Inside Tomorrow's Pharmacist (2001)

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On being a pharmacy student in New Zealand

On being a pharmacy student in New Zealand by Douglas Hancox

You could have chosen any one of a number of courses. Why did you choose to study pharmacy?

Ben At high school I was very interested in chemistry. From this I became interested in how medicines worked and I looked into pharmacy and saw it had great career opportunities. It is also a career in which you can help people and that appealed to me.

Hafsa In the fifth form I decided that I wanted to be clinically involved in one of the health professions. I thought about medicine, nursing and pharmacy and all appealed. However, I have a cousin who is a pharmacist and I talked with her and a number of other pharmacists. They all enjoyed their work and the job sounded very interesting. I also looked at the subjects I would have to study and all of them appealed to me — organic chemistry, biology, pathology, etc.

What branch of pharmacy would you like to enter?

Ben Both community and hospital pharmacy look interesting, but possibly I'll go into hospital pharmacy. I've seen pharmacists working on the wards, checking medication and advising staff and a hospital environment appeals more to me at the moment.

Hafsa I work part-time now in community pharmacy and that has shown me that pharmacists do much more than dispense. I see them spending time with patients, advising them how to take medicines and needing to be good communicators. I would enjoy community practice but hospital may be more challenging. Possibly, like Ben, that is where I will go after I've registered.

Tell me about the first two years of your course

Ben Most of the courses we take are also taken by medical, nursing and health science students. This means that there are a lot of us in lectures — up to 300 to 400 in the lecture theatre. You need to get there early to get a seat or you sit in the aisles or stand at the back. This has its good points for we get to know many other students with whom we might work one day. In the first year there is only one paper, pharmacy practice, which is taken only by pharmacy students; in the second year there are two, pharmacy practice and pharmaceutics.

Hafsa Unlike Ben I did one year of biomedical sciences before beginning the pharmacy course. I did that because I didn't want to go down to Otago to do pharmacy and the Auckland degree did not begin until the year after I left school. I was able to transfer credits from the biomedical science course to pharmacy and take some second year papers in my first year in pharmacy school. This year I am doing some third year papers. I quite enjoy not being with pharmacy students all of the time. I'm not alone in having a different mix of courses in the first two years. There are a number of students who have already graduated in pharmacology or some other area and that is good — these people bring another perspective to the course and can help others in particular areas of their studies.

So, how does this feature of the BPharm course, where you are taught alongside medical, health science and nursing students, work out?

Hafsa It works quite well. Initially some of us thought the medical students were quite arrogant but that soon settled and I've two or three close friends who are medical and nursing students. When the medical students held their ball, a good number of pharmacy and nursing students went along.

Ben Last year, for one of the courses, we went on a Marae trip to learn about Maori culture and health issues. A medical, nursing and pharmacy student were teamed up and this helped to bond us together. We all enjoyed the experience and learned a lot from the trip. As we go on into the third and fourth years there will be fewer shared classes which, in some ways, will be a pity.

What do you most enjoy in the degree course?

Ben This year we began our dispensing paper and I find that really interesting. Getting to make creams, mixtures and emulsions is great. In the lectures we have a pharmacist-lawyer who's given us cases where complaints have been laid against pharmacists and I find that interesting and quite daunting. Makes you realise how careful you must be.

Hafsa I enjoy the dispensing and microbiology labs. The chemistry paper is less enjoyable — I enjoy chemistry but this paper is different, it's very challenging and you have to spend a lot of time studying for it — up to two or three hours every day.

Tell me about the Pharmacy Student Association

Hafsa Initially we didn't have an association. We set up class reps — I was one of them — who organised some social activities. Then we set up the association so as to get more funding and give ourselves a better structure. We elected the president, secretary, and education, sports and social reps. The association has done a lot of good things — the president, Brenda, is really very, very good — it's organised a sports trip, a class dinner, a barbecue the other Saturday and much more is planned for the future. One useful event will be a three-day camp for first year students at the beginning of the first semester so that they can all get to know one another. Every three or four weeks many of us go to the Domain to play sport — rugby, soccer and such like.

