The basics of pharmacy rotations at my school are that we do 8, 5-week rotations, with 4 required subject areas, and 4 elective areas. These are considered the required internship hours to graduate from an accredited college of pharmacy. They are essentially on-the-job-training. We're not REQUIRED to travel out of state, but there are some elective rotations that I REALLY wanted to take, that were only available out of state. These are all at our own expense, in addition to paying the school full tuition, and not being paid to do the internship.
This fall, I'll be completing my rotations locally, then proceeding to Phoenix, AZ, Boulder, CO, and Kalispell, MT...those are the difficult ones to prepare for. Three new states to get licensed in requires a lot of paperwork, money, and time, along with a few fingerprints and background checks, over and above what Iowa requires! My husband and I will selling our house and living full-time in an RV once I'm done with my local rotations. We are very thankful that he works with a national company that will allow him to work in different markets while we travel. This means we can still be together, and will still have some income.
Living in an RV will mean that I am truly flexible when it comes time to find and/or accept a job, and if everything works out with selling our house, it would be the best option for our current situation. When we do finally come to rest somewhere, the RV will also allow us to take out time and find a great place to live and build a house.
So, for the next year, I'll be trying to document my journey through the rotation process, the cross-country travel, and the job search! I don't know if it will be of any interest to anyone out there, but it will be a way to remember everything for me at least!
