Pharmacy Tutors & Pharmacy Exams
Pharmacy is the study of drugs, more specifically the effect they have on the body and why. Pharmacy is a challenging degree both theoretically and practically speaking. The profession presents a wide range of opportunities to graduates. A career taken by many will be that of a hospital or community pharmacist. Pharmacists assist doctors and nurses by providing patients with the tools to getting better. Beyond this a Pharmacy graduate can hope to go into clinical research, higher education or become a medical sales representative or work within science consultancy. These are just a handful of careers available to Pharmacy graduates, all of which are possible if you achieve your highest grade – for which we can help you every step of the way. Our pharmacy tutors are qualified pharmacy graduates with extensive teaching experience.
Pharmacy as a service:
Pharmacists are qualified healthcare professionals who must train for 5 years in the use of medicines. This training is vital in supporting pharmacists, providing them with the knowledge and expertise to support patients with a wide range of needs, ensuring that they are best equipped to offer clinical advice, and over-the-counter medicines for a wide range of ailments. As well as training in medicine, pharmacists are also trained in managing minor illnesses and providing wellbeing and health advice, meaning visiting your local pharmacist for coughs, colds, stomach aches and new aches and pains can sometimes save a trip to the doctor’s office. Pharmacists are depended upon by many, offering free trained medical advice in private consultation rooms, with no appointment needed and answering questions relating to prescription medicines, antibiotics, over-the-counter medicines and general health and wellbeing concerns. Pharmacists can refer you to your GP if they believe that medicines are not working appropriately or if they feel a patient’s symptoms have worsened during the course of a treatment. Pharmacists can support people with inhaler techniques, emergency contraception, chlamydia screenings and how to take medicines safely and according to prescribed schedules and doses (amongst many other roles). Pharmacists work closely with your GP, meaning any concerns they may have about your symptoms on a certain medication can be communicated back to your GP to make the appropriate changes. After contacting NHS 111 or your GP you may be referred onto a pharmacist for further support, demonstrating the key part a pharmacist has within the healthcare provision sector.
Old and New Medicine Services:
Pharmacies have Old and New Medicine services, meaning pharmacists are trained to provide support and advice for people who are starting to use new medicine or for those who need to dispose of old medicine. The New Medicine Service provides help for those with asthma, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and those on new blood-thinning medicine. The Old Medicine service enables people to take old, out of date or no longer wanted medicine to their pharmacy and dispose of it safely.
What are the roles of a Pharmacist?
Pharmacists have a multitude of roles, which can be specific to the environment in which they work in. Pharmacists can work in retail, community pharmacies (found on the high street) and are responsible for customer service as well as the more technical elements of the role. Pharmacists may work in sales with a pharmaceutical company, participating in the production and/or sales of legal drugs to the medical market. Pharmacists may also work in Universities, prisons, veterinary pharmacy and in pharmaceutical organisations, meeting a variety of institutional regulations and policies and fulfilling various roles (such as teaching students about the production, regulation and trialling of pharmaceuticals). Pharmacists are responsible for the quality inspection and assurance of medicine provided to patients. This may be checking that a doctor’s prescription is correct for the patient by asking an appropriate series of questions to eliminate dosage errors and any medical allergies or, measuring out appropriate levels of medicines that will then be provided over the counter. Pharmacists must comply with the law, meaning they must only provide medicine for prescription or over the counter purposes and play a large part in making people feel safe when taking new medicines, advising about dosage schedules and what to do if something doesn’t feel right.
A Pharmacist may also oversee the supply chain of medicines, advising healthcare professionals about the medicines that are most safe and effective for patient use. They may also ensure pharmacy premises are up to date and meet patients’ needs in store; many pharmacy stores in the UK will provide services for blood pressure measurements, cholesterol management and emergency contraception. Private consultation booths are also common, enabling patients to ask questions that they may otherwise have to wait weeks to ask a doctor. Our Pharmacy Tutors and applications specialists can guide you through the various Pharmacy qualifications routes and pharmacy careers.
How do I become a Pharmacist & Pharmacy Careers?
To become a qualified Pharmacist, one must complete a five-year study programme involving academic and practice/ industry-based practice. Within the first four years of training you will study for a master’s degree in Pharmacy (MPharm) at University, followed by a one-year foundation training year where you will work in a paid placement. To act as a trained pharmacist, you must be registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), to enable you to embark on legal practice as a pharmacist.
Pharmacy Degree Entry Requirements:
Though there are no set university entry requirements, the expectation is that you will have three A-Levels (or a study grade equivalent) in chemistry, maths or science, with grades typically ranging between AAB and BBB. Pharmacy degrees that start with a foundation year may have lower requirements, with GCSEs also being considered alongside FE grades. Your GCSE grades are expected to have a minimum of pass grades in five subjects, including maths, English Language and one of the sciences. Select universities accept vocational qualifications including Level 3 BTECs, National Extended Diplomas in Applied Sciences or the Access to HE diplomas in sciences.
