Pharmacy at RCSI or Queens??

MissyF

I am extremely lucky to have been offered a place as a mature/graduate student in Pharmacy at both Queens University Belfast and RCSI starting Sep 2008.
I now have to decide which of these colleges I want to study at!
I would be really grateful for any advice as to which is the best place to get my pharmacy degree.
I am originally from Kildare but would not mind the move up north and I sort of think at the moment that Queens would be the slightly more established/respected school of pharmacy (mainly because it has been around for longer).
I would be hoping to work in the south when I qualify, possibly in hospital/clinical pharmacy although I defo wouldn’t rule out community either.
Does anyone know if my future potential employers would preference a BSc Pharmacy from RCSI or an MPharm from Queens??

bleg

i dunno about employers but 2 people have transferred from RCSI to my course in UCC (purely for convenience sake) and they both thoroughly enjoyed the course at RCSI.

did you try UCC? did julia get the better of you?

tallaght01

I reckon the courses will be the same, but there are some restrictions about pharmacists who qualify outside the republic isnt there?

Like there has to be an irish qualified pharmacist in some new pharmacies or something.

I dont know anything about it, but mebbe some of the pharmacists here will be able to shed some light.

scanlant

tallaght01 wrote: »

I reckon the courses will be the same, but there are some restrictions about pharmacists who qualify outside the republic isnt there?

Like there has to be an irish qualified pharmacist in some new pharmacies or something.

I dont know anything about it, but mebbe some of the pharmacists here will be able to shed some light.

Yep the "3 year rule".

Derogation no longer exists here. The same will apply to other EU countries very soon. Therefore there will be free movement.

I thought the M Pharm was replaced by a 4 year B Pharm in the U.K., though I could be wrong.

Both will be the same material covered, however the laws/schemes etc are very different in the U.K. so that's the only major downside in studying in the U.K. otherwise they are both the same.

From a soon to be qualified pharmacy student, welcome to the profession!

namit

I talked to some pharmacists and they have said that it is quite easy to transfer you just do an induction course and then you can work in ireland no problem.

scanlant

Yeah the law stuff isn't too major, it's the only thing that's different between the two (well, if you don't count the supplementary prescribers course in the U.K.)

It's a great job, there's great satisfaction in it for me, it's very interesting and challenging. And there's so many options out of college, not just community work.

ronn90

MissyF wrote: »

I am extremely lucky to have been offered a place as a mature/graduate student in Pharmacy at both Queens University Belfast and RCSI starting Sep 2008.
I now have to decide which of these colleges I want to study at!
I would be really grateful for any advice as to which is the best place to get my pharmacy degree.
I am originally from Kildare but would not mind the move up north and I sort of think at the moment that Queens would be the slightly more established/respected school of pharmacy (mainly because it has been around for longer).
I would be hoping to work in the south when I qualify, possibly in hospital/clinical pharmacy although I defo wouldn’t rule out community either.
Does anyone know if my future potential employers would preference a BSc Pharmacy from RCSI or an MPharm from Queens??

It's hard to know what to do. I've gone to both a college and an university. It's my experience that there's more going on in a uni. Lots more social/clubs and people to meet. Both RCSI and Queens have good reps though. Best of luck either way

SomeDose

MissyF wrote: »

I am extremely lucky to have been offered a place as a mature/graduate student in Pharmacy at both Queens University Belfast and RCSI starting Sep 2008.
I now have to decide which of these colleges I want to study at!
I would be really grateful for any advice as to which is the best place to get my pharmacy degree.
I am originally from Kildare but would not mind the move up north and I sort of think at the moment that Queens would be the slightly more established/respected school of pharmacy (mainly because it has been around for longer).
I would be hoping to work in the south when I qualify, possibly in hospital/clinical pharmacy although I defo wouldn’t rule out community either.
Does anyone know if my future potential employers would preference a BSc Pharmacy from RCSI or an MPharm from Queens??

My 2 cents...
About this time 4 years ago I was in your shoes i.e. a graduate looking to study pharmacy. I applied to both Irish and UK schools, and got one offer from Ireland (RCSI) and 5 from the UK. In the end I chose to go to the UK, mainly because a) no fees to pay as such, compared to €6,000 pa for RCSI, and b) the UK pharmacy syllabuses (syllabi?) appealed more to me.

If you really want to go into the clinical / hospital side of pharmacy (which in fairness is probably too early for you to say yet), I would strongly recommend pre-reg'ing in a large teaching hospital in the UK. Obviously this would mean choosing to study at Queens. The reason I say this is that hospital pharmacy in the UK is a lot more clinical & ward-based and allows you to use and develop these skills to a greater extent than you might do in an Irish hospital. Personally I think I've probably learned more in 8 or 9 months at a teaching hospital than I did in all those years spent at Uni. In any case, you could always gain your qualification and train in the UK and then return home whenever you want. You could also switch over to community pharmacy without any major difficulties, should you wish.

To answer your other question, a BSc or MPharm won't make any difference in terms of employment. Just remember that you must pre-reg in the same country you graduate from. And all UK courses are now MPharm.

Best of luck with the decision...

