Summer Internship Protocol

The ASHP Summer Internship is a ten week training program for a doctor of pharmacy student conducted at the ASHP Headquarters in Bethesda, MD.

Purpose and Objectives

• To provide an undergraduate pharmacy student with an opportunity to gain association experience in the specific areas of membership development and membership marketing at a national association headquarters.
• To provide an understanding of the importance of pharmacy associations to the profession.
• To provide an understanding of the value of participation in local, state, and national pharmacy organizations.

Qualification and Selection of the Applicant

• The applicant shall be a full-time doctor of pharmacy student at an ACPE-accredited school of pharmacy having completed his/her first professional year upon start of internship.
• The applicant must be in good academic standing.
• The applicant shall have demonstrated interest in organizational activities through participation in student organizations or clubs at his/her college or university or other community organizations.
• The applicant shall be recommended by his/her present or former employers/preceptors, and/or college faculty or Dean.
• Selection of the applicant shall be the responsibility of the ASHP Summer Internship Committee and additional staff members as needed.

Internship Schedule and Activities

• Throughout the ten week program internship at the ASHP office, the intern shall attend orientation meeting with ASHP staff.
• The internship shall consist of 337.5 hours of training time extending over a period of 9-10 working weeks.
• Following orientation, the intern will be assigned a project(s) within the office to which the intern is assigned.
• The Intern will attend relevant meetings of division staff, and meetings external to the division which preceptor deems to be appropriate.
• When feasible, the intern will attend meetings involving outside agencies, organizations, and other groups having a bearing on the membership responsibilities of the ASHP staff. Visits to other pharmacy organizations may be scheduled as time permits.
• Emphasis will be given to on-the-job training aspects of the internship. The training schedule and assignments will be patterned to permit the intern to pursue, in-depth, those activities within the division which he/she is most interested.

Educational Objectives

Upon completing the program, the ASHP summer intern will:

1. Understand how associations are structured and where ASHP fits in comparison to other associations in general;
2. Understand the need for and purpose of pharmacy organizations and of ASHP in particular;
3. Have general knowledge of the full range of association activities (e.g. publications, government affairs, educational services, meeting planning, and professional activities).

Application Instructions