PharmD. Curriculum

Monday morning we flew back into Manchester. We arrived around 730am and hopped on a bus back to our flat. We weren't able to take advantage of the complimentary breakfast at the hostel that morning as it didn't open up until 8am and we had to leave by 4:10AM so Gary was not pleased by the time we arrived at our gate at the airport.  I got a small snack at the airport to hold him over but eating was a top priority when we arrived at the flat.

We had a presentation at the University of Manchester College of Pharmacy that afternoon for faculty and staff members on the PharmD. curriculum and specifically, the curriculum at the University of Kentucky. Elise and I made a hand out on an overview of the courses we take at UK during our three years of didactic learning plus information on our fourth year rotation year, block testing, the pre-pharmacy requirements/coursework and application process. In England, you go straight from A-levels (essentially our high school equivalent age) into university. A-levels are essentially the equivalent of our undergraduate coursework in the states or AP courses in high school. You focus in on a few areas during your A-levels (i.e. biology, chemistry, math) if you're going to do medicine or pharmacy. There is no entrance exam to get into pharmacy school in the UK nor do they have an application process like the one we have in the states for professional programs. Man what I would have given to not have to apply to pharmacy school or to bypass the PCAT!

I think the faculty/staff members were really interested by our curriculum at UK, the way we take our tests, and some of our unique courses (i.e. business management, our clinical lab sequence courses, etc) We tried to convey why we feel UK is such a great place to learn whether it is through the diverse/well rounded learning experience we are provided with that allows us to adapt to the changing profession of pharmacy, the stress on life-long learning or being engaged/involved within the profession, or the integrative nature of the program that teaches us how to communicate and interact with other healthcare professionals.

Our fourth year of rotations is similar to what they call a pre-registration (pre-reg) year; however, instead of experiencing several different types of pharmacy, student pharmacists here are placed in one location only for 12 months. While I think the role of pharmacists is very similar between the states and the UK, the process/training leading up to becoming a pharmacist is actually quite different. I think Elise and I both really enjoyed sharing a little bit about what we do back home and how UK has given us the foundation we need to practice successfully as future pharmacists.