Inject a UK Pharmacy Degree into your Career Path

What is Pharmacy?

If you've imagined working as a pharmacist is akin to working as a medical-shop sales person/assistant, then you better rethink. Seriously!

Pharmacy is, in fact, a multidisciplinary field that bridges chemical and health sciences. It is a science that is concerned with the preparation and dispensing of medicines. As a pharmacist, you will have a wide scale of responsibilities. These range from working at a local drug store to dispense medication from a doctor to working in a vast and complex hospital to ensure doctors, nurses and patients receive the correct advice and assistance. A career in pharmacy is ideal for those interested in health, disease and science.

Career Paths

Pharmacist: The majority of pharmacists work in complex hospital pharmacies or community pharmacies, ensuring that over-the-counter medicine is prescribed correctly. They ensure that patients receive their correct medicine, as well as advising on treatments and how to manage their doses, and work closely with doctors, nurses and other health care professionals.

Pharmacy Technician: Technicians tend to work in two areas – hospitals and community pharmacy - and they ensure the correct supply and dosage of medicine is delivered to patients. Pharmacy technicians can specialize in a number of roles such as manufacturing, quality control and clinical trials.

Pharmacy Assistant: Assistants work alongside technicians and perform many activities on an ad-hoc basis. This can involve taking in and handing out prescriptions, helping order stock to ensure demand is met within various departments, and answering queries from customers on the best course of action. Assistants are most commonly employed in hospitals.

Why study pharmacy in the UK?

The UK is at the forefront of pharmacy research, teaching and practice. Several of the world’s best pharmaceutical companies either are headquartered here or have major operations here. Some prominent examples are GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Roche, Pfizer and Allergan. So fruitful is UK’s research and development output that one in five of world’s best-selling drugs have actually been developed in the UK. Every year, the pharmaceutical industry adds to the tune of £42 billion to the British economy. UK universities are among the best in the world for teaching, learning, research and student support. 7 out of these ranks in top 50 world universities (Times Higher Education Ranking 2018). One-fifth of the world’s best universities are British, which is a massive achievement for a country of UK’s size.

Pharmacy courses come with integrated one-year placements at hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and university research centres. The 4-year undergraduate course that aspiring pharmacists take is called MPharma and is recognized all over the world. At the postgraduate level, students are able to specialize in areas like Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Drug Design and Development, Clinical Pharmacy, Regulatory Affairs, Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance. On average, pharmacists earn £34,781 a year.

Some of the universities where you could study are:

1. De Montfort University (DMU)

2. University of Hertfordshire

3. Liverpool John Moores University

4. University of Greenwich

So, what are you waiting for? Call or visit our nearest STORM Overseas office to start applying to the pharmacy courses.