmacy student's education, providing them with an early introduction to practical pharmacy applications. As a precursor to more advanced sequences, IPPEs offer students a beginning overview of foundational competencies like appropriate patient interactions, medication and drug information, practice management, ethical and professional conduct, and public health regulations.
Students receive assessments and feedback from their preceptors during IPPEs. This feedback helps students identify areas for improvement and enhances their overall competence before the latter stages of rotation with APPEs.
APPE rotations are when students have the best opportunity to gain hands-on experience and skills like emergency and ambulatory care, on-the-job critical thinking, and research applications. Elective rotations—generally within APPE rotations—allow students to explore areas of professional interest or expand their understanding of professional opportunities without a particular patient care focus.
PharmD programs throughout the U.S. will maintain varying curricula for all types of PPEs or clerkships. Nevertheless, each is structured based on nationwide guidance.
How Do PharmD Programs Structure Rotation?
Rotations may vary slightly between programs, but their general framework follows standards established by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), an independent organization overseeing PharmD programs and providing continuing education to pharmacy professionals. Rotations can be the foundation of a bright career as students will learn in the field to gain a deeper understanding of healthcare operations.
PharmD students typically complete rotations in various areas that include but are not limited to the following:
- Community pharmacy
- Hospital pharmacy
- Ambulatory care
- Internal medicine
- Oncology
- Pediatrics
- Geriatrics
Each may vary in duration, but students typically spend several weeks in each rotation. There are specific requirements and competencies that students must fulfill during each rotation, as outlined by the pharmacy school's curriculum.
One stipulation involves the ACPE directive mandating a minimum of 300 hours of experiential for an IPPE rotation, with a prerequisite that at least 150 hours should be distributed across a community program or a private healthcare system. For APPEs, however, the organization asserts that 1,440 hours are required.
During the course of a rotation, PharmD students have their skills assessed twice—during the middle of the rotation and at the end. The midpoint evaluation will involve the preceptor and student, and the end evaluation will often require the student to demonstrate their skills through a formal presentation.
PharmD Student Rotation Issues
PharmD students may face various challenges during their rotations, impacting their ability to successfully complete this crucial component of their education. Some common issues that can contribute to difficulties during rotations include:
Clinical Knowledge Gaps
Inadequate understanding of clinical concepts, pharmacology, or patient care states can hinder a student's performance during rotations. When instructors or preceptors see that students have difficulty making sound clinical judgments, assessing patient conditions, and recommending appropriate interventions, it may lead to adverse action or failure during the rotation.
Professionalism Concerns
PharmD students must manage time efficiently, and any incomplete tasks, missed deadlines, and challenges in balancing various responsibilities during rotations are a threat to their standing. Moreover, establishing and maintaining positive relationships with preceptors, healthcare team members, and patients is essential.
Personal Challenges
Each PharmD student's rotation is structured similarly, but each student approaches tasks individually. The demanding nature of rotations, coupled with the pressure to perform well, can contribute to stress and anxiety. These factors may affect a student's focus and overall well-being, especially when personal challenges like the following arise:
- Financial stress
- Illness
- Death of a family member
- Mental health issues
- Divorce
- Unexpected medical problems
It's important to note that experiencing challenges during rotations is not uncommon and doesn't necessarily reflect negatively on the student's abilities or future success. However, students must address challenges proactively; seeking support before performance during a rotation negatively affects their academic and professional future.
Failing a Rotation Can Harm a PharmD Student's Academic Future
When a PharmD student encounters difficulties leading to a failing grade in a rotation, it can be complex and emotionally challenging. These instances often arise from a combination of factors, including clinical knowledge gaps, personal struggles, and professionalism concerns. Yet, there are many obstacles to adapting to the dynamic healthcare environment.
Failing a rotation holds academic implications that may impact a pharmacy student's future in various ways. For instance, it will alter their standing as a student.
Once a PharmD student receives a failing grade or evaluation, the institution often places the student on academic probation. Pharmacy schools have an academic review body or similar authority responsible for monitoring students' academic progress. This committee and the student's instructor, advisors, or preceptors will assess the circumstances surrounding the failed rotation to establish a remediation plan. While the plan outlines the specific steps the student needs to take to address deficiencies, it can quickly upset a student's pathway toward graduation.
