Pharmacy internships
Each year Alfred Health offers seven internships to fourth year pharmacy graduates. All of our internships are heavily centred around developing core clinical pharmacy skills and knowledge.
Alfred Health recruits its interns via the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia allocation method. The allocation usually begins in the middle of each year.
Pharmacy Internship Resources
Frequently asked questions
Our intern rotations cover a wide variety of areas, with a strong focus on clinical development. You will spend over 75% of the year in clinical rotations!
In addition to clinical rotations, you will also spend time in both inpatient and outpatient dispensaries, aseptic preparation and medicines information.
Yes, you can choose where to go in your elective rotation. This could be Emergency, Infectious Diseases, Oncology, or whatever interests you!
The other clinical rotations are core rotations and are important to your development as a young pharmacist. These include Surgical, General Medicine, Cardiology and Aged Care.
The majority of the intern year will be located at The Alfred 55 Commercial Road Melbourne campus. You will also have the opportunity to spend time at both Caulfield Hospital and Sandringham Hospital during your clinical rotations.
Yes! You will undergo orientation and introduction to the department during your first week.
Additionally, you will have a three-week clinical orientation with a clinical team to help you develop essential skills in basic clinical pharmacy processes.
Yes! Each intern is allocated both a Mentor and a Research Mentor for the year. A Mentor is a pharmacist who has completed their intern year recently and can provide invaluable support and insight throughout the year. Mentors also spend countless hours organising practice exams in the lead up to the Pharmacy Board Oral exam.
Research Mentors are senior pharmacists who will assist you in the development of a research project.
Alfred Health also has an Intern Coordinator (senior member of the dedicated Education Team) to plan all the intern rosters and guide you through the year and conduct weekly check in meetings with all interns.
Yes! At the Alfred, we have a strong focus on research and development. You will have the opportunity to pick an area you are interested in and participate in governance and a research project in that area. This is where your research Mentor assists you! You will have one dedicated day per week to work on your project.
Yes. Multiple practice exams are provided during the year to help you become familiar with the structure of the exams and the questions expected.
Six exams will be run by the department under strict exam conditions to simulate the real environment including one of the exams run by Alfred Health staff members that are also AHPRA board examiners.
Our intern tutorials are scheduled every week from 3.00pm - 5.00pm. The program covers clinical topics delivered by clinical pharmacists, primary care topics delivered by interns and exam preparation tutorials delivered by the Education Team.
Furthermore, the Research Team deliver research tutorials to equip you with the tools necessary to undertake a research project.
Our tutorial program also incorporates our Nicotine Replacement Therapy and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring credentialing modules – which help support an extended scope of practice for our pharmacists.
Yes, however weekend work only commences a few months into the year and equals out to approximately one in four.
Yes, you will have one week of annual leave rostered during your intern year!
No! We employ interns from every University in Victoria and do not discriminate between any of the pharmacy courses. Our interns come from everywhere.
Yes, the Alfred has been offering the Monash Intern Foundation program since 2016 and we will continue to offer this program next year.
No! The intern year is already a very stressful and demanding year, and at the Alfred, we try to support you through the process as much as possible. We have a dedicated Intern Coordinator (a senior member of the Learning and Development team) to guide you through any tricky parts of the year. The intern coordinator rosters a weekly meeting with the intern group for a wellbeing check-in, discussion on upcoming events and deadlines, as well as any issues.
Maybe! This is a very difficult question to answer, as it is hard to predict the future. However, taking into consideration the amount of time and energy we invest in our interns, please be assured that we want to keep you as a pharmacist!
The Alfred has many opportunities for our pharmacists! We provide multiple credentialing modules to continue expanding your practice, e.g. Pharmacist Led Warfarin Management and Opioid De-escalation.
In addition, the Alfred also offers the two-year structured and SHPA-accredited Residency and Registrar Program.