Students are strongly encouraged to carefully read the REGULATIONS FOR THE PRACTICAL EVALUATION INTERNSHIP and the PROTOCOL ON CURRICULAR PRACTICAL–EVALUATION INTERNSHIP (TPV) and to comply with all the instructions set out below.
Academic Requirements for Starting the TPV
To begin the curricular practical–evaluation internship (TPV), students must:
- have acquired at least 160 ECTS credits and be enrolled in at least the fourth year of the degree program;
- have passed, with official registration in the online Esse3 transcript, the following examinations:
- at least one course belonging to SSD CHIM/08 (General Pharmaceutical Chemistry);
- at least one course belonging to SSD BIO/14 (General Pharmacology);
- have at least attended the course of Pharmaceutical Technology (SSD CHIM/09).
Identification of the Host Pharmacy and Professional Tutor
The curricular practical–evaluation internship consists of a six-month period, which may also be non-continuous, to be carried out in a community pharmacy and/or a hospital pharmacy. The activity may not exceed 40 hours per week, for a total of 900 hours, of which at least 450 hours must be carried out in a community pharmacy, corresponding to 30 university credits (ECTS).
When carried out in non-continuous periods, these may not be shorter than one month and must take place in no more than three host institutions. Attendance at the pharmacy must take place during its opening hours, excluding night shifts.
The student identifies the community pharmacy or hospital pharmacy and obtains authorization to carry out the TPV from the Pharmacy Manager, who appoints a professional tutor.
The community pharmacy must be chosen from among those listed in the TPV Convention register published on the website of the territorially competent Order of Pharmacists.
The hospital pharmacy must be selected from among those included in the list of Health Authorities affiliated with the University of Messina, published on this webpage.
The professional tutor is a licensed pharmacist with at least two years of professional experience, appointed by the owner or technical director of the host pharmacy and/or by the director of the hospital pharmacy, and permanently employed therein. The tutor is responsible for supervising and directly assisting the trainee during professional practice and for ensuring compliance with the internship regulations.
Request for Assignment of an Academic Tutor
At least 15 working days before the planned start date of the internship, the student must request the assignment of an academic tutor from the Degree Program Council, selected from among the faculty members of the LM-13 degree class.
The request, addressed to the Degree Program Coordinator, must be sent from the student’s institutional email address (name.surname@studenti.unime.it) to protocollo@unime.it.
Mandatory Basic Course on Workplace Safet
Before starting the internship, students are required to attend a 4-hour basic course (including a learning assessment test) on workplace safety, organized by the University.
For information: [Click here]
The certificate of attendance must be attached to the application for admission to the TPV.
Submission of the Application for Admission to the TPV
The application for admission to the TPV, drafted using the available template, must be submitted to the Student Office of the University of Messina by sending it from the institutional email address (name.surname@studenti.unime.it) to the following addresses:
protocollo@unime.it and uop6.chibiofaram@unime.it
The application, duly completed in all its parts, must include the exact time period during which the internship will take place, any division into separate periods, the host pharmacy or pharmacies (no more than three), and the names of both the professional tutor and the academic tutor.
Note: The owner or director of the host pharmacy, the professional tutor, and the academic tutor must not be related to the trainee by kinship or affinity up to the third degree.
Following submission of the application, the Student Office, after verifying the academic requirements for access to the internship, will validate the request and send the student an acceptance notice and a convocation for document collection via institutional email. The communication will also include a link to a short questionnaire that the student must complete and print the receipt.
The student must then appear at the Student Office on the indicated date, submit the questionnaire receipt, and collect the approved application.
IMPORTANT: Official communications must be sent exclusively from the institutional email address (name.surname@studenti.unime.it). Requests sent from private or non-identifiable email accounts will not be processed by the Student Office.
Start of the PRACTICAL–EVALUATION INTERNSHIP (TPV)
The application for admission must be submitted to the Order of Pharmacists with territorial jurisdiction over the host pharmacy through the IT platform provided by FOFI.
Access link: https://tirocini.fofiruf.it/
Upon receipt of the request, the Order of Pharmacists activates the Trainee’s Logbook through the platform (if access to the application is not possible, a paper version provided by the Order will be used to certify the correct completion of the TPV).
If the student carries out the TPV in two or three pharmacies located in different provinces, the Logbook is activated by the Order of the province in which the first part of the internship takes place. When starting the second or third part in another province, the student must inform the Order that activated the Logbook so that it can be updated with the new host pharmacy.
At the end of the TPV, the Orders of the provinces in which the internship was carried out validate the TPV with digital signature, each for their respective competence, following approval by the academic tutor.
If the student changes university during the TPV, the internship activities already completed and recorded in the Trainee’s Logbook remain valid for completion of the internship at the new institution.
