21 NCAC 46 .1503             EXPERIENCE IN PHARMACY AND PHARMACY INTERNSHIP

(a)  An applicant for license must show that the applicant has received 1500 hours of practical experience under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist which has been acquired while enrolled in a school of pharmacy accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.

(b)  All practical pharmacy experience gained within the State of North Carolina must be acquired as follows:

(1)           All practical pharmacy experience must be validated through registration in the internship program administered by the Board. A person does not receive credit for any practical experience unless and until that person is registered with the Board as a pharmacy intern.

(2)           Practical experience shall be credited only when it has been obtained in a location holding a pharmacy permit, or a location approved by the Board for practical experience, and only after the pharmacy intern notifies the Board of the location of the practical experience. If the pharmacy intern's location of employment changes, the pharmacy intern must notify the Board of the change before commencing an internship at the new location.

(3)           The person acquiring practical experience shall at all times comply with the Board's rules and the laws governing the practice of pharmacy and the distribution of drugs. Failure of the pharmacist intern to do so is grounds to disqualify the experience from counting toward the minimum requirements.

(4)           The Board shall accept hours of experience certified by the school from which the applicant has graduated, provided that the applicant has satisfied Subparagraphs (1)-(3) of this Paragraph. The Board shall not allow credit for claims of practical experience required under the pharmacy laws, unless such claims can be corroborated by records on file in the Board's office showing the beginning and the ending of the practical experience claimed as supplied by the applicant during this training period.

(c)  A person is eligible to register or renew and be employed as a pharmacy intern only if, and so long as, the person is:

(1)           Currently enrolled in a pharmacy school accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. In order to qualify as "enrolled" in a pharmacy school, the student must be attending pharmacy school at the time, or on a break between academic terms;

(2)           A graduate of a foreign school of pharmacy who has successfully completed the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination offered by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and the Test of English as a Foreign Language and who is acquiring the practical experience required for licensure;

(3)           A pharmacist licensed in another state who is gaining practical experience required for a license by reciprocity under Rule .1602 of this Chapter;

(4)           A pharmacist with an inactive North Carolina license who is gaining practical experience required for reinstatement of a license under Rule .1612 of this Chapter;

(5)           A graduate of a school of pharmacy who has not been licensed in any State, who has not been denied a license in any State, who has an active application for licensure to practice pharmacy in North Carolina and who has met all requirements for licensure other than taking and passing the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination and the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination, and who is gaining practical experience to prepare for the examination in order to achieve licensure.

(d)  In order to register or renew as a pharmacy intern, an applicant must submit proof of eligibility under Paragraph (c) of this Rule. The applicant further must provide releases for the Board to verify the applicant's eligibility, including confirming enrollment in or graduation from pharmacy school.

(e)  Pharmacy intern registrations are valid until the September 1 immediately following registration. If the person remains eligible for registration as a pharmacy intern, the registration shall be renewed between August 1 and September 1 of the year in which the registration expires. If the registration expires for a pharmacy intern, that person is not eligible to work as a pharmacy intern in the State of North Carolina unless and until the registration is reinstated after a new application.

(f)  If a pharmacy intern ceases to be eligible to be registered and employed as a pharmacy intern under Paragraph (c) of this Rule, that person must immediately cease working as a pharmacy intern and must notify the Board within five calendar days of a change in status and request that the person's registration be made inactive.

(g)  The Board may accept practical experience gained in another state pursuant to internship registration in this or another state if the Board is satisfied that such experience is equivalent.

(h)  A registered pharmacy intern working under a pharmacist preceptor or supervising pharmacist may, while under supervision of that pharmacist, perform all acts constituting the practice of pharmacy. Because the pharmacy intern may perform all acts constituting the practice of pharmacy under supervision under this provision, doing so without being registered with the Board is the unlicensed practice of pharmacy.

(i)  A supervising pharmacist, pharmacist preceptor, or pharmacist-manager who causes or permits a pharmacy intern to violate any laws, rules, or regulations applicable to the practice of pharmacy or the distribution of drugs forfeits his or her right to supervise pharmacy interns and is subject to additional disciplinary action. A supervising pharmacist, pharmacist preceptor, or pharmacist-manager who violates any laws, rules, or regulations applicable to the supervision of pharmacy interns forfeits his or her right to supervise pharmacy interns and is subject to additional disciplinary action. This includes, but is not limited to, making false representations or withholding material information about the pharmacy intern's practical experience or employing a pharmacy intern who is not registered with the Board. A pharmacist who has been found in violation of laws, rules, or regulations governing the practice of pharmacy and the distribution of drugs cannot serve as a supervising pharmacist or pharmacist preceptor without the approval by the Board.

(j)  The Board may consider any of the acts set forth in G.S. 90-85.38(a) that are committed by a pharmacy intern in considering whether to grant that person a license to practice pharmacy or what conditions are appropriate to ensure that the person can practice pharmacy safely.

(k)  The practical experience hours gained prior to the effective date of any amendment to this Rule are governed by the requirements of this Rule in effect at the time the hours were obtained.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 90-85.6; 90-85.14; 90-85.15; 90-85.38;

Eff. April 1, 1983;

Amended Eff. March 1, 2004; September 1, 1993; April 1, 1992; October 1, 1990; May 1, 1989;

Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. October 3, 2017;

Amended Eff. May 1, 2022.