APPE

Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPE)

Students begin APPEs in their P3 year of the program. The APPE program comprises almost 30% of the curriculum and provides opportunities for students to practice in some of the top health care facilities across the state of Tennessee. Students have the opportunity to explore various pharmacy settings, career paths and work alongside experts in their pharmacy/healthcare field. 

Students will complete a total of 10 rotations for 1760 hours of pharmacy practice experience:

4 Required rotations – Ambulatory Care, Medicine, Advanced Community, and Advanced Institutional APPEs

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At least 7 patient care (PC) rotations – Includes REQUIRED Ambulatory Care, Medicine, and Advanced Community APPEs plus at least 4 elective patient care APPEs

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A maximum of 2 other professional experience (OPE) rotations – includes REQUIRED Advanced Institutional plus 3 elective OPE APPEs

Patient care (PC) rotations involve direct patient care in a variety of practice settings. Students will work to improve health outcomes and promote safe and effective medication use with individual patients. Example APPEs include: Critical Care/Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, Cardiology, Infectious Disease, and Mental Health.

Other professional experience (OPE) rotations involve non-patient care rotations in a variety of practice settings. Students indirectly improve health outcomes and improve patient experiences. Example APPEs include: Compounding, Pharmacy Management, Medical Information, Academia, Research, and Informatics.

Outside of Tennessee APPEs

International APPEs

Students may request to complete APPEs outside of the state of Tennessee. The types of rotations vary and may be a Patient Care or Other Professional Experience APPEs. Example practice sites for APPEs outside of Tennessee include military bases, Indian Health Services, veterinary pharmacy practice, pharmaceutical companies, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Select students have the opportunity to complete their advanced pharmacy practice rotations (APPEs) in another country caring for culturally diverse patients. Students can apply to complete a rotation in a variety of international practice settings. Example locations include Canada, Ireland, Sweden, Spain, Hungary, Japan, and Thailand. .