3.3 Pharmacy Interns & Practical Experience

Intern Registration Under § 27.26

A pharmacy intern is an individual who has registered with the Pennsylvania State Board of Pharmacy under 49 Pa. Code § 27.26 to acquire the practical experience required for pharmacist licensure. Registration is required before the individual may perform any intern functions. Students enrolled in an ACPE-accredited PharmD program typically register as interns early in the professional sequence so that their IPPE and APPE hours count toward the 1,500-hour requirement.

The intern registration is tied to a specific pharmacist-preceptor or pharmacy site. The intern carries a Board-issued registration that must be available for inspection. Falsifying intern hours or performing intern functions without active registration is unlicensed practice.

Scope of Practice — Direct and Immediate Personal Supervision

Under 49 Pa. Code § 27.12(c), an intern may perform acts of pharmacy practice — dispensing, compounding, counseling under supervision, immunization administration, prescription transfer, and drug utilization review — only under the direct and immediate personal supervision of a licensed pharmacist. "Direct and immediate personal supervision" means the supervising pharmacist is physically present, observes the activity, and is available to intervene immediately. The supervising pharmacist remains professionally and legally responsible for the intern's acts.

An intern cannot serve as the pharmacist-in-charge, cannot independently receive verbal prescriptions (the supervising pharmacist must be present and engaged), and cannot operate as the sole pharmacy professional on duty. Interns must identify themselves to patients as interns, not as pharmacists.

The 1,500-Hour Requirement

Pennsylvania requires 1,500 hours of supervised practical experience for pharmacist licensure. The Board accepts hours earned in an ACPE-accredited PharmD curriculum (IPPEs and APPEs) without requiring a separate Pennsylvania-specific internship. Candidates who completed a B.S. in Pharmacy or whose PharmD hours were earned outside an ACPE-accredited program must document hours under a Board-registered preceptor.

Hours are documented on Board-approved affidavits. Intern hours earned in another state may be accepted if the preceptor and site met equivalent requirements; the Board reviews out-of-state affidavits on submission.

Intern Immunization Authority

Pennsylvania gives interns significant — but supervised — immunization authority under 49 Pa. Code § 27.403:

• General injectable immunizations, biologicals, and medications: Interns may administer to patients 8 years of age or older (§ 27.403(a), amended effective April 11, 2026, 56 Pa.B. 1980 — previously 18; the exam-meta "6+" is OUTDATED).
• Influenza and COVID-19 immunizations (injectable or needle-free): Interns may administer to patients 5 years of age or older (§ 27.403(b)).
• Supervision: Interns act under direct and immediate personal supervision of an authorized pharmacist.
• Requirements: The supervising pharmacist must have Board authority, an order or written protocol (valid up to 2 years under § 27.404), current CPR certification, and training; the intern must also be appropriately trained.
• Documentation: Reports to the PA DOH immunization registry within 72 hours; for patients under 18, the parent or caregiver must be notified of the need for a well-child visit.

Interns may not administer immunizations independently. A pharmacist who delegates to an intern remains responsible for the intern's acts and must be physically present and able to intervene.

Interns vs. Technicians — The Distinction

Interns and technicians both work under pharmacist supervision, but their legal status, purpose, and scope differ. An intern is on the path to pharmacist licensure; their hours count toward the 1,500-hour requirement and they perform pharmacist-level tasks under supervision. A pharmacy technician performs supportive tasks (counting, retrieving, inventory, data entry) and is not on a licensure path.

Pennsylvania's technician registration rules (49 Pa. Code §§ 27.701–27.705, effective June 28, 2025) require:

• Age: At least 17 years old.
• Education: High school diploma or GED.
• Training: Completion of a Board-approved training program.
• Background: Criminal history record check.
• Child-abuse training: At least 3 hours of child-abuse recognition and reporting training.
• Trainee registration: Technician trainees may register temporarily (up to 2 years, issued once) while completing training.

There is no fixed numeric pharmacist-to-technician ratio; the pharmacist must provide direct and immediate personal supervision, and the PIC maintains a written protocol for each technician under § 27.12.

---

Pharmacy Intern vs. Pharmacy Technician

Exam Traps

• "Interns may immunize at 6+" — wrong. Current rule (April 2026) is 8+ for general injectable immunizations, 5+ for flu/COVID.
• "1:2 pharmacist-to-technician ratio" — wrong. The proposed 1:2 ratio was deleted in final rulemaking. The standard is direct and immediate personal supervision.
• "Intern = technician with more hours" — wrong. An intern is on the pharmacist licensure path and performs pharmacist-level acts; a technician performs supportive tasks and is not on a licensure path.
• "Interns can immunize independently" — wrong. Interns require direct and immediate personal supervision by an authorized pharmacist for all immunization administration.