Important skills/ personal attributes:
Those seeking to start training to become a pharmacist must have excellent communication skills, able to work cohesively with a team of people, sharing workloads and supporting fellow professionals. An attention to detail is imperative as the role of a pharmacist will require you to handle substances that can cause serious harm if not treated correctly. Passion for the responsibility will enable you to stand out as a candidate that genuinely wants to help people.
Your first step will be getting onto a taught Pharmacy Master’s Degree at University. The typical A-level entry requirements range from AAB-BBB, making extra study and revision imperative to attaining these grades. Worried about achieving these grades? Head over to our Tutor pages to find the right Science tutor for you. Once on your Pharmacy program you have a long 5 years ahead of you. Theoretical and practical science will typically be integrated with clinical hours spent learning how to interact with patients. All three realms of your degree will require you to be on top of your game – both in terms of theory and lab skills. Our Pharmacy tutors can offer private one-to-one tuition to keep you ahead of your peers and set you on the path to achieving the best.
Pharmacy tutors
Pharmacy is the study of drugs, more specifically the effect they have on the body and why. Pharmacy is a challenging degree both theoretically and practically speaking. The profession presents a wide range of opportunities to graduates. A career taken by many will be that of a hospital or community pharmacist. Pharmacists assist doctors and nurses by providing patients with the tools to getting better.
Beyond this a Pharmacy graduate can hope to go into clinical research, higher education or become a medical sales representative or work within science consultancy. These are just a handful of careers available to Pharmacy graduates, all of which are possible if you achieve your highest grade – for which we can help you every step of the way. Our pharmacy tutors are qualified pharmacy graduates with extensive teaching experience.
Pharmacy tuition London
Your first step will be getting onto a taught Pharmacy Masters Degree at University. The typical A-level entry requirements range from ABB-A*AA inclusive of two sciences. Worried about achieving these grades? Head over to our Tutor pages to find the right Science tutor for you.
Once on your Pharmacy program you have a long 4 years ahead of you. Theoretical and practical science will typically be integrated with clinical hours spent learning how to interact with patients. All three realms of your degree will require you to be on top of your game – both in terms of theory and lab skills. Here at Mayfair Consultants we can offer private one-to-one tuition to keep you ahead of your peers and set you on the path to achieving the best.
If you’d like arrange pharmacy tutors for private lessons or have any questions about our pharmacy tuition services please call us on Tel: +44 (0) 207 665 6606 or you can send us an email via our contact form.
Useful Pharmacy Links for Pharmacy Tutors and students:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/prescriptions-and-pharmacies/pharmacies/how-your-pharmacy-can-help/
https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/pharmacy/roles-pharmacy/pharmacist/pharmacist
https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2016/may/23/university-guide-2017-league-table-for-pharmacy-pharmacology – University Guide: Guardian Students
http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=Pharmacology%20%26%20Pharmacy – The Complete Universities Guide
http://www.rpharms.com/home/home.asp Royal Pharmaceutical Society RPS
https://www.npa.co.uk The National Pharmacy Association
http://www.ukcpa.net The United Kingdom Clinical Pharmacy Association (UKCPA)
http://www.bpsa.co.uk British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association
https://www.pharmacopoeia.com British Pharmacopoeia
https://www.pharmacyregulation.org General Pharmaceutical Council
https://www.nice.org.uk National Institute for Clinical Excellence
https://www.cppe.ac.uk Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education
https://www.bnf.org British National Formulary of Medicines
https://www.sps.nhs.uk Specialist pharmacy service
http://www.mims.co.uk Database of prescription and generic drugs, clinical guidelines
http://www.fda.gov/default.htm US Food and Drug Administration
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/medicines-and-healthcare-products-regulatory-agency Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency UK
Pharmacy Resources:
https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2016/may/23/university-guide-2017-league-table-for-pharmacy-pharmacology – University Guide: Guardian Students
http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=Pharmacology%20%26%20Pharmacy – The Complete Universities Guide
http://www.rpharms.com/home/home.asp Royal Pharmaceutical Society RPS
https://www.npa.co.uk The National Pharmacy Association
http://www.ukcpa.net The United Kingdom Clinical Pharmacy Association (UKCPA)
http://www.bpsa.co.uk British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association
https://www.pharmacopoeia.com British Pharmacopoeia
https://www.pharmacyregulation.org General Pharmaceutical Council
https://www.nice.org.uk National Institute for Clinical Excellence
https://www.cppe.ac.uk Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education
https://www.bnf.org British National Formulary of Medicines
https://www.sps.nhs.uk Specialist pharmacy service
http://www.mims.co.uk Database of prescription and generic drugs, clinical guidelines
http://www.fda.gov/default.htm US Food and Drug Administration
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/medicines-and-healthcare-products-regulatory-agency Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency UK
Pharmacist career pathways:
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/pharmacy – Prospects
http://www.pharmacistsupport.org/fact-sheets/careers-advice-and-options-for-pharmacy-graduates/ – Pharmacists Support
http://www.rpharms.com/about-pharmacy/careers-in-pharmacy.asp – Royal Pharmaceutical Society Information on Careers
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/job-profiles/pharmacist – National Careers Service