Careers in pharmacy
There are excellent employment and career prospects within Hertfordshire and the UK for graduates of the MPharm programme.
A career in pharmacy offers graduates the pursuit of an interest in science, the opportunity to join the NHS healthcare team, a choice of working environments and a competitive salary. There are a wide range of career paths open to graduates in primary and secondary care, including community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, roles within the pharmaceutical industry and academia. Career opportunities at policy level exist in Strategic Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts. Pharmacists play a lead role in medicines management and the safe, effective use of medicines.
Pharmacists are highly-trained and skilled healthcare professionals who perform various roles to ensure optimal health outcomes for their patients. Many pharmacists are also small-business owners, owning the pharmacy in which they practice.
Pharmacists are represented internationally by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP). They are represented at national level in Great Britain by professional organisations such as the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB).
Community Pharmacists
Community Pharmacists represent the largest body of the profession. There are over 12,000 community Pharmacies in the UK. Community Pharmacies may be located on the high street or in local or rural sites. The new pharmacy contract enables Pharmacists to develop their clinical skills and contribute to the Public Health agenda and management of long-term health conditions. Pharmacists are also developing new roles in prescribing. A pharmacy also known as a chemist or drugstore, is the place where most pharmacists practice the profession of pharmacy. It is in the community pharmacy that the dichotomy of the profession exists - health professionals who also are retailers. Community pharmacies usually consist of a retail storefront with a dispensary where medications are stored and dispensed.
Each of these Pharmacies will be under the direct control of a qualified pharmacist to ensure that legal and ethical standards are adhered to. Community Pharmacists ensure that medicines ordered on prescription or bought over the counter are correctly and safely supplied. They also provide accessible health advice to members of the public about medicines, symptoms and lifestyle/general health matters.
All pharmacies are required to have a pharmacists on duty at all time when open. Many pharmacies are now rather store like in their design. In addition to medicines and prescriptions, many now sell a diverse arrangement of additional household items such as shampoo, bandages and snack food.
Hospital Pharmacists
Pharmacies within hospitals differ from community pharmacies. Many pharmacists practising in hospitals gain more education and training after pharmacy school through a pharmacy practice residency, sometimes followed by another residency in a specific area. Those pharmacists are often referred to as clinical pharmacists and they often specialise in various disciplines of pharmacy.
Hospital Pharmacists are members of the pharmacy departments and directorate teams located within each of the 300 plus NHS hospitals. The role of the Hospital Pharmacists includes the dispensing and supply of medicines and the provision of clinical services to hospital wards. It also involves direct contact with patients and liaison with other healthcare professionals such as Doctors, Allied Health Professionals and Nurses who constitute the healthcare team. The testing and preparation of medicines in NHS hospitals are also the responsibility of Hospital Pharmacists. New roles are emerging for Pharmacists as advanced Practitioners and Consultant Pharmacists.
Consultant Pharmacy
Consultant pharmacy practice focuses more on medication regimen review than on actual dispensing of drugs. Consultant pharmacists typically work in nursing homes but are increasingly branching into other institutions and non-institutional settings.
Consultant pharmacists have traditionally been independent business owners. This trend may be gradually reversing as consultant pharmacists begin to work directly with patients. This is primarily because many elderly people are now taking numerous medications but continuing to live outside of institutional settings.
Internet Pharmacy
Since the year 2000, a growing number of internet pharmacies have been established worldwide. Many of these pharmacies are similar to community pharmacies and in fact many of them are operated by brick-and-mortar community pharmacies that serve consumers online as well as those that walk through their door. The primary difference is the method by which the medications are requested and received.
Internet pharmacies, also known as online pharmacies are recommended to some homebound patients by their physicians.
Other careers in Pharmacy
Pharmacists can also pursue careers within the pharmaceutical industry in the fields of medical information, marketing, production, and research and development. There are opportunities for pharmacists in university teaching or research, animal medicines, the Armed Forces, medical journalism and more.
For more information about careers in pharmacy, visit the official website of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain at www.pharmacycareers.org.uk
Postgraduate Opportunities
There are opportunities for further study after completion of the MPharm. As a postgraduate at the University of Hertfordshire, you can study towards a PhD, a Professional Doctorate, or an MSc/PgD/PgC in Pharmacology or Pharmacovigilance.
