Pharmacy MSc

Each year of the spiralled curriculum corresponds to a carefully constructed stage of your development:

At Stage 1 scientific and professional knowledge and skills are developed using four strands which integrate related disciplines or tasks. Molecules, Cells and Systems introduce the biochemical building blocks of life, the structure and function of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells and human anatomy and physiology. Processes associated with these cells and systems are compared and contrasted in both health and disease. Introduction to Drugs and Medicines covers the basic principles of drug discovery and development and provides you with an understanding of organic and physical chemistry, and the pharmacological principles pertinent to medicinally important molecules.

Pharmacists, Patients and Medicines explores how pharmacists use their expert knowledge of medicines, health and disease for the benefit of patients and the population through exploration of pharmacists’ roles and how medicines are distributed and handled in patient-facing settings. Concurrently the Informed Pharmacy Learner strand aims to introduce and develop university-level skills, techniques and attributes including, laboratory, communication, learning and study skills.

In Stage 2 three strands are incorporated. Medicines in Development and Use explores how drugs are developed into medicines and how they act and interact within specific body systems. The strand provides a comprehensive overview of the current usage of drugs and the prediction of drug actions and effects. The principles of medicines design, delivery, packaging, handling, analysis and characterisation are covered in the context of the body systems in which they are used.

Clinical and Professional Skills for Pharmacists introduces the skills required to apply to knowledge of medicines and to optimise their use in patients. The strand focuses on safe systems of working, professional responsibility and accountability, and ethical practice. It also develops your skills in consultation techniques, case analysis and prescription analysis, and introduces the strategies used to rationalise and optimise medicine use and patient care. The Applied Pharmacy Learner strand further develops your skills in reflective learning, information retrieval, academic writing, and team working.

Stage 3 incorporates two strands. Therapeutic Management of Patients revisits the range of conditions in the major body systems covered in stage 2 but with a focus on their diagnosis and therapeutic management. You will consider rational drug choice based upon clinical evidence and patent factors and characteristics; and also health promotion.