The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7158 p121-123
28 July 2001

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Pharmacy education

Part-time degree?

From Ms M. D. Matthews

I glanced at the 14 July issue of the PJ this morning, which contained items relating to “New solutions to the pharmacist shortage”.

I believe that one solution would be perhaps to allow students to study for a pharmacy degree by day release. There are many technicians in hospital, community and industry who have been working for many years within their relevant field and want to develop and perhaps even to study for a pharmacy degree. But owing to financial constraints and personal life, they are unable to study on a full-time basis.

Pharmacy must be one of the few degrees that it is not possible to read part time, but allowing students to study in this way may be one solution to the problem of recruiting and keeping pharmacists.

I appreciate that there is the question of preregistration training, but it should be remembered that the people who want to study part time are already working in a pharmacy environment and therefore it should not be considered an issue.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society should look at changing the way one can study to allow pharmacy to be open to a wider audience.

Maria Matthews
Ware, Hertfordshire

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