Pharmacy Intern Programme Enrollment

Attention Pharmacy Interns:

Are You Ready to Pass the PRE OSCE Exam in October?

 

To become a licensed pharmacist, the final STEP in the process is the successful completion of your Registration Examination, including 18 OSCE Role Play Stations across the 6 domains of the core competency framework for pharmacists. 

OSCEs present simulated standardised professional scenarios, intended to reflect professional scenarios faced by pharmacists in practice.   

However many find OSCE style assessments stressful. So to alleviate this stress, increase your confidence, and assist you in preparing for the OSCE,

4Front Pharmacy Solutions has developed the

'PRE-OSCE 4-Week Intensive Group Mentoring Programme'

The Next Cohort Starts Tues 29 August 2017 and Meets 4 Times

Max: 12 places

Dates: 29 Aug, 5 Sep, 12 Sep, 19 Sep

Time: 0930am - 1130am

Price: €400

 Enrol Now!

 

Please note that there is a two-step process 
you will encounter when you hit the "Enrol Now"  
(1) set up your account username and password
(2) you will be taken to the payment area.  

 

 

• After at least 5 years of study, the PRE is the final hurdle before registration
• The financial costs of not passing seem high (min six more months of not earning a pharmacist's wage)
• The fear of not passing first time is often exaggerated in high achievers such as pharmacy interns, as their self-esteem and personal self-worth are frequently tied to academic performance. 
• For some interns, preparing for OSCE can be a lonely and isolating experience.  It is easy to allow self-doubt to creep in as you compare yourself negatively with other interns.  
• Performance is under direct scrutiny of a pharmacist assessor, which can be intimidating.
• The 5 minute time-frame to identify and solve the problem is tight.  
• The exam can be physically, mentally and emotionally draining with 18 x 5 min stations in 3 hours.
• Recovery time between stations is just 1 minute.
• The exam environment and format is much less familiar that traditional written examinations,.
• Lack of understanding of what is actually being examined in OSCE stations leading to....
• Inappropriate preparation for an OSCE style summative assessment.
• Sleepless nights, worry, over-study and lack of work/study/life balance reduce resilience and exam performance

"Before doing this course, I was worrying about passing exams, worried that I had never enough work done, concerned about how much was enough to do well.  My confidence was low.  I believed that I would never be a good pharmacist because I was always comparing myself to others and never felt I was as good.  I graduated with first class honours from my MPharm.  I'm happier with myself both professionally and personally.  I feel confident every day in myself in my daily routine living- talking to people and patients. I have relaxed more allowing me to be more successful in work as I no longer worry about what other people think of me or worry about voicing my thoughts on a scenario. This is also benefited me professionally and personally in relation to working in a multi-disciplinary team and with my family."  (Pharmacy Intern 2015)

• Implement your optimal performance study strategy
• Practice your "nightmare" OSCE scenarios
• Receive actionable feedback to build on your strengths and enhance your performance
• Develop skills for identifying the key issues to be addressed
• Confidently guide the simulated 'client' towards an informed treatment strategy
• Communicate with impact and influence 
• Practice strategies to manage your energy and nerves so you can perform at your best in each OSCE station

"I was nervous about the OSCE exam and wouldn't be accustomed to that way of examination so I said I would give [it] a try. I found that after one session I gained a better understanding of the OSCE exam its structure and what exactly they were looking for which was not fully understood by any of us beforehand. Practicing in a group with friends I found was really beneficial. It helped me view another persons approach to scenarios. It gave me plenty of exam practice which in turn I felt helped me cope better on the day. The sessions also focused on confidence which is essential in making sure the examiner believes in you as the the pharmacist and what advice you are giving." (Claire Mc Mahon, Intern 2016)

 

WHY THE METHODOLOGY USED IN THE OSCE MENTORING PROGRAMME WORKS:

Success in an OSCE style examination requires completely different skills to those required for success in written exams.  

You cannot improve your OSCE skills by

• reading it in a book
• looking it up online
• talking about it
• putting the head down and
• knuckling down to study.

The skills for success in OSCE style exams include:

• centring yourself
• dealing with the unknown
• eliciting information
• retrieving and conveying information and
• communicating it effectively to the patient / GP / staff member

These skills are only developed through experiential practice, feedback and review which you will receive as you move through this live, interactive programme.

 

"After my mock OSCE,  I was very nervous and found it pretty daunting as I did not know what they were looking for or what was required of me in this exam. As I had found the mock OSCE difficult, I was worried about the final OSCE. Rachel knew how the OSCE worked and the focus of what interns are asked to demonstrate.  It was great to get to practise and the practise and feedback gave me confidence. I learned a lot from the role plays Rachel did with me and other intern students, as I observed how they behaved and reacted to the situation. I made a significant improvement from my PRE-OSCE.  I got a first class honours! Yippee !! I gained skills that I now use in my everyday work as a Pharmacist, including to be patient-focused and to put myself in the patient's shoes,this has really helped me in my pharmacy practice."  (Pharmacy Intern 2015)

 

   

The Next Cohort Starts Tues 29 August 2017 and Meets 4 Times

Max: 12 places

Dates: 29 Aug, 5 Sep, 12 Sep, 19 Sep

Time: 0930am - 1130am

Price: €400

Enrol Now!

Please note that there is a two-step process 
you will encounter when you hit the "Enrol Now"  
(1) set up your account username and password
(2) you will be taken to the payment area.

Meet Rachel Dungan, The Pharmacist Coach

Rachel is founder of 4Front Pharmacy Solutions, whose mission is to transform the impact of pharmacist-led teams at the heart of the community,  

Rachel Dungan is a Trinity Scholar and pharmacist graduate of Trinity College Dublin and completed her Masters in Hospital Pharmacy.  She has worked in a variety of patient-facing roles in hospital and community pharmacy for 20 years.  She has acted as mentor and tutor to pharmacy pre-registration students, pharmacy interns and pharmacy technicians.  She has been a member of the RCSI MPharm Assessor panel for a number of years.  She is a peer support pharmacist with the Irish Institute of Pharmacy and a tutor with the IPU Academy.  She is an award winning ICF Professional Coach and has worked for the past seven years with pharmacists and interns as a professional coach, particularly focused on developing non-clinical core competencies.  This Pharmacy Intern OSCE mentoring programme, using this online format has been offered to pharmacy interns for the past three years.