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Pharmacy Applicants 2016

Hey guys! I couldn't see a thread for 2016 entry for Pharmacy so thought I would make one! :smile: I am interested in studying pharmacy and hopefully will be applying this September, is there anyone else out there hoping to do the same?

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Original post by charlottehambly
Hey guys! I couldn't see a thread for 2016 entry for Pharmacy so thought I would make one! :smile: I am interested in studying pharmacy and hopefully will be applying this September, is there anyone else out there hoping to do the same?


Hi, I'm currently a 2nd year MPharm student at Brighton - feel free to ask me questions about Brighton or pharmacy in general!

So have you considered where you might apply?
Original post by thegodofgod
Hi, I'm currently a 2nd year MPharm student at Brighton - feel free to ask me questions about Brighton or pharmacy in general!

So have you considered where you might apply?


Your a 2nd year! Oh wow! How are you finding it? I'm thinking of applying for Pharmacy but i'm still unsure. I guess my main worry is the amount of drugs and things you have to remember cause I looked round and i'm getting quite worried...
Original post by thegodofgod
Hi, I'm currently a 2nd year MPharm student at Brighton - feel free to ask me questions about Brighton or pharmacy in general!

So have you considered where you might apply?


Hi yeah that would be fab thank you! Hope it's going well :smile: and I'm not sure yet but booked a few open days so I'll see how they go! They include Keele, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bath and Portsmouth
Original post by charlottehambly
Hi yeah that would be fab thank you! Hope it's going well :smile: and I'm not sure yet but booked a few open days so I'll see how they go! They include Keele, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bath and Portsmouth


I've been told by my friend (who wants to become a pharmacist) that UEA has a good pharmacy school. So if you can, try and get booked onto their open day too!
Original post by DarkMask09
Your a 2nd year! Oh wow! How are you finding it? I'm thinking of applying for Pharmacy but i'm still unsure. I guess my main worry is the amount of drugs and things you have to remember cause I looked round and i'm getting quite worried...


As pharmacists, we are the experts on medicines within the healthcare team - our job is to advise prescribers such as GPs, hospital consultants and dentists on the optimal treatment for the patient, taking many factors into consideration, such as the age of the patient, whether there is any kidney / liver damage present, what other medications the patient is on, whether they have any allergies (drug or food) etc. So, you will have to know lots about drugs and medicines as a whole, but a lot of it will come from experience you gain as either a summer placement student (e.g. working as a dispenser in a community pharmacy), or when you're working as a pre-registration pharmacist or a registered pharmacist. Learning about drugs is very logical, and if you have a logical mind, you will do very well.

At Brighton our course is structure in a case-based manner - you have about 10 or so cases per year, and then you learn all the relevant content to that case within those 2 or 3 weeks. For example, we had a case called 'ischaemic heart disease' for about 2 weeks just before Easter this year, and that's where we were given lectures on anatomy and physiology of the cardiovascular system, physiology of cholesterol absorptino and metabolism, pharmacology of drugs to treat ischaemic heart disease, e.g. statins and nitrates, formulation of nitrates, pharmacy practice regarding counselling patients on nitrates, and learning about specific clinical trials that were used to determine the efficacy of various medicines. This case-based approach is considered to be a lot more effective for pharmacy students, as it helps keep everything that is taught within a case relevant, which makes it easier for the students to grasp conceptually, and also, how the basic science of it all fits within a clinical scenario.

Original post by charlottehambly
Hi yeah that would be fab thank you! Hope it's going well :smile: and I'm not sure yet but booked a few open days so I'll see how they go! They include Keele, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Bath and Portsmouth


Yeah, it's going well, thanks - just had an exam today, which went okay on the whole, but one component went terribly for everyone I spoke to after the exam (about 50 odd people in my year), so hopefully the lecturers will mark those bits more nicely. That's a good range of choices you have there, have a good time at the open days!
Reply 6
I got a C in English language and an A in maths. will I still have the chance to get into pharmacy?
Original post by naany98
I got a C in English language and an A in maths. will I still have the chance to get into pharmacy?


I just had a quick look and found that you'll be eligble for Bradford's School of Pharmacy: http://www.bradford.ac.uk/study/courses/view/?c=pharmacy-mpharm-5-years

Take a look around other websites. Also, there is more than one route into pharmacy. Some universities run access courses which are designed for students who haven't quite gotten the grades/subjects for pharmacy, but show aptitude for the subject.
Reply 8
Thank you
Original post by thegodofgod
Hi, I'm currently a 2nd year MPharm student at Brighton - feel free to ask me questions about Brighton or pharmacy in general!

So have you considered where you might apply?


Hello, is there any pharmacy courses at uni which accept btec applied science L3 extended diploma and 5 gcse at all grade Cs? I know a minority only accept it. What about you? :smile:
Original post by Uz25
Hello, is there any pharmacy courses at uni which accept btec applied science L3 extended diploma and 5 gcse at all grade Cs? I know a minority only accept it. What about you? :smile:


Sorry, I'm not too sure about that. I think the best thing to do would be to ask the individual admissions tutors at each school of pharmacy about whether your grades are acceptable.
Original post by thegodofgod
As pharmacists, we are the experts on medicines within the healthcare team - our job is to advise prescribers such as GPs, hospital consultants and dentists on the optimal treatment for the patient, taking many factors into consideration, such as the age of the patient, whether there is any kidney / liver damage present, what other medications the patient is on, whether they have any allergies (drug or food) etc. So, you will have to know lots about drugs and medicines as a whole, but a lot of it will come from experience you gain as either a summer placement student (e.g. working as a dispenser in a community pharmacy), or when you're working as a pre-registration pharmacist or a registered pharmacist. Learning about drugs is very logical, and if you have a logical mind, you will do very well.

