Representatives from CVS, HEB, Kroger, Walgreens and Walmart pharmacies visited the Amarillo and Abilene campuses Feb. 1 to interview students for summer intern positions. When the sessions ended, a combined 81 first- and second-year (P1 and P2) students had participated in 160 interviews with the pharmacy companies.

During the fall semester, students prepared for the interviews by participating in curriculum vitae (CV) and interview classroom and mentor review sessions as a part of their Introduction to Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) courses. Additionally, P1 students participated in a mock interview training session. A faculty mentor provided feedback regarding the student’s CV and interview as a part of their preparation.

In feedback collected after the internship interviews, students indicated they felt prepared for the overall interview process and that feedback they received from their faculty mentors was beneficial.

“I think that the activities in the IPPE course did a great job of helping me prepare for the interviews,” one Amarillo P1 students said. “The requirements for the IPPE activities and the requirements for the actual interview matched very closely. The feeling of familiarity it gave helped me feel less anxious about the actual internship interviews.”

The same student said one way to improve the preparation process is to include examples of what types of questions the students should ask their interviewer.

A P1 from Abilene said they were also prepared well for the interviews, but believe it is important for students to be encouraged to show some personality in the interviews.

“Pharmacists are absolutely expected to be professional, but being personable is very important as well in taking care of patients,” the student added. “The two are not mutually exclusive.”