Information for NZ & AU Pharmacy Students
The PSNZ Intern Training Programme is the gazetted pathway in New Zealand for registration into the pharmacist scope of practice. To be eligible to become a qualified pharmacist, you must successfully complete all components of the Intern Training Programme and successfully pass the Pharmacy Council Assessment Centre.
OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAMME
The Intern Training Programme runs from the 1st of February until the 7th of November each calendar year. Over the course of the programme, you will complete portfolio work, assignments and appraisals while working full-time under supervision in an approved site.
Interns are supervised by preceptor pharmacists and assessed to the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand competence standards during the intern year.
An intern in the programme must be employed by an approved community or hospital pharmacy with their training supervised by a qualified preceptor pharmacist. Click here to find out more about preceptor pharmacists.
Key information for interns undertaking the programme
- Applications for the Intern Training Programme open early November and close late January each year.
- A minimum of 1450 hours of supervised practice is required. This is equivalent to working full time.
- Supervised practice hours are able to be recorded between 10th of January and 7th of November of each calendar year, so long as the intern holds an APC and are enrolled in our programme.
- A maximum of 84 hours per fortnight of supervised practice can be accrued.
- Supervised practice must take place at an approved training site (community or hospital pharmacy) under an approved preceptor. This must be paid employment and cannot be a volunteer position.
- Interns must work with their preceptor for a minimum of 21 hours per week.
- Interns are assessed against the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand Competence Standards.
- The programme must be completed within 2 years of gaining a BPharm.
- To complete the Intern Training Programme, interns must successfully pass all components of the programme. This includes completion of all portfolio work, assignments, assessments, appraisals as well as attendance at the face-to-face Training days workshops.
- The Pharmacy Council of New Zealand expects all intern pharmacists to continue to work in their intern training site until their registration results are confirmed, which is mid-December of the year of the programme.
What is the role of my preceptor?
Preceptors assist their interns by providing appropriate resources and guidance to meet the standards. There are three appraisals during the year. These help to reflect an interns competence and are based on the Competence Standards set by the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand. The first two appraisals are formative and the final appraisal is a summative assessment. The assessments during the programme help guide the focus of future learning and form a base for feedback to the intern on how they are progressing.
