The internship curriculum is designed to focus on Mayo Clinic’s three interlocked shields that symbolize patient care, research, and education. Summer interns benefit from countless learning opportunities that will prepare you for the remainder of pharmacy school and eventual pursuit of postgraduate residency training.

Internship projects

Each year, the Department of Pharmacy places a call for intern project ideas from staff members needing assistance. Of the typical 40-50 ideas submitted, project scope can vary greatly - from simple tasks to full blown quality improvement or research projects. Depending on the project, one or more interns may be needed, and each intern selects a minimum of three-five unique projects during the 10-week program. Projects stem from any pharmacy practice setting and afford interns the chance to collaborate with different mentors. Interns are given autonomy to manage time dedicated to each project to assure successful completion. Project topics vary from year-to-year, but generally fall into the following areas:

• Cost containment or pharmacoeconomic analyses
• Education and training program development
• Formulary management
• Medication error reporting/root cause analyses
• Medication use evaluations
• Patient or disease state outcome assessments
• Policy, procedure, protocol, or manual updates
• Quality improvement projects
• Regulatory compliance
• Research or pilot studies
• Staff development
• Workflow redesign

Professional development

A staple of the internship experience is the professional development sessions where interns participate in a host of opportunities to prepare them for a successful pharmacist career. The curriculum is divided into two sections, including workshops and "Meet the Leaders" sessions nearly every Monday throughout the program. Workshops topics may include:

• Abstract writing and poster development
• Burnout and well-being
• Curriculum vitae and letter of intent writing
• Financial literacy
• Institutional review board (IRB) basics
• Interview considerations
• Presentation development
• Primary literature evaluation/journal club basics
• Professional organization involvement
• Residency preparation considerations
• Soft skills
• Time management

During "Meet the Leaders" sessions, the intern class networks with various pharmacist and pharmacy technician leaders from all areas of practice at Mayo Clinic. The informal classroom setting provides an ideal venue where leaders provide a short description of their career path and role, then answer any and all questions from interns. These sessions allow interns to gain insight on the multitude of career paths available within the professional and at Mayo Clinic. Over the course of the internship, up to 15 one-hour blocks are scheduled to network with leaders.

Mini-rotations

One day per week of the program is dedicated for interns to complete mini rotations in whatever area(s) of pharmacy practice they chose. The goal of this learning opportunity is to increase awareness of new practice settings and roles that pharmacists have as integral and valued members of the healthcare team. A typical mini rotation day is comprised of meeting with the pharmacy resident or pharmacist of the selected area, attending patient care rounds (as applicable), and then participating in topic or patient care discussions in the afternoon. For non-clinical rotations, the intern may attend meetings, complete small projects, and have discussion sessions with the resident or pharmacist preceptor.

Hours, stipend, and housing

The internship is intended to be Monday through Friday, daytime hours only. Interns are expected to manage their time accordingly based on project assignments, mentor meetings, and availability of mini rotation experiences. If the intern requests time away due to illness, family emergency, or other reasonable request(s), the Program Director and intern will identify a date(s) and time(s) for missed time to be made up.

There will be no fees to participate in the internship, and you will receive a competitive stipend. Mayo Clinic does NOT provide housing during the internship.