DANDY1

Missy F,I have a quick question,i am applied to the RCSI Graduate pharmacy programme for Sep 2008,can you remeber the questions they asked during your interview?I have not had my interview yet

sheep1986

Iv also been accepted to RCSI in the Graduate entry programme, Im a microbiology graduate and am presently finishing a MSc in biotechnology. When i applied for the programme this row involving the HSE hadnt begun. Now im getting cold feet about doing pharmacy, eventhough i like the course and always wanted to be a pharmacist. would be financially viable for me to do it, taking inthe fees also.??

angeldelight

I'm a 4th year Pharmacy student in RCSI, and if my best friend was considering doing pharmacy I would recommend RCSI, can't give it any more recommendation than that. I had a bit of a wobble in 3rd year where I was bout to throw it away and drop out but the lecturers were good and helped me through it - it was more what was going on in my home life than anything. It is extremely hard work, but the course is great. It's well designed, in that there's a lot of clinical material set out as cases so it's quite practical from the beginning. The lecturers are lovely, they'll do everything they can to help - there's one or two I don't like but as a whole they're decent. When doing pre-reg interviews I was told by more than one person that people were impressed with the RCSI graduates versus another college, and that there was a lot more clinical/applied knowledge rather than just theory. You'll be doing dispensing labs from second year I think, although I think first years do one or two so you'll have a lot of experience at the mechanics of it all. THere will be a lot of graduates in your class - there's about 20 in my class. If you've any questions about the actual course feel free to pm me.

sheep1986

thanks angeldelight

Alexnumber6

Hi

I am a 29 year old Pharmacology graduate from UCD, i have worked in the pharma industry for the past 5 years. I am now considering doing pharmacy at either RCSI or TCD. Any advice out there? Not sure is it a crazy thing to embarke on at this stage but have always been interested in doing it but financially i can afford to do it now.

Thanks!!

alex

anotherlostie

Pharmacy will not be the cash cow that it has been in the future, and this will impact upon graduate salaries and future prospects. Three friends of mine have had their locum cancelled because the pharmacies involved no longer open extended hours - in readiness for the reduced fees from the HSE that will inevitably happen (since the HSE is the largest customer for pharmacies). Reduced locum hours will be followed by pharmacies going back to being staffed by one pharmacist (the owner) instead of two.

The best prospects for pharmacists may be in industry, and you have to have an aptitude for this, but if you are already working there, I would suggest doing an MSc to gain a QP qualification, rather than going back to do pharmacy, TBH.

I may be over negative here, but it's a bit like buying a house; the market is so unsure at the moment, it would be a brave person who would make the decision at the moment.

Alexnumber6

OK thanks for getting back to me on this. Its very difficult to know what to do but i appreciate your thoughts! I have considered the QP qualification before but I work quite close to this ( in Pharmacovigilance/Clinical Trials) and its not something I would be too keen on. I have till next Feb to decide so I ll def keep an eye on the market and chat to some pharmacists before deciding what to do.

Thanks v much!

Lucas10101

Go to Queens if you want work in the Uk, choose Ireland if you want to work in Ireland.

PurplePossum

Hey all,some good advice there. someone else posed the question TCD or RCSI - does anyone know what they are like in terms of research postgrad qualifications?

sillymoo

As far as I know RCSI has a brilliant rep as far as post grad research goes. Working in one of their labs now on a summer project and thats what I hear. Pretty good set up in there too! What sort of field you interested in?

PurplePossum

Hey cheers for that - interested in neuroscience. Was there the past two summers working in MCT. This would be similar - working on pathobiology of schizophrenia.

sillymoo

Sounds good! WIll you be working with TF by any chance? I have to admit im not his biggest fan when he is examining the Med Students but sound enough outside of that

PurplePossum

Not sure who TF is :-) Whats RCSI like socially? I've only worked there during the summer when its fairly quiet.....

sillymoo

PurplePossum wrote: »

Not sure who TF is :-) Whats RCSI like socially? I've only worked there during the summer when its fairly quiet.....

TF is Tom Farrell, a pretty big wig as far as neuro goes and scaring the bejasus out of the med students!

Its really good socially there is always something going on, the SU and socs are pretty good at organising parties etc. Also most of the postgrads get on pretty well together and go out for drinks etc (if you dont fancy mixing with the undergrads )

PurplePossum

Cool, thats good to know ta for the info!!! RCSI sounding better and better...am over in TCIN for the summer and man, cant wait to get away!!!! 5 weeks to go...uncounting....tick tock....

eternal student

Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone is starting Pharmacy at RCSI on the 29th? Any advice, suggestions or tips would be great . What's the course like? Are there good societies to join? What's the work load like? Places to head for coffee. Is there a mature student society? :-)
As my name suggests I'm older the average bear and the whole idea of starting back to college is scary/challenging, I'm really dying to get started though.
Anyway, the best of luck to all starting on the 29th.
Apologies if I've posted in the wrong place.

Thanks.

sheep1986

Ya i am starting monday also, im yes im nervous too.im a maturish student.at least its nice to know theres more of us out there?which makes it less daunting.

PurplePossum

Hey eternal student and sheep, hope it all goes well for you. I went for the TCD neuroscience programme in the end, but I'll be a relatively *mature* postgrad too, so all the same issues, and will be just down the road from ye! So keep me posted. Hope it all rocks its socks off! xx

eternal student

Best of luck in TCD Purple Possum and Sheep1986 I’m guessing we'll bump into each other Monday as I’m probably older than some of the lecturers. It’s all good though.

segaBOY

sillymoo wrote: »

Also most of the postgrads get on pretty well together and go out for drinks etc (if you dont fancy mixing with the undergrads )

I know, we're pure and utter bastards with our fancy new CAO forms and age on our side.

Blondie1988

sheep1986 wrote: »

Iv also been accepted to RCSI in the Graduate entry programme, Im a microbiology graduate and am presently finishing a MSc in biotechnology. When i applied for the programme this row involving the HSE hadnt begun. Now im getting cold feet about doing pharmacy, eventhough i like the course and always wanted to be a pharmacist. would be financially viable for me to do it, taking inthe fees also.??

I know this is a few years late, but hopefully you can still help me. like you, i am a science graduate . I specialised in physiology in my final year, I would like to study pharmacy in ireland now and think the graduate programme in rcsi seems really good. Can you give any insight into your application, interview, what do they look for in successful candidates. I would apprecaite any help!

Many Thanks.