Become a Pharmacist

The role of a pharmacist is varied and now is an exciting time to enter the profession. As experts in medicine, pharmacists have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their patients and their community. The majority of pharmacist work with their local community in a pharmacy, others will work to support patients in hospitals. Newer roles for pharmacists include close working with GPs and other healthcare professionals.

A career in pharmacy is a rewarding choice for anyone with an interest in helping others. The skills you will learn on an MPharm degree will put you in a unique positon to pursue a career in science or a career in healthcare.

Pharmacy and Pharmacology are two distinct disciplines – with similar goals of ensuring medicines are safe and effective for patients.

Pharmacology is the biomedical discipline concerned with the development of drugs and the study of the effects they have on the function of living organisms. Pharmacology today has a number of subfamilies including but not limited to:

• Pharmacokinetics
• Neuropharmacology
• Immunopharmacology
• Cancer pharmacology

Pharmacology is integral within many biomedical disciplines. You can find pharmacology present everywhere. In medicine cabinets, when you visit the dentists and when you take any type of medication.  Pharmacologists may have specialised understanding on the impact of drugs on the body of living organism within certain therapeutic areas; such as cardiovascular pharmacology or gastrointestinal pharmacology. They may work as part of a multidisciplinary team including pharmacists in the drug design and development process. They may also be involved in research related to how drugs work and how they affect the body. Pharmacologists help improve current therapies as well as discover and develop new medicines for use in healthcare. 

Pharmacy, on the other hand, is the vocational biomedical discipline that involves aspects of pharmacology, pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical chemistry, biochemistry, human physiology, pharmacy practice, clinical pharmacy.

Historically, pharmacy was seen as the science of preparing, preserving, compounding, and dispensing medicines. However, Pharmacy today involves drug discovery, design and development. It is a registered profession that has shifted from the dispensing of medicines to medicines’ management and the management of patients with complex needs. Pharmacists help develop and improve the use of current and new medicines in healthcare.

Pharmacists are expert in medicines, they are able to evaluate the clinical appropriateness of prescribed medicines, review and monitor patients, and signpost appropriately to ensure patient safety. Pharmacists today are involved in the development and utilisation of personalised medicines, CAR-T therapies and vaccines.

The study of pharmacy is like having a global passport degree, which enables you to work in community, hospital, industry, general practice (GP) academia, research, care home, regulatory affairs, prison, veterinary and military pharmacy. Many pharmacists today are independent prescribers and key members of multidisciplinary teams ensuring the provision of a seamless care.

An MPharm degree is a four year degree programme and earns you a master’s level degree upon completion. Through the four years of study you will learn about a number of different themes including how drugs are formulated in pharmaceutics. How drugs act on the body in pharmacology. As well as advanced chemistry and biology. The use of drugs as medicines is taught in clinical therapies and pharmacy practice.

Once you have completed your degree you will undertake a year in practice known as the pre-registration year. You will spend a year putting in to practice everything you have learnt during your degree. The year offers the opportunity to work with experienced pharmacists to further advance your knowledge and expertise. Upon completion, and once a final exam has been passed your name will appear on the pharmacist register held by the General Pharmaceutical Council.

With the range of career options open to a pharmacist the salary you can expect will vary. A newly qualified pharmacist can earn as much as £35,000.