Internships

The curricular internship of professional practice, provided for under EEC Directive 85/432 for the purposes of the Community validity of the qualification, must be carried out full-time over a period of 18 months for a total duration of at least six months (30 ECTS credits equal to 900 hours) and is indispensable for the purposes of qualifying to practise as a pharmacist.

The internship is intended to integrate university training with professional and current experience in Pharmacy and consists of the student's participation, under the supervision of a Pharmacist (company supervisor) and the University Tutor, in the activities of the host facility, i.e. community or hospital Pharmacy.

As a rule, the internship is carried out at a community pharmacy. If the internship is carried out in full at the same pharmacy, the student must submit a single application for activation and the approval of the competent order may be requested at the end of the entire period.

However, the internship period can also be divided into 2 parts, each of 3 continuous months (450 hours) to be carried out at the same community pharmacy, or at two different community pharmacies, or at a community pharmacy and an affiliated hospital pharmacy.
If the internship is divided into two parts:

• If the host Pharmacy is the same where the student spent the first period, and the professional tutor is unchanged, it will not be necessary to request activation again as long as the two periods take place within 18 months overall.
• If the host Pharmacy is the same where the student spent the first period, but the professional tutor has changed or it is not possible to complete the internship within 18 months, the student will have to re-submit the activation application for the second period.
• If the student decides to carry out the internship in two periods each in two different pharmacies, it is necessary to repeat the activation process for each of the two periods.

The final approval of the internship of the competent Order must be requested:

• at the end of the entire internship cycle if this was carried out within 18 months at a single pharmacy and under the supervision of the same professional tutor
• at the end of each of the two internship periods in all other cases

Internship in foreign structures

Part of the internship (no more than three months) can be carried out at foreign facilities within the framework of Erasmus+ exchange programmes or other international agreements. For the organisation and management of internships abroad, please refer to the Department's International Mobility Commission.

To carry out your internship in Italy, you must:

• have acquired at least 150 ECTS credits, a certificate of attendance for the Pharmaceutical Legislation/Industrial Production of Medicinal Products course and passed the examinations in Pharmaceutical Technology/Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Technology, Pharmaceutical and Toxicological Chemistry I, Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy;
• identify the host pharmacy by checking that it has adhered to the convention stipulated between UNIPR and the Order to which it belong. In the case of Associations or Structures (Hospitals, AUSLs) not yet affiliated, contact the Quality assurance office: didattica.farmacia@unipr.it;
• fill in the Internship Activation Request form with the stamp and signature of the Owner/Director of the host pharmacy (for acceptance) and the stamp and signature of the Provincial President of the Order of Pharmacists (for clearance);
• contact the Student registry office (segreteria.farmacia@unipr.it - Toll-free number: 800 904 084) to request the virtual 16-euro revenue stamp to be attached to the form itself;
• email all the documentation (scanned completed activation form and receipt of payment of the revenue stamp) to the Student registry office and to your university tutor. Finally, the university tutor will forward the validation of the documentation to the student and to the Student registry office, which will e-mail the student the academic transcript in electronic format for recording the activities carried out on a daily basis.

In order to undertake the internship abroad, you must first:

contact the Department's International Mobility Commission, which will provide you with all the information necessary for the organisation of the internship;

forward your request by e-mail to the Course President for the measures falling within the competence of the Course Council.

At the end of the internship or - in the foreseen cases - of each of the two periods that constitute it (see paragraph 'The Internship in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology') you must send the following to the university tutor by e-mail:

• the academic transcript completed and signed by the company supervisor;
• the letter of validation of the internship issued by the competent Professional Order;
• the "Questionnaire for Evaluation of the Internship by the Student";
• the "Questionnaire for Consultation of Host Pharmacists" completed and signed by the company supervisor, who may also send it directly to the student registry office by e-mail to segreteria.farmacia@unipr.it, or by post to the address: Student Registry Office of the Agrifood and Pharmaceutical Degree Courses, Parco Area delle Scienze 23/A 43124 Parma.

The university tutor - having seen the internship booklet and the letter of validation issued by the Professional Association - will forward them to the Student registry office, specifying in the content of the message the validation of the documentation.

Consult the Procedures for the ACTIVATION and CONCLUSION of the internship through the ORDER OF PHARMACISTS OF THE PROVINCE OF PARMA

Lists of the pharmacies in the Provinces of Mantua, Parma and Reggio Emilia that have signed the agreement for the conduct of the professional internship stipulated between Unipr and the provincial Order to which they belong

The complete list of the other provincial Orders and Structures (Hospitals, AUSLs) that have an agreement with the University of Parma is available from the Academic office and the Student registry office.