National Pharmacy Internship Programme

Frequently asked questions

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• How do I apply to undertake the National Pharmacy Internship Programme (NPIP)?

  You must apply online using the RCSI Online Application System (OAS). All pharmacy students will be notified by the RCSI with details of the application process and the relevant dates for application.

• Can I make an application for the National Pharmacy Internship Programme even if I have not found a training placement?

  Yes. Once you have successfully completed a PSI-accredited 4-year Bachelor pharmacy degree programme, you are eligible to make an application. If you have not sourced a placement at that stage, you can submit the NPIP 2 form (Application for Approval of Training Placement) at a later date.

• Is it correct that I must also send documents by post as part of my application?

  Yes. After you submit your online application you must complete the process by sending (by post) a number of documents to RCSI so that your application can be processed. These documents are available for you to download through the online application system. All forms are available from the RCSI website.

• What is the NPIP 3 (Statutory Declaration) Form?

  The statutory declaration form (NPIP 3) is a form you are legally required to complete as part of your application to undertake the National Pharmacy Internship Programme. Your application cannot be progressed if this form is not submitted along with the other documentation. The statutory declaration form must be signed by you in the presence of either a notary public (a person authorized to perform certain legal formalities, appointed by a government body), a commissioner for oaths, a peace commissioner or a practising solicitor in the Republic of Ireland.

• Can I arrange for the NPIP 3 form to be signed outside of Ireland?

  No. The NPIP 3 form must be signed by you in the presence of either a notary public (a person authorized to perform certain legal formalities, appointed by a government body), a commissioner for oaths, a peace commissioner or a practising solicitor in the Republic of Ireland.

• Who is the authorised person to take the statutory declaration?

  The authorised person is a notary public (a person authorized to perform certain legal formalities, appointed by a government body), commissioner for oaths, peace commissioner or practising solicitor. A member of the Garda Síochána is not an authorised person.

• Where do I send my signed and completed forms that are part of my application?

  All signed and completed forms should be sent to the RCSI, Operations Team, School of Pharmacy, 1st Floor Ardilaun House, 111 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.

  The original forms should not be submitted until you have received instructions from RCSI validating the content of your electronic copy.

• Can I start my internship year before I sit my supplemental exams?

  No. If you have to sit supplemental exams, you are not eligible to make an application to undertake the NPIP or to commence your placement until you have received your final exam results. You must successfully complete a PSI-accredited 4-year Bachelor pharmacy degree programme before commencing your placement.

• How do I find a training placement?

  The process of finding a training placement is managed by the RCSI through the Central Application and Selection Process (CAASP).  Students and training establishments are required to register through this online application system.  The system will then match students and training establishments based on their selections.  

• How do I know if my placement has been approved?

  On receipt of the NPIP 2 form, the PSI carries out in-house checks on all placements. All placements are subject to the approval of the PSI. Once the placement is approved, the PSI will issue an approval letter to you and your tutor and inform the RCSI.

• What do I do if I have to change my tutor during my placement?

  For a change of tutor, an NPIP 4 form (application for approval of change of tutor) must be completed and signed by the intern and new tutor, and if in a registered retail pharmacy business by the supervising pharmacist and superintendent pharmacist and sent to the RCSI. The RCSI will forward the form to the PSI to carry out the necessary in-house checks. The application will be considered by the PSI and once approval is granted, the PSI will issue a formal letter of approval. The NPIP 4 form is available from the RCSI.

• Can I move to another training establishment during my internship year?

  You are permitted to change training establishment after 6 consecutive months have been completed in one training establishment.

  In accordance with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (Education and Training) Rules 2008, ‘no period of in-service practical training of less than 6 consecutive months’ duration shall be recognised by the Council’ save in exceptional circumstances. You are, therefore, not permitted to change training establishment or follow your tutor to another training establishment within a 6 month period save in the event of exceptional circumstances which must be approved in advance by the PSI on a case-by-case basis.

• Can a tutor have more than one intern at a time?

  
  

  No. In accordance with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (Education and Training) Rules 2008, ‘The practical in-service training programme shall be undertaken in an establishment approved by the Council under the supervision of a tutor pharmacist as his or her sole pupil.’
  The legislation therefore only allows for a one student to one tutor relationship.

• How much leave can I take throughout my training?

