No worries, I’m glad I can help 😊
Let’s start with the
course structure. This has changed slightly since I was in the earlier years but it looks like the content is similar.
First year is basically a preparation year – it gets everyone to the same level with biology and chemistry. This consists of the units:
· Health and disease (biology)
· The chemistry of drugs (chemistry)
· The science of medicines (chemistry/ pharmaceutics)
· Preparing for professional practice 1 (pharmacy practice)
Then in
second year you move onto the specialised integrated units, which focus on a specific body system and cover it comprehensively through different subject areas. For example, we often have pharmacology, pharmaceutics, clinical therapeutics etc. submodules within each module. These modules include:
· Specialised integrated unit 1: immunity, inflammation and infection and gastrointestinal disease
· Specialised integrated unit 2: cardiovascular disease and endocrine disorders
· Specialised integrated unit 3: management of respiratory diseases and dermatology (my favourite)
· Specialised integrated unit 4: special patient groups and surgery
· Preparing for professional practice 2
I think that 2
nd year is the biggest step up in the degree. The specialised units have a lot of content involved but it’s interesting because you can always see how it relates to future work as a pharmacist.
In
third year, you continue with the specialised integrated units:
· Specialised integrated unit 5: neurology and mental health (my other favourite)
· Specialised integrated unit 6: oncology and palliative care
· Medicines optimisation and prescribing in complex patients 1
· Preparing for professional practice 3
As you can see, the degree starts to shift away from the specialised integrated units at this point. The preparing for professional practice units are pharmacy practice based and most of our placements are within these modules. Medicines optimisation basically advances your knowledge from the specialised integrated units and applies them to real-world situations.
Lastly, in
fourth year you spend the first semester working towards your pharmacy research project (master’s thesis). You have the opportunity to carry this out abroad - I’ve just done 3 months in a microbiology lab in Helsinki, Finland for mine. Then in second semester we have the units:
· Global health (a very small unit)
· Medicines optimisation and prescribing in complex patients 2
· Preparing for professional practice 4
In terms of
lab-based practicals, we have some integrated throughout the degree in chemistry-based or biology-based labs (I’d say <1 week in total per semester).
The main opportunity for lab-based work is the research project in 4
th year which can be either based on chemistry, pharmacology, or pharmacy practice (which is not normally lab-based).
Clinical placements are much more significant now. They are integrated throughout the course in community pharmacy, GP pharmacy, and hospital pharmacy. By the end of the degree, you will have had several weeks experience in each sector.
As I mentioned, there is also the opportunity to
study abroad for the pharmacy research project.
There’s more info on the course content here:
MPharm course structureEvery pharmacy school has to cover the same content, which is regulated by the General Pharmaceutical Council, but it may be structured and taught in a different way. I know that Bath is particularly strong with it’s placement links, so that is a big advantage of coming here.
In terms of
applying to pharmacy, I prioritised linking any experiences / knowledge I had to how they would aid me in the degree / career. It’s helpful if you can get some relevant work experience as this obviously directly relates but it’s not a dealbreaker if not. You could mention other skills you have, for example playing in a sports team could help with team-working / communication which will help with multidisciplinary working etc... Similar questions could also come up in the interview so it’s good to have a few of these prepared. I can’t give too much info on applying unfortunately as it was a long time ago and I assume they are looking for different things now. But if you attend an open day or Q&A session, lecturers are normally happy to provide more advice on this 😊
As for your last question, once you graduate with an MPharm degree, you just have to undergo a training year in the workplace (with an exam at the end) to fully qualify as a pharmacist. This can basically be in a whatever sector you like, although you do have to apply and do a test through a system called Oriel. Also, from this year onwards, we will be graduating with an independent prescribing qualification which gives us a lot more autonomy
and makes us more employable.If you do want to go into research, a second degree in the relevant subject could be helpful but it’s not a necessity.
Don’t worry about feeling behind, you still have plenty of time to decide where to be and what to do in the future 😊
This reply was super long, but I hope it’s been helpful. I’m happy to answer any other questions you have.
Lauren, University of Bath