FAQ Category: 4th Year

Students will indicate their geographical and practice setting preferences. They will then be provided with a choice of Training Establishments, from which they will select a number of preferred Training Establishments. Training Establishments will receive CVs from these students for consideration. There will be defined timelines in which placements can be offered and accepted.

APPEL will provide Preceptor training.  A choice of face to face and/or online training will be provided. Preceptors will also be provided with a 4th-Year Placement Handbook.

Practice Educators based in each of the three Schools of Pharmacy will be available to support Preceptors and their students before, during and after placements.  The APPEL team are also available to provide support to Preceptors.

All absences must be reported to APPEL. If additional placement time is required as a result of this absence, it is APPEL’s role to secure this additional placement time in an appropriate training establishment.

Students and Preceptors will be provided with an attendance timetable well in advance of their placements. Experiential learning placements are 30 hours per week.  Students will attend their Training Establishments on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9am to 5.30pm.  Students will continue to engage with their Schools of Pharmacy while on placement, e.g. through online tutorials. This enables the Schools of Pharmacy to deliver live academic online modules on Wednesdays. There is a university requirement of 30 hours on experiential learning placement, 10 hours directed study and 10 hours self-directed study every week for 4th Year students.

A 4th-Year Preceptor can oversee a maximum of three students.

Legislation requires that students are under the supervision and guidance of a pharmacist while on placement. During 4^th year this person is known to APPEL as a “Preceptor”.   This means that there should be a pharmacist available to the student on their placement for guidance and direction, but they do not necessarily have to be the person directly supervising the student.

The Preceptor is required to meet the student every four weeks; technology such as Skype can be used to facilitate these meetings. Two such meetings must be face-to-face.

Students undertake a 4-month placement in 4th year. This can be undertaken in “all practice settings”, i.e. community, hospital, industry and role emerging practice (REP) settings. In 2019, placements will take place from the 2nd of September to the 20th of December 2019.

Undertaking Preceptor training can support your (CPD) continuing professional development. In 2018, 88% of our 4th Year Preceptors agreed that supervising a student contributed to their CPD and 90% found it a rewarding and enjoyable experience. Previous course attendees have commented on how the skills they developed at APPEL training were highly applicable to their engagement with other team members in their practice.

Placement providers have a unique opportunity to increase awareness and understanding of their organisations in the Schools of Pharmacy, among pharmacy students and throughout the pharmacy profession. Organisations wishing to develop their talent pipeline can use this opportunity to engage with future Pharmacy graduates. This programme offers a wonderful opportunity for placement providers to engage with talented and highly motivated students and inspire them to consider a career in their organisation or practice setting.

APPEL oversees the common experiential learning placements undertaken in the three Schools of Pharmacy (UCC, RCSI and Trinity). The common placements overseen by APPEL are:

The 4th-year placement is a four-month placement* completed from September to December in an APPEL-accredited Training Establishment. These placements can be undertaken in a breadth of practice settings.

The Schools of Pharmacy are committed to developing graduates that are prepared for careers in all sectors of pharmacy practice. APPEL’s aim is to provide students with a broad range of experiential learning opportunities. These experiences will help expose and prepare students for the various roles a pharmacist can undertake. The 4th-year placement is the ideal opportunity for students to broaden their practice experience and to further develop their curriculum vitae (CV).

* Many students have expressed interest and availability in working at their placement provider’s establishment in the July and August prior to their placement. Such an arrangement would be outside the APPEL programme.