Remediation must be completed alongside a student's normal academic and professional responsibilities in the program, including administering care to patients. With an overloaded schedule, making up for a failed rotation can seem insurmountable.
PharmD students may believe that a failed rotation will only delay graduation. While that may be true in some circumstances, at minimum, it is a high-cost consequence as one credit hour can be thousands of dollars. Readjusting scholarships, student aid, and out-of-pocket financing isn't an easy undertaking. Moreover, pharmacy schools—like all educational institutions—have a maximum timeframe for graduation. One failed rotation may not seem like the end of an academic career, but juggling remediation, regular classroom activities, meetings with preceptors, and taking care of patients can leave little room for success outside the program.
Failing a Rotation Can Harm a PharmD Student's Professional Future
Rotations provide invaluable experiential learning opportunities, allowing students to apply knowledge gained in the classroom to care administered to patients, research applications, and many others. Failing to complete a rotation means missing out on this crucial aspect of professional development. Furthermore, it can derail a student's effort to network and build positive relationships with colleagues, preceptors, and other healthcare professionals to establish a solid public reputation.
Outside of how peers will view a student, a failed rotation may raise concerns about the student's competency in specific areas of pharmacy practice. Even when remediation is completed, and the student is back on track, a failure may negatively impact applications and acceptance into competitive programs for those considering post-graduate residency.
Pharmacy licensing boards throughout the country often require evidence of completion of a PharmD program through transcripts and may view all other program materials germane to the student. Failed rotations—along with their remedial or disciplinary consequences—will be documented and, therefore, judged. A failed rotation isn't an automatic disqualifier to obtain pharmacy licensure; however, it may impose challenges when applying, potentially forcing an individual to provide an explanation to the governing board.
Nevertheless, once a license is gained, a failed rotation can remain a barrier to entry. Employers may prefer candidates who have completed all required rotations and view a failure as a lack of readiness for the profession's demands. This perception can limit job prospects and opportunities for post-graduation employment.
Even if PharmD students graduate, complete a residency program, and gain employment in a nationally recognized healthcare facility, rotation failure can carry a negative stigma in the professional pharmacy community. Peers, colleagues, and potential employers may question the reasons behind the failure, potentially affecting the student's professional reputation.
How can the Lento Law Firm Help PharmD Students with Rotation Issues?
There's no reason PharmD students should give up on their dreams of becoming a healthcare professional just because of a failed rotation. With the time and money spent, it's a better option to defend yourself against your program's governing body or individual authorities. Many times, a failed rotation is caused by a myriad of factors that professional guidance would help mitigate. That's exactly why you need to contact the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team today.
Hiring an attorney can seem like an escalating step. But what it shows is that you take ownership of your dreams of graduating from your PharmD program and helping give life-saving care to patients. The attorneys at the nationwide Lento Law Firm will also help you in the following ways:
Understanding School Policies
We can analyze your program's policies and regulations to understand how rotations are managed and assessed and ultimately affect students based on their individual circumstances. For instance, if rotation issues are related to a documented disability, an attorney can assist in securing reasonable accommodations and ensuring that the student's rights are upheld. Additionally, if the student believes they are being treated unfairly or facing discrimination during rotations, an attorney can assess the situation, provide legal advice, and advocate for their rights.
Advocacy and Negotiation
If you must undergo remediation, we can advocate for a fair and reasonable remediation plan, ensuring that the process is transparent and aligned with the school's policies. If the student disagrees with a decision related to their rotation, such as a failing grade or dismissal from a rotation, we can guide them through the appeals and grievance process. Also, the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can negotiate with school officials on behalf of the student, including seeking beneficial resolutions from a school or program's Office of General Counsel.
Navigating Licensing Board Issues
If rotation issues have potential implications for professional licensure, an attorney can provide guidance on navigating licensing board requirements and addressing any concerns that may arise during the licensure application process. For instance, many PharmD students must have or be eligible for a professional license in the program's state. Rotations issues can quickly spawn licensing problems, where the Lento Law Firm's vast knowledge of state administrative action is indispensable.
PharmD students must put as much dedication as they do into their academic and professional practice as they do to defend those opportunities. Schools and programs can move hastily to fail a student during the rotation for the slightest mistake or remove them before they've had the chance to address their deficiencies. We will guide you and promote a favorable outcome and will stand with you every step of the way. Call us now at 888-535-3686 or submit your case online, and we will contact you.
