Pharmacy Courses in the UK
Pharmacy UK is a unique healthcare sector that offers a variety of career options. Graduates from pharmacy courses UK have the opportunity to work in hospitals, GP practices and community pharmacies, as well as pharmaceutical companies. They can also find work as researchers or in higher education.
The UK has a long tradition of pharmacy education and is one of the leading countries in the world for its pharmaceutical industries. UK universities offer undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacy degrees, which lead to professional registration as a pharmacist. These courses include modules in pharmacology, biology and physiology, chemistry, pharmaceutics and economics.
Most of the country’s pharmacies pharmacy UK are privately owned, either by chain or independent operators. In England, the majority of prescriptions are dispensed for free. However, a small number of private chains and some independents have been permitted to charge for certain services. These include HIV testing, compliance packaging and emergency contraception if you don’t have a prescription. In addition to dispensing medications, pharmacies are also popular in the UK for providing a range of front-end merchandise and offering home delivery. Some pharmacies even operate NHS 111, the 24-hour helpline for people who are unsure whether they should seek medical attention or not.
Pharmacy graduates are in high demand and the number of pharmacy schools in the UK is increasing. Currently, a pharmacy degree almost guarantees employment. However, this is expected to change, which will likely result in a few unemployed graduates, but could improve the quality of the profession by keeping poorer graduates out of practice.
In the UK, pharmacy students are required to complete a preregistration placement. This is usually a year-long internship with a hospital or a community pharmacy. The purpose of these placements is to provide experience in the clinical side of pharmacy and allow students to practice their skills. However, due to a rise in the number of new pharmacy programs and an increased number of student enrollments at existing ones, it’s becoming more difficult for some students to find a suitable placement.
Most UK university programs are four years long, which makes them the shortest university pharmacy programs in Europe. This allows the program to cover all of the underlying scientific and theoretical knowledge before transferring students into the clinical/practice arena. This is unlike other European programs that only concentrate on the university portion of the training, leaving the clinical/practice training to be completed after graduation. During the MPharm program, students are expected to be competent in a wide range of clinical pharmacy activities including assessing patient symptoms and medicines. They also need to have a good level of numeracy and literacy and be able to communicate with patients effectively. They will also need to be up-to-date with pharmaceutical news and developments. This is a demanding job, which requires the right candidates with a strong desire to improve patient care.