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Trading the counter for a cube: corporate pharmacy interns share their experiences
Hundreds of student pharmacists interned or worked in our retail stores over the summer, but four pharmacy students saw a different side of Walgreens – the corporate office in Deerfield, IL. They spent 12 weeks working in departments such as Pharmacy Services: Healthcare Integration, Health Care Innovation, and Government & Community Relations; and all the corporate interns say that what they learned behind a desk will help them better serve patients behind the counter. Here’s more about their experiences:
From left to right: Liz VanWert, Justin Balint, CEO Greg Wasson, Chase Richardson, Laura Dee
"This internship is not just for students interested in community pharmacy. Walgreens offers so many different opportunities to build a pharmacy career; you can do them all and still work for the same company. You could work at one of the 7,500 retail stores throughout all 50 states; a worksite pharmacy like the one in Disney World; an on-site clinic that specializes in disease state management, or even work at one of the call centers counseling patients through an on-line chat venue. The opportunities are endless!"
— Chase Richardson, University of Tennessee
"Over the summer, I researched pharmacy laws and how state legislative changes impact Walgreens. I created a presentation pharmacists will use for patient outreach programs and helped with health screening initiatives. Before this internship, I wasn’t sure if a career in retail pharmacy was right for me, but this experience has shown me that a career as a Walgreens pharmacist is very dynamic."
— Justin Balint, Wilkes University
"I think many people see retail pharmacy as very mechanical, but Walgreens is so much more than that. Around the country, Walgreens is offering more and more clinical services and the patient-pharmacist interactions are growing. This experience really allowed me to see how the company is working and adapting to fit the needs of the evolving pharmacy profession."
— Laura Dee, Midwest University
"I wrote patient education pieces and contributed to pharmacy CEs, got involved with the Duane Reade acquisition and learned key business practices for a successful pharmacy. This internship showed me that Walgreens' new health initiatives will allow our business to be the leader in patient-focused pharmaceutical care, now and in the future."
— Liz VanWert, University of Michigan
If you’d like to swap a pharmacy uniform for business-casual attire and see what goes on at our corporate office, watch the Students section of Walgreens.jobs for more information about our paid Walgreens Summer Corporate Pharmacy Internship Program. Applications are accepted online December 1 through February 15.