Overview of Pharmacy Experiential Education Programme

The Pharmacy Experiential Education Programme (PEEP) is a structured experiential learning experience in the second and third years of study in the Bachelor of Pharmacy curriculum. Students complete on-site placements in different pharmacy practice settings outside the classrooms under the supervision of pharmacist preceptors throughout the regular semesters and in the summers.

The PEEP encompasses the Introductory and Intermediate Pharmacy Practice Experiences in Year 2 and 3 respectively in community and institutional training sites:
• Community pharmacies and/or private medical institutions (36 weeks)
• Public hospital system (4 weeks)

Experiential education augments the pharmacy curriculum with perspectives of contemporary pharmacy practice in the local setting and enables students to apply and expand upon the knowledge and skills acquired from the didactic coursework in the pharmacy curriculum. The experiential education represents a cumulative learning experience that prepares students for more advanced practice experience in the clerkship and enrichment module in the final year of study. In addition to competencies as pharmacists, PEEP is also intended to offer students a longitudinal exposure to the practice settings where they can develop personal and professional attributes such as professionalism, ethics, problem-solving skills, teamwork, and commitment to lifelong learning.

Year 1	Professional Development Module
Year 2	Pharmacy Experiential Education: Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences
Year 3	Pharmacy Experiential Education: Intermediate Pharmacy Practice Experiences
Year 4	Pharmacy Clerkship and Enrichment Module

Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (Year 2)

Thematic Focus – Safe Medication Practices

The emphasis of the Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences for Year 2 students is the “knows how” of fundamental aspects of pharmacy practice, including operations, medication distribution or dispensing process, information retrieval and appraisal, as well as provision of general medication or health education to the clients.

By the end of the Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences, students should be able to:

• Describe the different scopes of pharmacy operation and the roles and responsibilities of pharmacists;
• Understand the legal and institutional requirements pertaining to the storage, handling and supply of medications;
• Outline the medication dispensing and distribution process in the pharmacy that fulfils legal and institutional requirement and maximizes patient safety;
• Collect and appraise information from different sources, including patients, for a defined clinical problem and formulate relevant responses;
• Communicate effectively with patients, caregivers and/or co-workers on general education of medication and health management;
• Demonstrate self-directed learning behaviours to acquire additional information or knowledge that are related to patient care and pharmacy management;
• Display self-reflection on performance and learning progress pertaining to the achievement of learning objectives of the pharmacy practice experiences.

Examples of practice activities that may be appropriate for students who are gaining introductory pharmacy practice experiences:

• Assist in part of the dispensing process (e.g. preparation of dispensing label) under the supervision of pharmacist(s);
• Assist pharmacy staff in duties related to the pharmacy housekeeping, record-keeping, procurement and inventory management;
• Collect and consolidate the medical and medication history from clients to assist pharmacists in delivery of individualised pharmaceutical care;
• Provide education to clients on the safe and effective use of selected medications, medical devices (e.g. blood pressure and blood glucose meters) or health management, subject to preceptor’s delegation;
• Assist in the handling of drug information enquiries: collect, review and appraise the literature and other sources of information (students at this stage would usually need guidance and input from pharmacists to formulate appropriate responses to the enquiries);
• Support the preparation of education materials on medication use or health management;
• Communicate with service users and other healthcare professionals on the availability of and access to suitable medication or health supplies, e.g., generic substitutions, subsidy programmes.

Intermediate Pharmacy Practice Experiences (Year 3)

Thematic Focus – Patient Care Optimization

The Intermediate Pharmacy Practice Experiences offer the Year 3 students the opportunities to transit from “knows how” to basic level of “shows how” in pharmacy practice. Building upon the experiences of pharmacy operations and patient care processes in the Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences, as well as the coverage of more therapeutic areas through classroom learning, Year 3 students would have greater readiness for patient-centred practice activities, such as responding to symptoms (or minor ailment management) and drug therapy optimization. Besides, students are expected to demonstrate greater awareness or initiatives to advocate service quality and patient safety in the practice.

By the end of the Intermediate Pharmacy Practice Experiences, students should be able to:

• Participate in the different aspects of pharmacy operations under the supervision of pharmacists or other healthcare providers;
• Demonstrate compliance to the legal and institutional requirements pertaining to the storage, handling and distribution of medications;
• Apply knowledge in pharmacotherapy and health management for topics that have been covered in the curriculum to optimise the medication use and/or health management in individual patient;
• Communicate effectively with patients, caregivers and/or other healthcare workers on individualised advice or management to optimise the medication use and health management of individual patients;
• Demonstrate an understanding of patient safety, privacy and confidentiality in medication distribution and patient care processes;
• Evaluate appropriate literature and information and formulate response to, and document drug information enquiry from patients and healthcare providers;
• Demonstrate self-directed learning behaviours to acquire additional information or knowledge that are related to patient care and pharmacy management;
• Display self-reflection on handling of practice-related or ethical dilemmas, work performance and interpersonal skills.

Examples of practice activities that may be appropriate for students who are undertaking intermediate pharmacy practice experiences:

• Participate in the dispensing process (e.g. prescription interpretation, quantity checking) under the supervision of pharmacist(s), subject to institutional policies;
• Support different aspects of pharmacy operations such as pharmacy housekeeping, record-keeping, procurement and inventory management;
• Conduct appropriate patient assessments to provide individualised pharmacological or lifestyle advice on the management of minor ailments or use of over-the-counter products;
• Conduct medication reconciliation by engaging in medication history taking and compilation of an updated and accurate for individual patients;
• Identify problems related to medication use or health management in individual patients and formulate patient-centred advice or action plan;
• Formulate responses to drug information enquiry that are appropriate for the clinical context, needs of the enquirers and logical appraisal of the gathered information;
• Plan, develop and implement the ideas for education materials (e.g. patient leaflet, social media posts) to promote safe and effective medication use or health management;
• Carry out projects or initiatives to improve quality of patient care or patient safety in the practice sites.

Experiential Learning Coordinators

• Mr Marco T Lee
• Ms Janet KT Wong

Enquiries

If you have any enquiries about the the HKU Pharmacy Experiential Education Programme, please feel free to reach us via email at pharmel@hku.hk.