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New schools
Course designed to equip students for emerging challenges
From Professor John E. Brown, MRPharmS
The articles (under Leading
article and News) which were published in
a recent issue of The Pharmaceutical Journal (1 May, p530 and p531) announced
the accreditation of the new Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) course, which
is being jointly launched by Kingston University and St George’s
Hospital Medical School in September 2004. The new pharmacy degree at
Kingston is the fourth joint health care course between the two institutions,
joining physiotherapy, radiography and nursing and midwifery.
There has for some time been a shortfall in the number of pharmacists
in practice — particularly in NHS posts (PJ, 30 March 2002, pp439–47).
Hence plans for a new MPharm course based largely at Kingston University
were devised in the 1990s, to add to the considerable range of present
expertise in providing related courses in medicinal science, pharmaceutical
science, pharmacology and biomedical science. Pharmacist members of academic
staff at Kingston have helped to maintain the quality and currency of
existing courses, eg, pharmaceutical science. Recent appointments include
two staff members with FRPharmS distinctions in the areas of pharmacy
practice and clinical pharmacy.
Kingston University has made considerable financial commitments to support
pharmacy, and will have three new specialist laboratories to enable teaching
provision in professional practice and pharmaceutics by this September,
and in aseptic dispensing next year. New research laboratories for pharmaceutical
technology and pharmacy practice are also being built. Students at Kingston
will also undertake part of their tuition in the excellent facilities
at St George’s Hospital Medical School at Tooting, which will also
provide opportunities for a multiprofessional approach to tuition.
There has been considerable regional interest in the new MPharm course.
From the outset our partner organisations, drawn from many local hospitals,
community pharmacy groups including Moss Pharmacy, the Day Lewis Group
and Lloydspharmacy, and also from Kingston Primary Care Trust, have provided
expertise and support, including the provision of teacher practitioners,
and in securing placement (and later, preregistration) opportunities
for our undergraduates. The new MPharm course at Kingston and St George’s
Hospital Medical School is innovative partly by virtue of the central
involvement of academic clinicians in the provision of clinical pharmacy
tuition, and also via the key involvement of clinical pharmacists from
the pharmacy departments at both St George’s Hospital, Tooting,
and also Kingston Hospital. This modern course has also been designed
to ensure that the next generation of pharmacy students who graduate
from 2008 will be well equipped for the emerging challenges of the profession
in the 21st century.
John E. Brown
Head of Department of Pharmacy
School of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Kingston University
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