MPharm Pharmacy

This is a four-year full-time degree, consisting of 120 credits per year. Since the programme leads, after subsequent pre-registration training, to registration as a pharmacist and is regulated, through accreditation by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), all modules are required modules and must be passed: the MPharm award is made only upon achievement of the full 480 credits from the full set of required modules.

Year One

In year one you will learn about the role of the pharmacist in the UK. It has altered drastically in the past 40 years, with a shift from a more traditional dispensing role to that of a patient-focused provider of clinical services. Pharmaceutical care is the focus of attention and pharmacists have been highlighted as the sole profession specifically educated to deliver pharmaceutical services. Learning about your future role will provide a building block for the remainder of the MPharm course where optimising pharmaceutical care is the ultimate outcome.

The aim is to provide an introduction to the roles and responsibilities of pharmacists and pharmacies within healthcare systems, in public health and more widely in society.

Your specific study will focus on healthy human and patient self-care, the fundamentals of pharmaceutical science, and medicines in healthcare.

Core Modules for Year One

• Professional Development
• Molecule to Patient
• The Role of the Pharmacist in Professional Practice
• Structure and Function of Cells and Microbes
• Human Body Systems
• Chemical and Biological Properties of Drug Molecules

Year Two

In year two you will have the opportunity to demonstrate the attitudes, behaviours and skills-development of a future health professional preparing for safe and evidence-based practice focused on the needs of the patient and society

Your specific study will focus on the use of medicines in priority clinical areas such as heart disease, asthma, and gastrointestinal diseases.

Core Modules for Year Two

• Professional Development
• Formulation Science 1
• Clinical and Professional Pharmacy
• Diseases and Drugs 1
• Principles of Drug Design and Drug Disposition

Year Three

In year three your study will focus on the use of medicines in more complex clinical areas such as the optimisation of pharmaceutical care for patients with cancer, neurological diseases, and infection with multiply-antibiotic-resistant microorganisms.

Core Modules for Year Two

• Professional Development
• Optimisation of Pharmaceutical Care
• Diseases and Drugs 2
• Design, Formulation and Quality Assurance of Medicinal Products
• Evidence-based Approaches to New Therapies

Year Four

The final year features a research or development project and also develops students to prepare for holistic healthcare; challenging them to make decisions, take responsibility, manage change and deal with uncertainty.

Core Modules for Year Four

• Professional Development
• Pharmacy Research or Scholarship Project
• Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmacy Practice and the Population
• Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmacy Practice and the Patient

How Will I Be Assessed?

Progress in each module is assessed during and at the end of the semester(s) in which they are taught. Many modules include formative or diagnostic assessments (assessments which do not count towards the module mark) which are intended to help your understanding and to provide you with an indication of your progress. Methods of summative assessment (assessments which count towards the module mark) are varied: essay assignments, multiple-choice question tests, conventional written examinations, assessed presentations, objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) and other practical/skills tests are all used as appropriate.

The course leads, after subsequent pre-registration training, to registration as a pharmacist and is regulated, through accreditation, by the GPhC. Consequently, there are capabilities or competencies that all students must evidence at a satisfactory level to be allowed to progress through and achieve the final award of the programme. For pharmaceutical calculations, dispensing and clinical assessments students can be required to achieve pass marks higher than 40%. Such cases are clearly stated in the schedules of assessment for each year of study within the set of module descriptions for that year.

What Skills Will I Practise and Develop?

You will acquire and develop a range of valuable skills, both those which are discipline-specific and more generic ‘employability skills’.

As a result of engaging fully with this course, you will be able to:

• Evidence and apply a systematic knowledge and understanding of the scientific, clinical, professional, social, legal and ethical aspects of the use and misuse of medicinal agents
• Evidence is a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights in pharmacy, much of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of pharmaceutical science and practice
• Evidence and apply understanding of techniques applicable to research or advanced scholarship
• Demonstrate the application of knowledge to practice
• Evaluate critically current research and advanced scholarship in pharmaceutical science and practice
• Evaluate research methodologies and develop critiques of them
• Communicate effectively with patients, the public and other members of the healthcare team
• Supply medicines dependably in accordance with pharmacy knowledge, legislation, professional conduct and other aspects of pharmacy law and ethics
• Undertake continuing professional development and independent learning
• Undertake preregistration training and thereby qualify as a pharmacist in the UK

The career options for Pharmacists are varied and plentiful, ranging from hospital, primary care or community settings - including being based within GP surgeries - to industry or research in the UK and internationally, making this an exciting degree to embark upon.

Many of today’s pharmacists are now also qualified to prescribe medicines independently of a doctor and are on the frontline of healthcare provision.

Our MPharm programme is designed to equip you with the knowledge, skills and experience you need to pursue your pharmacy career. Following on from successfully completing our MPharm programme, you’ll be able to undertake a pre-registration year of training before sitting the General Pharmaceutical Council’s registration assessment to register as a Pharmacist.

And we are proud that 100% of our students are in employment and/or further study six months after graduating.

Our graduates have gone on to occupy key positions in NHS hospitals and hospitals overseas, in community pharmacy organisations such as Boots UK, Lloyds Pharmacy Group, and Well Pharmacy, in allied scientific and healthcare enterprises, as well as in industry settings. Some have also gone on to enjoy careers as veterinary pharmacists, military pharmacists and in regulatory affairs.

Types of jobs:

• Hospital Pharmacist - as a hospital pharmacist, you’d be a key part of the healthcare team, working in either the NHS or a private hospital, with a clear focus on patient needs
• Community Pharmacist - based in your own pharmacy, out of a local healthcare centre or doctor’s surgery, you’d be at the frontline of healthcare in the UK or overseas. With further study, you may prescribe medicines independently
• Primary care Pharmacist – as a primary care pharmacist you will optimise patient’s medicines to maximise the benefits and minimise the risks associated with different drugs. You will also help to develop services to support the local population with their health needs
• Industrial Pharmacist - you’d be involved in the research, design, development and testing of new medicines and treatments, ensuring they are safe and of a good quality for patients.
• Academic Pharmacist - if teaching, researching, practising or a combination of all three appeals to you, becoming an Academic Pharmacist could be for you. You might be based in universities, research institutions or other organisations throughout the world

Graduate Careers

• Hospital Pharmacist
• Clinical Pharmacist in Community, GP surgery or other Primary Care setting
• Industrial Pharmacist
• Researcher
• Pharmacy Manager