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Pharmacy Practice FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions - Internships

 

Under North Carolina law, a pharmacist must obtain 1,500 hours of practical pharmacy experience as a condition of licensure.  21 NCAC 46.1503(a).  For North Carolina licensure, the Board deems the 1,500 hour requirement to be satisfied by a registered pharmacy intern’s completion of an accredited Doctor of Pharmacy program as certified by the school. 21 NCAC 46.1503(a).

 

Q:  Do I have to register as an intern?

A:  Yes.  Revised Board of Pharmacy Rule .1503 requires that any person who wishes to serve as a pharmacy intern and obtain practical experience in North Carolina must register with the Board.  A person may not, and will not, receive credit for any practical experience required for licensure and obtained in North Carolina unless and until registered as a pharmacy intern.

The registration period opened August 1, 2022, and persons who wish to obtain practical experience in North Carolina must be registered by September 1, 2022.  There is no fee for intern registration.

Effective September 1, 2022, North Carolina pharmacists and pharmacies who host pharmacy interns as part of an academic experiential program or who host/employ pharmacy interns outside of an academic experiential program must verify that the would-be intern is, in fact, registered.  Interns may print a Board-issued certificate after completing registration.  Pharmacists and pharmacies should also use the Board’s License/Permit Verification tool to confirm intern status --  https://portal.ncbop.org/verification/search.aspx.

 

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Q: I’m a pharmacy student, how do I register as an intern?

A:  Pharmacy students.  The substantial majority of pharmacy interns will be students who are currently enrolled in an ACPE-accredited school of pharmacy.  Detailed registration instructions for incoming and currently-enrolled students are found here. Please consult those instructions before beginning the registration process.  Note that you will need to have three documents for upload to complete a registration:  (1) a photograph of yourself (passport type); (2) proof of enrollment from your school of pharmacy (please consult with the appropriate person(s) at your school to obtain the proof of enrollment); and (3) a signed (manual, not electronic) copy of a FERPA Waiver (found here) that will authorize the Board of Pharmacy to obtain certain enrollment and academic status information from your school of pharmacy.  Note:  While the majority of pharmacy students who are acquiring practical experience in North Carolina will be enrolled in a North Carolina-based school of pharmacy, not all will.  The intern registration requirement applies to all enrolled pharmacy students acquiring practical experience in North Carolina, whether the school is located in North Carolina or in another state.

 

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Q: I’m a foreign graduate, how do I register as an intern?

A:  A graduate of a foreign school of pharmacy who has successfully completed the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination and the Test of English as a Foreign Language is eligible for pharmacy intern status and must register to acquire required practical experience.  Detailed registration instructions for FGPEC-holding graduates of a foreign school of pharmacy are found here. Please consult those instructions before beginning the registration process.  Note that you will need to have one document for upload to complete a registration:  (1) a photograph of yourself (passport type).

The Board of Pharmacy frequently receives questions about Board requirements concerning foreign pharmacy graduates who work as pharmacy interns. These inquiries are frequently in connection with applications for H-1B visas.

Under North Carolina law, an individual who has received the foreign equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy may not work as a pharmacy intern without having obtained the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee Certification (“FPGEC”).

To ultimately obtain a license to practice pharmacy in North Carolina, the foreign graduate would have to pass the FPGEE, the Test of English as a Foreign Language, the Test of Spoken English, the NAPLEX, and the Multi-State Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam. The Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (“NABP”) administers the FPGEC Certification Program, and foreign graduates should contact the NABP directly for further information.

The foreign graduate would also have to complete 1500 Board-approved practical pharmacy experience hours as a Pharmacy Intern as a condition for licensure. As noted above, all interns seeking practical pharmacy experience must register with Board’s internship program online.

 

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Q:  What other categories of persons must register as a pharmacy intern?

A:  Three more categories of persons are required to register as a pharmacy intern, though these are likely to be a small percentage of interns:

  1. Graduates of an ACPE-Accredited School of Pharmacy Who Are Not Licensed in Any State, Have an Active Application for North Carolina Licensure, But Have Not Yet Passed the Licensure Exams.  Any pharmacy school graduate who, come September 1, 2022, is practicing in a North Carolina pharmacy, has applied for licensure in North Carolina, but has not yet passed the NAPLEX and MPJE, will need to register as an intern.  The registration application is accessed through your profile on the Board’s Licensure Gateway (https://portal.ncbop.org/).  If you have any questions about the process, please contact Board licensing staff.
  2. Pharmacist Licensed in Another State Who Is Gaining Practical Experience Required to Reciprocate to North Carolina.  Occasionally, a pharmacist seeking to reciprocate licensure from another state has been out of practice for a sufficiently long period of time that some refresher practical experience is required.  A reciprocity applicant who falls into this category will be contacted by Board licensing staff when the application is reviewed.  Such candidates must register as an intern prior to obtaining refresher practical experience.  The registration application is accessed through your profile on the Board’s Licensure Gateway (https://portal.ncbop.org/).  If you have questions about the process, please contact Board licensing staff.
  3. Pharmacist With An Inactive North Carolina License Who Is Gaining Practical Experience Required to Reinstate.  Occasionally, a pharmacist seeking to reinstate a North Carolina license has been out of practice for a sufficiently long period of time that some refresher practical experience is required. A reinstatement applicant who falls into this category will be contacted by Board licensing staff when the application is reviewed.  Such candidates must register as an intern prior to obtaining refresher practical experience.  The registration application is accessed through your profile on the Board’s Licensure Gateway (https://portal.ncbop.org/).  If you have questions about the process, please contact Board licensing staff.


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Q:  I’m registered as an intern, do I have to renew my registration?

A:  Yes, renewal of your intern registration is required.  If you are a pharmacy student, you will need to upload proof of continuing enrollment in a Doctor of Pharmacy program.

 

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Q:  I’m registered as an intern, how do I record my hours completed outside of the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum?

A:  Please see this document for step by step instructions about how to record your hours.

 

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Q:  I’ve recorded a lot of internship hours, how do I obtain a letter certifying those hours for other states?

A:  Some states require licensure applicants to demonstrate practical pharmacy experience obtained outside of the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum.  Where the applicant obtained some or all of that practical experience in North Carolina, the Board of Pharmacy must certify the experience.

Log in to your personal profile, click on your Pharmacy Intern tile, click on the VERIFIED HOURS tile, click on the EXPERIENCE LETTER button and a PDF of the letter will pop up.  The letter will include the total number of hours you have completed.

 

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Q:  I’m a preceptor.  How will I be notified of claimed internship hours?  And how do I confirm them?

A:  This document provides guidance for preceptors.

 

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Q: Can a pharmacist receive contact continuing education credit for serving as a preceptor?

A: Yes. A pharmacist who instructs a student for at least 400 hours can receive five (5) contact hours of continuing education. Internship forms (forms 1 & 2) must be completed and returned to the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy to be sure that credit is obtained for both the preceptor and intern. Pharmacists should be aware that the hours of credit cannot be split among several students; one student must receive at least 400 hours of instruction in order for the pharmacist to receive credit. Only five (5) hours per year can be awarded per pharmacist, regardless of how many students he/she may precept in a given year.
Pharmacists may also receive continuing education credit for serving as a preceptor through one of the North Carolina pharmacy school programs. Pharmacists who serve as a preceptor for a minimum of 160 hours may receive 5 hours of continuing education per year.

 

 

Any pharmacist or license applicant with questions about pharmacy interns should contact Stacie Mason, smason@ncbop.org, (919) 246-1050.  

 

 

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