  The maximum length of time an intern is permitted to be absent (i.e. combined annual leave and sick leave) during a 52-week internship year is 35 days.  Where an absence in excess of 35 days occurs, the PSI must be notified.
  
  Please refer to Section 3 of the PSI Policy on Matters in Relation to the National Pharmacy Internship Programme for more detailed information on sick leave.

• Who do I contact if there is a problem during my internship year?

  The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is contracted by the PSI to manage and provide the NPIP on behalf of the PSI and you should contact the Programme Co-ordinator, Ms. Bernadette Kearney at mpharm@rcsi.ie in the first instance.

• What do I do when I have successfully completed my training?

  
  

  When you have successfully completed your training, your tutor will be required to sign-off a statutory declaration form (Form NPIP 6(A)) on the completion of the ‘in-service practical training’ component of the NPIP. The intern does not have to sign this form. The form should be sent directly to the PSI.

  
  

  When a tutor signs the NPIP 6(A) form, they are attesting to the satisfactory completion, in their opinion, of your internship. By signing the form the tutor is also declaring that you have completed the requisite period of training and the designated learning and competencies relevant to the programme and that they are not aware of any reason that you might be unfit to be registered as a pharmacist as laid out in Rule 18(1)(b) of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (Education and Training) Rules 2008.

  
  

  If you are undertaking two separate six month placements, you must ensure that each tutor completes and signs an NPIP 6(A) form at the end of each placement. When a tutor signs the form at the six month stage, they are declaring that the intern completed the competence standards appraisal relevant to that stage of the in-service practical training programme component of the National Pharmacy Internship Programme.

• Where do I get the NPIP 6(A) form?

  The NPIP 6(A) form is available to download from the RCSI Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It is the responsibility of the intern to provide his/her tutor with this form.

• Who should sign the form if I had more than one tutor pharmacist in the same training establishment?

  If you have had more than one tutor pharmacist involved in the supervision of your training (for instance, arising from staffing changes) and if based in the same training establishment, each tutor pharmacist who oversaw your training is required to sign the statutory declaration subject to their availability in the State. In any event, the tutor pharmacist who is acting as your tutor at the end of the training period must be the signatory of the statutory declaration, at a minimum.

• Are there any other legal requirements regarding a statutory declaration?

  A statutory declaration is made under the Statutory Declarations Act 1938 (as amended). A statutory declaration can only be sworn in Ireland in the presence of a solicitor, a commissioner for oaths, a notary public (a person authorized to perform certain legal formalities, appointed by a government body) or a peace commissioner.

• What happens if my tutor will not sign the NPIP 6(A)?

  In the event that a tutor decides that there are unresolved issues as set out in Rule 18(1)(b) of the PSI (Education and Training) Rules 2008 (see FAQ 16 above), he/she may decline to sign the NPIP 6(A) form. In that case they must submit the NPIP 6(B) form. By signing this they are declaring that you have not completed satisfactorily one or more of the requisite elements of the programme as identified in Rule 18(1)(b).

  Rule 18 also provides that in the event that a tutor pharmacist completes form NPIP 6(B), an appeal process may be initiated by the intern to request a review of that decision by the tutor. To initiate this process, the intern will be required to complete the relevant section of form NPIP 5(B).

  It is estimated that the process for the review will take at least 60 days to complete from the intern’s initiation of the request for a review to the final decision by the PSI Council. It is important to note that the statutory declaration signed by the tutor pharmacist is the initial document that is required to initiate the process.

  A detailed outline of the process will be made available to both the intern and to the tutor pharmacist(s) if a review process is commenced.

  The review panel must be composed of three persons, one of whom must be a practising barrister or solicitor or a retired judge. Having considered the matter, the review panel must make a recommendation to the Council of the PSI. Council is required to make the final decision.

• How do I apply to sit the Professional Registration Examination?

  In order to be eligible to apply to sit the Professional Registration Examination (PRE), an intern must have successfully completed all elements of the in-service practical training programme as follows;

  1. Completed satisfactorily all assessments associated with the in-service practical programme.
  2. Completed the requisite period of training.
  3. Achieved Level 4 in all aspects of the competence standards appraisal.
  4. Submitted the necessary NPIP 6(A) form.

  The NPIP 6(A) form must be submitted in a timely manner prior to the sitting of the PRE. Failure to submit these forms prior to the exam may affect your eligibility to sit for the PRE.
  The application form for the PRE will be made available by the RCSI and must be sent directly to RCSI.