Completion of the PRACTICAL–EVALUATION INTERNSHIP (TPV)
At the end of the internship, the Trainee’s Logbook must be approved by both the professional tutor and the academic tutor and then validated by the competent Order of Pharmacists through digital signature.
The internship must be completed within 24 months from its start date. Internship hours completed more than 24 months prior will not be considered valid and will be deleted from the Logbook.
Upon completion of the TPV, the trainee will be admitted to the final Practical Evaluation Test (PPV), which is a prerequisite for the final examination.
Recording of TPV Credits in the Academic Career
Once 450 or 900 internship hours have been completed, the trainee must submit to the Student Office (via protocollo@unime.it) the application form for the registration of TPV credits, signed by both the professional tutor and the academic tutor, for the purpose of credit recognition.
Supervision and Monitoring Activities
The Order of Pharmacists with territorial jurisdiction over the host pharmacy supervises the proper conduct of the internship. In the event of serious violations of the protocol, the Order may propose to the University the annulment or supplementation of the TPV.
Insurance Coverage
As a student regularly enrolled at the University of Messina, the trainee is insured for Civil Liability and also benefits from additional accident insurance coverage. Coverage applies to incidents occurring at university facilities and to any incidents occurring off campus, provided that the student has been duly authorized in advance and that the activity is carried out for educational purposes.
Pursuant to Article 5 of Interministerial Decree No. 651 of 5 July 2022, for students who have opted to transition to the new qualifying degree pathway, any professional internship activities already carried out may be recognized by the universities, in agreement with the competent Professional Order, upon request by the student, for the purposes of completing the practical–evaluation internship (TPV).
On the basis of Article 5 of Interministerial Decree No. 651 of 5 July 2022, the Council of the Master’s Degree Program in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, in agreement with the relevant Professional Orders, has resolved as follows:
- for students enrolled under the previous degree regulations of the Master’s Degree Program in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology who, in the 2023–2024 academic year, opted for the qualifying degree system [7026], who began their internship by academic year 2022/2023 and who, as of the date of signing of the new agreement (31 May 2024), had completed it, all internship activities are fully recognized, as recorded in the paper logbook previously issued by the Student Office and validated by the host pharmacy and the Professional Order at the end of the internship. These students are admitted to the Practical Evaluation Test (PPV), subject to submission of a specific application by the student (Form 1), to be sent to the Degree Program Coordinator from the institutional email address (name.surname@studenti.unime.it) via the protocol office (protocollo@unime.it).
- for students enrolled under the previous degree regulations of the Master’s Degree Program in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology who opted, in the 2023–2024 academic year, for the qualifying degree system [7026], who began their internship by December 2023 and who, as of the date of signing of the new agreement (31 May 2024), had not yet completed it, the internship activities already carried out are recognized, as recorded in the paper logbook previously issued by the Student Office and certified therein by the professional tutor pharmacist, insofar as they are consistent with the activities set out in the FOFI/CRUI Protocol on the TPV.
These students must submit to the Degree Program Council a specific application for recognition of the professional internship already completed and for assignment of an academic tutor (Form 2). This application must be sent to the Degree Program Coordinator from the institutional email address (name.surname@studenti.unime.it) via the protocol office (protocollo@unime.it).
For the completion of the TPV, in order to achieve the objectives established by the current regulations, students must comply with the core contents of the TPV as described in the FOFI/CRUI Protocol on the Curricular Practical–Evaluation Internship. Students must also comply with the following provisions:
- the internship activity may not exceed 40 hours per week (Article 2, paragraph 2, of Interministerial Decree No. 651 of 5 July 2022) and must take place during the pharmacy’s opening hours, excluding night shifts;
- the owner or director of the host pharmacy, the professional tutor, and the academic tutor must not be related to the trainee by kinship or affinity up to the third degree;
- the internship must be completed within 24 months from its start date;
- upon completion of the internship, the trainee must prepare a report of the activities carried out, which must be approved and signed by the tutors. The trainee must then submit the paper logbook validated by the Professional Order, together with the above-mentioned report, to the Student Office.
The Internship Request Form must be signed by the owner/director of the Pharmacy and submitted to the Student Office (Operational Unit 6 – Officer in charge: Ms. Maria Grazia Rotondo) for the issuance of the internship record book.
The student must attach to the above-mentioned form the certificate of completion of the Workplace Safety Course. If the student does not possess this certificate, they must use the following booking form: [LINK TO THE FORM], in order to be granted access to the 4-hour e-learning Workplace Safety Course.
Internship Contact Person for the Degree Programs in Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology (CTF):
Student Office – Operational Unit 6
Email: uop6.chibiofaram@unime.it