The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7505 p690
7 June 2008

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• New professional body (3)
• Council election
• Training
• Pharmacy education
• Morphine/fentanyl
• Pharmacy robots
• Minority languages
• Evolution

Letters to the Editor

Pharmacy education

Hold on to science

From Mr T. Ahmed

As I come to the end of my four-year MPharm course I find it encouraging that the recent White Paper has suggested a possible change in the MPharm degree to allow students to gain more clinical knowledge and experience.

However, I think students should have the initiative to gain such experience for themselves, whether it is via weekend work or vacation placements, rather than depend on the university.

Focusing on the clinical aspects of pharmacy is a step in the right direction; however universities must not be pushed into reducing the core scientific elements of the MPharm.

How can clinical aspects be understood if the basic fundamentals are weak? How can pharmacist call themselves medicines experts if they do not understand the principles of subjects such as pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and chemistry?

Science has always been a core part of any pharmacy degree; do not reduce science to some mere basic level because this will not help the graduates of tomorrow.

Tauheed Ahmed
Southend-on-Sea, Essex

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