
Pharmacy
Our wonderful ALSA volunteer and resident pharmacist Oltian has written a concise guide on the Journey to Pharmacy from GCSEs right up until graduating and qualifying as a pharmacist.
If Pharmacy is an career path you are exploring then keep reading...
Journey to Pharmacy
Education
GCSEs: GCSEs are considered alongside A-levels, with most schools of pharmacy expecting a minimum of five GCSEs including Maths, English Language and one Science.
A-Levels:
Three A-levels or equivalent in chemistry and a second science or maths, typically offers range from AAB to BBB.
You'll usually need:
at least 1 A level, or equivalent, for a foundation degree
2 or 3 A levels, or equivalent, including chemistry
University
To become a pharmacist, you'll need to complete a master's of pharmacy (MPharm) degree, approved by the General Pharmaceutical Council which takes 4 years.
During university you will study a general overview of the following topics:
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Dispensing medicines
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Drug discovery and delivery
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Pharmaceutical chemistry
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Molecular biology
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Life science skills
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Microbiology
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Endocrine and neurophysiology
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Clinical toxicology
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Providing basic and extended pharmacy services
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Clinical pharmacology
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Public health
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Law and ethics related to pharmacy, pharmacology, and toxicology
Oriel Application
Oriel is a portal used for the recruitment of a variety of healthcare professions. All pharmacy hospital foundation placements will be advertised via Oriel, and some, but not all community foundation
placements. Students will be able to find community placements without Oriel in England, but should note that all available placements, no matter the sector, for Wales and Scotland will be advertised by
Oriel alone.
The following groups are eligible to apply for foundation placements via Oriel:
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All current third-year UK MPharm undergraduates, any current third-year UK MPharm student who has not consented for their School of Pharmacy to provide their details as requested by the PNRO will not be eligible to apply
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UK MPharm graduates
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Current Overseas Pharmacists Assessment Programme (OSPAP)
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students
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OSPAP graduates
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Bradford sandwich students.
The following groups are not eligible to apply for foundation placements via Oriel:
EEA pharmacists requiring adaptation training applicants who have failed the registration assessment and are
waiting to sit their second or third attempt
Applicants who have already banked some training with the GPhC.
There is a guide for the entire ORIEL process available from here.
Pre-Registration/Foundation Training Year
The programme used to be called the pre-registration year. This has now been updated to ‘foundation training’ and trainees are referred to as ‘foundation trainee pharmacists’.
The key features of pre-registration training are:
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it takes at least 52 weeks (if done full time)
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you will train under the supervision of a pre-registration tutor
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you must be formally assessed ‘signed off’ at least four times by your tutor
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you must pass the registration assessment (you can have only three attempts at this)
Depending on the programme you have selected during the ORIEL application process, every trainee will have different sectors that they will be employed in. There are three sectors offered in the foundation training year:
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Community pharmacy
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Primary care
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Secondary care
There is the availability of being in ‘mixed’ sectors where you will have the choice to undergo two or more sectors within the 52 weeks. For instance, the Wales HEIW programme offers three sector rotations during the foundation training year. You will be in each sector for 4 months at a time, completing an e-portfolio that acts as evidence for the competencies you complete in order to show that you are to be competently signed off to practice as a pharmacist when you qualify.
The e-portfolio aspect of the training year varies between each provider when you apply through ORIEL, so make sure you contact the employer to get an idea of the portfolio requirements.
More information for trainees can be found here.
During the second half of the foundation training year, there will be job postings for each sector of pharmacy for when you qualify following the registration exam. It is important to stay on top of applying for places as there are a variety of different sectors you can go into, ranging from completing a diploma in hospital for 2 years to going straight into community pharmacy.
Registration Assessment
Pharmacist trainees sit an assessment which tests specific knowledge and skills set out in the assessment framework. There are two papers to be completed.
Paper 1 is the calculations aspect of the exam. This will test calculations that pharmacists will encounter in all types of practice, both in hospital and in the community.
Paper 2 is the clinical aspect of the exam. Part two of the assessment is made up of 120 questions: 90 'single-best-answer' questions, and 30 'extended-matching' questions. You will have 2.5 hours to complete these, and you will not be able to use a calculator.
The pass mark for the assessment is arrived at using evidence-based standard setting processes - recognised methods used by examination bodies to derive pass marks for papers in order to apply a set standard across sittings. This means that there is not a fixed pass mark, and that it varies each year.
Post-Registration/Qualified Pharmacist
After the registration assessment, you will be emailed or sent a letter to tell you of your result. You are eligible to register as a pharmacist once you meet the registration criteria, including:
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having completed pre-registration training, shown by a 52-week declaration signed by your tutor, and
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having passed the registration assessment
You cannot practise as a pharmacist until your registration is complete and your name appears on the register
If you do not pass the registration assessment, you can have up to three attempts to sit the assessment.
