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Pharmacy - CK703

College of Medicine and Health
CAO Course Code: CK703
Duration: 4 years
Qualification: BPharm (Hons)
NFQ: Level 8

What is Pharmacy?

Provision of health services is now a team effort involving many professions. The degree of BPharm at UCC is offered by the School of Pharmacy within the College of Medicine and Health in collaboration with the School of Medicine and departments in the College of Science , Food Science and Engineering. The Pharmacist is the member of the Health Service team specifically concerned with drugs and medicines. There are four main areas of study within the Pharmacy degree - pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry; formulation design; drug action in the body and the practice of pharmacy.

Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry covers chemical aspects of the pharmaceutical sciences ranging from drug design and synthesis of compounds for pharmaceutical applications, principles and methods of analysis and chemical structure determination of molecules, drug discovery and development, and the chemistry of molecules from natural sources, including plants.

Formulation and Drug Delivery concerns the formulation of medicines into a preparation for administration of that medicine to a human or animal. Examples include the formulation of a drug into a tablet or injection.

Drug Action in the Body is the study of the cells and organs of the body and the actions of drugs upon them. For each drug class, the reasons for their use are explored, in addition to other aspects such as side effects.

Clinical Pharmacy Practice concerns pharmaceutical care and the professional aspects of pharmacy in both community and hospital pharmacy. Aspects of the subjects covered include the role of pharmacy in healthcare and education, pharmacy law, and the response of the pharmacist to patient symptoms. In addition, other systems involved in, and affected by, disease will be studied, including anatomy, biochemistry, molecular biology, and clinical microbiology.

What will I be Studying?

Year 1	Chemical Principles Underpinning Pharmacy • Structural Biology of the Major Body Systems relevant to Pharmacy • Physiology • Principles of Medicine Formulation and Professional Aspects of Pharmacy; Introduction to Drug Action
Year 2	Advanced Aspects of Medicinal Chemistry and the Chemical Analysis of Compounds • Manufacturing of Drug Formulations • Physiology of the Nervous System • Microbiology and the Molecular Basis of Drug Action
Year 3	Sourcing of Drugs from Natural Materials • Clinical Immunology and Microbiology • Pharmacology of the Major Systems in the Body • The Study of the Absorption, Distribution, Breakdown and Excretion of Drugs from the Body • Good Pharmacy Practices in relation to Professional Behaviour, Health Education and Competency in Dispensing
Year 4	Design of Novel Drug Formulations • Pharmaceutical Biotechnology • Veterinary Pharmacy • Advanced Pharmacology and Therapeutics • Responding to Over the Counter Minor Ailments • Rational Drug Choice and Therapeutics • Research Project

See the Academic Calendar entry for this programme for further details.

Placement

As an integral part of their studies, students undertake various work placements throughout the four years of the BPharm degree in community pharmacies, hospital pharmacy departments and in the pharmaceutical industry. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in hospital ward rounds and will learn about their essential role in an integrated healthcare team.

Award of the BPharm degree is followed by a practice year, the pre-registration training year, which is taken under the supervision of an experienced tutor pharmacist through the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI). Following successful completion of this training year and on passing the licensing examination, students can apply to register with the PSI in order to practice as a pharmacist.

Entry Requirements for Pharmacy

Irish School Leavers:

HC3 in Chemistry and either Physics or Biology and passes at H or O level in the Leaving Certificate from Irish, English, another language and Mathematics.

Below are the Irish Leaving Certificate points that were required for this programme over the last four years.

	2008	2009	2010	2011
Points	560	550	540	550

Mature Students Requirements:

Mature applicants apply through the CAO and must have attained a grade HC3 in Leaving Certificate Chemistry (or equivalent) and a minimum grade HC3 in either Leaving Certificate Biology or Physics (or equivalent). There are up to eight places available on this programme for Mature students. See the Mature Student Guide for further details.

Postgrad. and Career Opportunities for Pharmacy

Postgraduate Opportunities

Opportunities for postgraduate studies are wide ranging. The School of Pharmacy has actively growing research groups in each of the disciplines and has established essential links with the pharmaceutical industry, hospitals and community pharmacists which encourage many areas of collaborative research.

The School also runs the following taught courses: MSc in Clinical Pharmacy; MSc in Pharmaceutical Technology and Quality Systems

Career Opportunities

Career opportunities for pharmacists in Ireland and abroad are numerous. Pharmacists have a broad range of employment opportunities open to them, some of which include: the Community Pharmacist i.e. the "Scientist on the high street" being easily accessible and readily available to provide help and advice to all of the community; the Hospital Pharmacist will interact on a daily basis with other healthcare professions including doctors, nurses and physiotherapists; the Industrial Pharmacist will be involved in research and product development, manufacturing, quality control, marketing and sales, regulatory affairs and management. Other broad areas are also open to pharmacy graduates such as forensic pharmacy, animal health, and academia.