Ben At the beginning of this year the association organised a freshmen's day. About 50 of the 80 first year students came along. We went off to the beach at Long Bay, played ball games, touch rugby, volleyball and had a barbecue. That was really good. Later this year there is to be a ball and a pub-crawl which should be fun. The association also has the class reps to take any of our concerns to the lecturers.

What about involvement in the university clubs and societies?

Ben Some of the students play sport in the university teams. One of the girls is in the university rowing team and went to the university games at Otago a short while ago. Otherwise the pharmacy students focus on their own association.

What's a typical student day like?

Hafsa Most days begin with two or three lectures from 8 o'clock and on three days, when we have labs, we don't finish until 5 o'clock. Other days we finish about 3 o'clock. Between classes we get on with assignments or what is needed for tomorrow.

Ben Like Hafsa I use the gaps between classes to study or to catch up with friends. When I get back home on the days we don't finish until 5 o'clock I don't feel like doing very much.

So what do you do in your spare time?

Ben I play the piano quite a bit, I began playing when I was four and I'm continuing with that — mainly classical music. I've an exam to study for in August. I also used to do gymnastics and diving and I continue going to the gym. Otherwise I hang out with my friends.

Hafsa I read quite a bit. I play sport — soccer, badminton, go to the gym. I used to play soccer every week but now its only every three or four weeks. I go to the movies, shopping and spend ages on the phone chatting to my friends.

How about the other students?

Hafsa Much the same. I'm not one of the clubbers but there are many who go off clubbing every Friday or Saturday night. Some, of course, are forever studying spending most of the weekend doing just that — I probably do five or six hours at the weekend — no more.

Ben There are also those who play a lot of sport — soccer, hockey and cricket. Most also have a part-time job.

What do they do?

Ben The girls tend to work in pharmacies — it seems easier for them to get that type of work. I work in a restaurant as a waiter to help with day-to-day expenses. Actually I quite enjoy it and learning how to deal with difficult customers will probably help me later when I work in pharmacy.

Hafsa As Ben said the girls find it easier to work in community pharmacy because they can more easily sell the cosmetics, etc. I also get to do some dispensing from time to time which is good from the point of view of the course and working helps me financially.

What financial support do students get?

Ben There are no grants. We can apply for a student loan. So far I've borrowed almost NZ$10,000 (£3,000) to meet course fees, books, etc. The loan has to be paid back after graduation when we start earning some money.

Hafsa There are a few scholarships which will help those fortunate enough to get one. Some are from the university and there are three from the Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand.

Where do most students live?

Ben Most of the students are from Auckland and live at home. Others are flatting or in university accommodation.

After graduating you will have to complete a 52 week internship. What will that involve?

Hafsa A lot of hard work. I've heard that the interns get all the hard jobs making the more horrible mixtures and creams! Seriously though, it will be very interesting and we'll get to apply all that we've learned in the course. We have to find our own internships — possibly I'll be able to do mine in the pharmacy where I now work.

Ben We'll have to complete assignments and there is an end-of-year set of practical tests we have to do at the Pharm Soc.

What will you do after you've completed your internship?

Hafsa I'm thinking of working for two to three years to get some experience and then go onto postgraduate studies. If I get Honours I'll probably do a PhD. I'd like to go into hospital pharmacy — I think it's more challenging and you get to use more of your knowledge.

Ben I'll probably work in New Zealand for a few years before heading overseas, probably to Britain. It will be good to work in a different place and experience a different culture but I'll return to New Zealand. After all it's home and where I trained. It will probably be the same for many of the students. Some of the overseas students will go back to their own country.

Are there many overseas students?

Ben There are a few. On the other hand there are many students whose families emigrated to New Zealand in the last 10 to 20 years so we're a very multi-cultural group of students.

Do you have any thoughts on how pharmacy should develop over the next few years?

Ben I think there should be much more research in pharmacy and pharmaceuticals. Also that pharmacists should work much more closely, as equals, with other health professionals - provide a more integrated approach to patient care. They should also have a closer relationship with patients. In that way we can look after them better.

Hafsa I think people also need to change the way they see pharmacy — there's much more to the profession than just counting and giving out pills and that needs to be better appreciated. Some people certainly do and I see many who come to the pharmacist first before seeking any other help.

Douglas Hancox was previously principal education and training pharmacist in South Thames and is currently senior lecturer (pharmacy postgraduate development) at the University of Auckland