Pharmacy

About Pharmacy

Healthcare is one of the most important aspects of modern cilvilsation and the availability of medicine is one of the biggest aspects of healthcare. Pharmacies can be found inside hospitals and in the community. These pharmacies are run by pharmacists, which makes pharmacists indispensable for the healthcare system. However, running pharmacies are not the only path you can go down. A pharmacist can also work in GP as a prescriber (essentially doing the same job as a GP doctor) or in the pharmaceutical sector assessing new drugs and identifies new markets for the drugs.

Pharmacy can be a very rewarding degree as you will be actively helping people with their health. Furthermore, it will earn you respect among the community, which can be useful if you ever need help with anything.

Entry Requirements

Entry requirements will vary from university to university, however, all will require ABB or higher with most asking for at least AAA. For some universities you may need to also pass a aptitude test.

GCSEs that suit this Degree

Regardless of what GCSEs you do you can always go down various career paths, but certain GCSEs will give you an advantage and some will be required. Below is a list of GCSEs which will help you with pharmacy:

• English Language and Literature *(required)
• Mathematics *(required)
• Science (double or triple) *(requried)

A-levels that suit this Degree

Regardless of what A-levels you do you can always go down various career paths, but certain A-levels will give you an advantage and some will be required. Below is a list of A-levels which will help you with pharmacy:

• Biology *(required)
• Chemistry or Physics *(required)

Duration of Degree

The duration of the degree is 4-5 years (depending if you do foundation year). After the degree you will have 1 year of training with an assessment at the end called the pre-reg year. If you do not pass the pre-reg year you will have 2 more attempts, if you do not pass it you will not be registered as a pharmacist under the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPHC), but you will still be able to work in other industries, such as pharmaceuticals.

Who This Degree Suits?

Every degree will be enjoyable and suit different personalities, below is a list of characteristics and personalities which will enjoy the pharmacy degree:

• Interested in medicine or human body
• Enjoy working in a hospital/pharmacy environment
• Communicating with people on a daily basis

Module /Topics

Pharmacy has many topics that need to be covered, below is a list of the topics that will be in all university curriculums:

• Dispensing Medicines
• Drug Discovery and Delivery
• Pharmaceutical Chemistry
• Molecular Biology
• Life Science Skills
• Microbiology
• Endocrine and Neurophysiology
• Clinical Toxicology
• Providing Basic and Extended Pharmacy Services
• Clinical Pharmacology
• Public Health
• Law and Ethics related to Pharmacy and Toxicology

Industry Sectors

Pharmacy allows you too apply to different industries, below is a list of them:

• Private Medical Institutes
• NHS
• University
• Pharmaceutical
• Cosmetics

Types of Jobs

Pharmacy degree allows you to apply to a wide variety of roles, below is a list of them:

• Pharmacist
• Pharmacologist
• Toxicologist
• Pathologist
• Medical Scientist
• Microbiologist
• Pharmaceutical Technician
• Biochemist
• Health Economist
• Medical Sales
• Medical Engineer
• Professor/Lecturer
• Cosmetic Aestheticians

Work hours and Salary

As a pharmacist you will usually work 37.5 hours if you work in the NHS hospital pharmacies and usually 40-48 hours if you work in community pharmacies.

NHS (hospital pharmacist):

• Graduates working in a NHS hospital you will start in band 6 which means they can expect a salary of £31,000 - £38,000;
• With experience (2-4 years) you will rise to band 7 and can expect salaries of £38,000 - £50,000, depending on your experience level and the area of the UK you work in;
• Senior level (5-10 years) will mean you are in band 8 and can expect £50,000 - £80,000. The highest band for a NHS pharmacist is band 9 which will take around 15-20 years to reach and can expect £80,000 - £100,000.
  

Community pharmacist:

• Graduates working in a community pharmacy can expect a salary of £35,000 - £50,000;
• With experience (2-4 years) you can expect salaries of £40,000 - £55,000, depending on your experience level and the area of the UK you work in;
• Senior level (4-6 years) you can expect £40,000 - £60,000. If you open up your own pharmacy will mean you can earn more but will also bring in a lot more work with it.
  

Locum/contractor:

Locum/contractor are self employed where they have a sole trader or limited company and work in different locations with different organisations. This means they can reduce the amount of tax that they pay as they can put in more expenses. Locum workers also receive a higher hourly rate than employee workers which is another benefit. However, since you will be working in different pharmacies you can not make a strong team bonds which can reduce the chemistry between you and the team at the various pharmacies.