How hard is Pharmacy?

For those studying or have studied pharmacy, how hard is the degree?
I got an A at A-Level Chemistry and a B in Biology. As well as a 2:1 in Psychology.
Thats the kinda standard I'm at.
I also have a slight illness (wouldn't affect practicing) so am anxious about how demanding it is. A Pharm course adviser told me it's considerably more demanding than biomedical science.
But when compared with other science degrees, I'm finding this one takes my interest.

Thanks

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Reply 1

Portishead

pharmacy is a difficult degree, it brings in many different topics into one, from pharmacology to medicinal chemistry to even stats at times. from your grades, im sure you'll be fine. Most people if they work hard can get through it. Your course adviser is correct in saying its more demanding rather than difficult.

If you put in the hours, you'll be fine. Hope this helps.

Reply 2

Ama2007

It is VERY DEMANDING ,I would not advise anyone to do it if not 100% committed.

You need to be extra extra super at English (essay after essay after essay...) because of the massive amount of work going on all at the same time ....essays, projects,test, presentations, OSCE, IPLs.... this means giving up all your time to sit and study as you go along. Thats how it goes at my uni anyway.

However, I have HEARD that all the hard work for 4 years COULD BE worth it in the end.

LOL this was 2 years ago....why all the neg? It makes me laugh when I read my post before I graduated :P

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 3

BenHur

Original post by Ama2007

Do you mind telling us which uni you attend?am hoping, it is not one of my choices.

Reply 4

Ama2007

Original post by BenHur

Do you mind telling us which uni you attend?am hoping, it is not one of my choices.

sorry if I put you off!

some unis are better than others, some are clinical based with clinical experience from 1st year some are more theory based and labs with clinical work coming towards the end of third year and some (actually 1) hospital experience in 4th year.

but i THINK unis in england are more clinical based .

Reply 5

Danielle89

I'm in 4th year just now and having been sat here in silent study since 8am I can tell you it is very very demanding. Not so much difficult when it comes to 4th year, but definitely demanding. You need to be committed and really very interested in healthcare. Saying that I didn't really know whether I was interested in the beginning but now I couldn't imagine not doing this degree. At the end of it, as long as you can get summer placements (especially in 3rd year summer holidays) you should get a pre-registration place which with most of the larger companies leads to employment straight after you've passed the pre-reg exam, so it's decent for getting into a profession, and there are at the moment plenty of jobs (don't see this changing because of all the new responsibilities and increased requirement for pharmacists)

So yes, it's difficult at times, demanding most of the time, and there's a fairly high rate of resitting years at my uni, and a high drop-out rate in the first year, mainly due to the fact people don't realise how demanding it's going to be. But once you get into it it's a great degree to have under your belt and gives you access to a career exclusive to the degree :smile:

Reply 6

Portishead

hmmmm. im sorry but you guys are over exaggerating. the course is really not that bad. first 2 years, is mindless step by step lab work in terms of coursework. and in terms of examinations. It's practically the same as A-levels just keep doing past papers and reading over lectures. lol @ working 24/7. really not like that at all. i dont start exam revision till a month before exams. Seriously, big up the course but don't make it out to be the hardest thing ever. it really isn't.

Reply 7

Ama2007

Original post by Danielle89

oh my god people are studying? im still doing my dissertation...guess i have to start studying soooon, my plan for today was to do a plan for studying for the exams.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 8

Danielle89

Original post by Ama2007

oh my god people are studying? im still doing my dissertation...guess i have to start studying soooon, my plan for today was to do a plan for studying for the exams.

Im confused by this post, but we've got the oral defences for our thesis next week, as well as 6 case studies to get through for another oral defence the second week of april. Got two OSCEs between now and May, a group service bid that's to be 8000 words, and a legislation test. Sure I'm missing out something too. This is all to be done in the next 6-8 weeks. So yeah, studying heaps because it's literally an assessment every week or two between now and the second week of May!

Reply 9

Danielle89

Original post by Portishead

What year are you in? 1st year I didn't do much work really, 2nd and 3rd year I didn't revise till about a month before exams, but 4th year is a whole different ball game. From January I've been working constantly because of the string of assessments and thesis submissions we've had. It's what you'd expect for a masters level degree

Reply 10

Ama2007

Original post by Danielle89

I mean im working on my dissertation now (which I dont call studying, for me) because its for the end of march. I have my OSCE in April. My exams are in 3rd of may.

I usually start earlier but because of the projects i have not had time to look over my notes or do PAST PAPERS.

do you have all your exams in may or do you get yours over the 2 semesters?

Reply 11

Danielle89

Original post by Ama2007

So far, last semester I had a presentation to do based on a clinical visit to a care home, a problem based learning case to orally defend based on one of 6 possible case studies, and a written exam where we had to write three essays under exam conditions. We also had our 5 weeks of data collection just before christmas.

This semester I've so far had a group presentation based on a clinical visit. Had a draft thesis due for the end of January and the final draft was due the end of February.

Got a couple assessments during the exam weeks, think the last one's the 17th May. Do you have a prescribing science module? Wish they'd not bothered with it for us - it's basically a stretched out version of the pharmacist independent prescriber course you do as post-grad but it won't actually qualify us to be able to do it... daft when we have so much on!

Reply 12

jami74

I'm finding this thread interesting. I've asked some of the pharmacists and pre-reg that I work with. One said it was so intense he felt like he'd missed out on a whole five years of living. Some have said it was really hard and some have said it's okay as long as you keep up with the work. So I guess it depends on the individual, if you are the sort of person that reads, understands and remembers then it will be easier than if you are the sort of person that needs to go over and over the same stuff.

Reply 13

Sammydemon

A degree in chemistry is more difficult but possibly less demanding? Perhaps it is both. I have a couple of students on my chemistry degree that have previously studied pharmacy and they say that chemistry is harder.

Reply 14

Smile_10

hey guys..just a question for anyone studying or who has completed the degree..which pharmacy school do you think is best out of lsop and aston? I'm having trouble deciding. And for the pre reg year do you have to do it around where your uni is or can you go to any part of the country for it? Would really appreciate the help, thanks :smile:

Reply 15

BenHur

Thank you ALL for your valuable replies.