Community Pharmacy APPE Rotation

Osterhaus Pharmacy & M & M Care — Maquoketa, Iowa

Discover Community Pharmacy in Action

Looking for a rotation where you can move beyond the textbook and actively participate in patient care?

At Osterhaus Pharmacy, students become part of the pharmacy team and gain hands-on experience in both community pharmacy, ambulatory care pharmacy, and long-term care pharmacy. Our goal is to help student pharmacists build confidence, strengthen clinical skills, and see the many ways pharmacists positively impact the health of their communities.

Our pharmacies are part of a group of eight pharmacies owned by the Greenwood family and based in Waterloo, Iowa. Our pharmacy services impact our community of about 6,000 people, giving students the opportunity to experience pharmacy practice in a meaningful, patient-centered environment.

What Makes This Rotation Unique?

This rotation is designed to give students an active role in the patient care process. Rather than simply observing pharmacy practice, students will have opportunities to participate, ask questions, solve problems, and apply what they have learned in the classroom.

During the rotation, students may participate in:

• Patient care activities and interactions with members of the healthcare team
• Blood pressure management and other opportunities to strengthen physical assessment skills
• Health fairs and community outreach activities
• Patient interviews and medication-related discussions
• Disease-state discussions and application of current treatment guidelines
• Patient counseling and patient education
• Case-based and clinical discussions
• Chronic disease management
• Continuous Glucose monitoring
• Presentations and other professional communication activities
• Community pharmacy operations and management experiences
• Exposure to long-term care pharmacy practice
• Meetings with the Hospice Team
• Exposure to National, State and Local Pharmacy Associations
• Discussions about the business and operational challenges that influence community pharmacy practice

Your Learning Experience

We believe students learn best when they are actively involved. Throughout the rotation, you will learn through a combination of:

• Hands-on experience

  Work alongside the community pharmacy patient care team and apply your classroom knowledge to real-world situations.

• Mentorship and discussion

  Ask questions and learn through daily interactions with preceptors, pharmacy staff, patients, and other healthcare professionals.

• Independent learning

  Complete assigned readings and activities that encourage you to explore topics relevant to your patients and practice experiences.

• Clinical application

  Use your didactic education to evaluate patient situations, communicate recommendations, and develop solutions to pharmacy-related problems.

What You Will Develop

By the end of the rotation, students will have opportunities to:

• Apply concepts learned in the classroom to contemporary pharmacy practice.
• Recognize and communicate the role and value of pharmacists in patient care.
• Develop effective oral and written communication skills.
• Strengthen critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Develop strategies that support seamless transitions between acute care and outpatient/community care.
• Gain a broader understanding of the clinical, operational, and business responsibilities of community pharmacists.
• Build confidence interacting with patients and other healthcare professionals.

Assignments & Expectations

Students will complete the assignments required by their college of pharmacy, as outlined on their APPE checklist. Assignments may include written work, presentations, reflections, and other learning activities.

Have a question or need additional help? Ask! We want students to feel comfortable seeking clarification and using their preceptors as a resource throughout the experience.

Join Our Team for Your APPE Experience

We want your rotation to be an experience where you can learn by doing, ask questions, work directly with patients, and discover the many roles a pharmacist can play in a community.

Whether you're interested in clinical care, patient education, community outreach, pharmacy operations, or simply want to better understand what meaningful community pharmacy practice looks like, we hope you'll consider Osterhaus Pharmacy for your rotation experience.

Come learn with us in Maquoketa and become part of a pharmacy team that is invested in its patients and in the next generation of pharmacists.