Creating better pharmacists
WE need pharmacists. As experts on medicines and the way they interact with the body, pharmacists play a vital role in improving community health. As the global population grows and ages, and as medicines become more complex, the need for pharmacists intensifies.
The World Health Organization estimates that there is potential for creation of some 40 million additional healthcare jobs across the world by 2030 – almost double the current number. Pharmacists are expected to figure prominently among these jobs.
Quality pharmacy graduates
Monash University has long been considered the leading pharmacy programme provider in Australia. According to QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017 and 2018, Monash is in second place globally in the Pharmacy & Pharmacology category, with only Harvard University ranking higher.
Monash believes that the world deserves better pharmacists, not just more pharmacists. This is why it offers Australia’s first and only combined Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons)/Master of Pharmacy programme, which ensures that its graduates go out into the world equipped with a higher level of education and stronger skill set.
The pathway to registration as a pharmacist in Australia takes five years.
Traditionally, this route is structured as a four-year bachelor’s degree plus a one-year internship. At Monash, the BPharm(Hons)/ MPharm takes the same four years, but you graduate with a master’s degree as well as a bachelor’s degree.
The fifth year of the pathway combines one year of paid supervised practice with intern studies through Monash’s Intern Training Program and Intern Foundation Program. This amalgam of intensive learning and work will prepare you for registration as a pharmacist.
Skills that make a difference
The combined course ensures that you have a thorough grasp of the underlying scientific disciplines of pharmacy such as chemistry, biology and pharmacology, but it also focuses on key skills that set a great pharmacist apart from a good one. These skills include problem solving, empathy, reflective practice, integrity, teamwork, inquiry, and oral and written communication.
You will hone these skills through work placements in community pharmacies, hospitals and other environments while learning from some of Australia’s best pharmacists.
When you pursue the BPharm(Hons)/MPharm, you do not just sit in lecture halls passively listening to teachers. Monash is a world leader in developing learning technologies for pharmacy that help its students simulate and engage with practice environments. The educational tools developed at Monash are used in pharmacy programmes all over the world.
Monash’s Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is situated in Parkville – the heart of Melbourne’s medical and biotechnology precinct that is just minutes away from Melbourne’s central business district. It has excellent public transport links and is renowned for its keen sense of community.
In addition to smaller class sizes and the opportunity to really get to know your instructors, you will be paired with a student mentor who will help you transition to life as a university student.
You will have the resources of Australia’s largest university to draw from. Monash is widely regarded as one of the world’s top 100 universities with a reputation for excellence in science studies.
Transfer opportunities
If you would like the experience of studying in Australia without pursuing your whole degree there, Monash has an option that allows selected students to complete the first one or two years of their degree at Monash University Malaysia before transferring to the Melbourne campus for the rest of the programme.
For more information, call +613 9903 9635 or visit www.monash.edu/pharm