At Brighton our course is structure in a case-based manner - you have about 10 or so cases per year, and then you learn all the relevant content to that case within those 2 or 3 weeks. For example, we had a case called 'ischaemic heart disease' for about 2 weeks just before Easter this year, and that's where we were given lectures on anatomy and physiology of the cardiovascular system, physiology of cholesterol absorptino and metabolism, pharmacology of drugs to treat ischaemic heart disease, e.g. statins and nitrates, formulation of nitrates, pharmacy practice regarding counselling patients on nitrates, and learning about specific clinical trials that were used to determine the efficacy of various medicines. This case-based approach is considered to be a lot more effective for pharmacy students, as it helps keep everything that is taught within a case relevant, which makes it easier for the students to grasp conceptually, and also, how the basic science of it all fits within a clinical scenario.

Thanks for the help. I guess it does seem more manageable that way. I'll give it a go anyway cause I do want to study Pharmacy. I'll just have to keep working hard.:work:
Original post by DarkMask09
Thanks for the help. I guess it does seem more manageable that way. I'll give it a go anyway cause I do want to study Pharmacy. I'll just have to keep working hard.:work:


That's the key; if you put the effort in, you'll see good results :smile:
Reply 13
Original post by Uz25
Hello, is there any pharmacy courses at uni which accept btec applied science L3 extended diploma and 5 gcse at all grade Cs? I know a minority only accept it. What about you? :smile:

For first year entry all i could find is:
Medway School of Pharmacy (MPharm) - D*D*D* in Applied Science

Or you could do a foundation year at one of many universities and then progress to the full degree or you could apply for something like Pharmacology and try to switch to an MPharm after your first year.
Original post by yt7777
For first year entry all i could find is:
Medway School of Pharmacy (MPharm) - D*D*D* in Applied Science

Or you could do a foundation year at one of many universities and then progress to the full degree or you could apply for something like Pharmacology and try to switch to an MPharm after your first year.

D* Will be hard to get. .. could I ask, do primary teachers get well paid. ..
Reply 15
Original post by Uz25
D* Will be hard to get. .. could I ask, do primary teachers get well paid. ..


if you do the 18 unit Extended diploma you will need a minimum of 15 Distinctions and 3 Merits to get D*D*D*

Im not entirely sure about the pay but I believe that you would qualify for the degree course as I read somewhere (I think it was the entry reqs page for Durham) that you can get onto the Primary Education or Education with a BTEC in a national curriculum subject (which Science is)

However, have you not considered doing a Science based degree (e.g. Biological Sciences, Bio-Med, Neuroscience, Physiology, Biochemistry etc.) and then doing a PGCE (or an MA in Education) which will qualify you to teach at all levels but also qualifies you for jobs in the Science industry?
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by yt7777
if you do the 18 unit Extended diploma you will need a minimum of 15 Distinctions and 3 Merits to get D*D*D*

Im not entirely sure about the pay but I believe that you would qualify for the degree course as I read somewhere (I think it was the entry reqs page for Durham) that you can get onto the Primary Education or Education with a BTEC in a national curriculum subject (which Science is)

However, have you not considered doing a Science based degree (e.g. Biological Sciences, Bio-Med, Neuroscience, Physiology, Biochemistry etc.) and then doing a PGCE (or an MA in Education) which will qualify you to teach at all levels but also qualifies you for jobs in the Science industry?


Tbh til use to consider degrees e.g. biomedical science, biochemistry.etc. However, these courses are very la based and I'm not good at practicals; I can follow instructions but not when I don't understand what they want me to do. Also, there's a limited amount of job available for lab based careers and I cant see myself doing that my whole life...
Reply 17
Original post by Uz25
Tbh til use to consider degrees e.g. biomedical science, biochemistry.etc. However, these courses are very la based and I'm not good at practicals; I can follow instructions but not when I don't understand what they want me to do. Also, there's a limited amount of job available for lab based careers and I cant see myself doing that my whole life...

Why not look at science based courses that are not as practical?

Because if you do a standard BSc degree and then a PGCE you will be able to teach at any level (primary, secondary or sixth form)

And also you wouldnt be limited to just teaching if you were to do a BA Primary Education or a BA Education
Original post by yt7777
Why not look at science based courses that are not as practical?

Because if you do a standard BSc degree and then a PGCE you will be able to teach at any level (primary, secondary or sixth form)

And also you wouldnt be limited to just teaching if you were to do a BA Primary Education or a BA Education


But i can't find any other science based courses that arn't practical based other than nursing, midwifery, audiology, pharmacy and optometry.

I know this is nothing to do with this topic but:
Would a vaccum flask be an example of a heat transfer used in industries.

And what would the limitations of a short and thin rod and a rod that is fat in regard to heat transfer... please reply asap
Reply 19
Original post by Uz25
But i can't find any other science based courses that arn't practical based other than nursing, midwifery, audiology, pharmacy and optometry.

I know this is nothing to do with this topic but:
Would a vaccum flask be an example of a heat transfer used in industries.

And what would the limitations of a short and thin rod and a rod that is fat in regard to heat transfer... please reply asap

Im sure there are more, best thing is to go to a few open days and talk to people from different departments and they will talk you through all the different courses and that will usually include the division of lectures and labs, if not you can ask and im sure they would be able to give you an answer.

im sorry, i really dont know what that means, im a Computer Science student.
(edited 8 years ago)

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