Do you want to be the kind of person that wants to look after people when they are ill? Are you interested in learning how science treats diseases?
Many people believe that studying medicine is a requirement if you wish to save lives and treat diseases. You may find it interesting to know how chemistry and biology are related. If so, studying pharmacy might be the best option for you!
What is Pharmacy?
Pharmacy is responsible for the discovery, production, disposal, safe and effective use, and regulation of pharmaceuticals and drugs. It is the clinical health science that connects chemistry and medicine. Excellent knowledge of medications, their mechanisms of action, side effects, interactions, mobility, and safety are essential for practising pharmacy. It also calls for awareness of the disease process and treatment expertise. Some pharmacy specialisations, such as clinical pharmacy, call for additional qualifications, such as expertise in gathering and analysing physical and laboratory data.
The practise of pharmacy includes both more typical tasks like preparing and distributing pharmaceuticals as well as more current medical services like clinical services, drug information, and reviews of medications for efficacy and safety. Thus, pharmacists are the key healthcare professionals who maximise the use of medication for the benefit of patients. They are also the world’s top authorities on pharmacological treatment.
What do you learn in Pharmacy?
Potential areas of pharmacy study include the following:
- Biochemistry
- Human Anatomy & Nervous System
- Immunology
- Mechanism of Drug Actions
- Medicinal Chemistry
- Microbiology
- Organic Chemistry
- Pharmacology
- Pharmacy Practice
- Physical Chemistry
Keep in mind that a pharmacy course will include a lot of chemicals, therefore you must love chemistry as one of your studies.
Do you need advice on deciding whether a career in pharmacy is best for you? Contact one of our experienced consultants immediately!
Skills Needed to Study Pharmacy
Accuracy
Pharmacists are involved in all parts of the pharmaceutical industry, including production, marketing, and even the dispensing of pharmaceuticals. As pharmacists, we are aware that medications can be harmful if they are sent or handled improperly.
Pharmacists are supposed to quickly and accurately distribute medications. In developed nations like the USA, Canada, etc., they are required to fill prescriptions and must be able to read doctors’ handwriting. Humans have a tendency to make mistakes, but a pharmacist must be precise in their profession because it could be the difference between life and death.
Excellent interpersonal and communication abilities
Every qualified pharmacist needs to be a good communicator. You can effectively connect with patients and medical staff if you have excellent communication skills. As a pharmacist, you interact with patients the majority of the time, usually regarding medication prescriptions. They need to understand why they require a certain prescription and what the negative effects can be.
A pharmacist interacts with varied patients with different personalities. Excellent people skills are necessary if you want to deal with everyone. Interpersonal skills, including bargaining, listening, dispute resolution, and empathy, are all important.
Professional Ethics
Patients with various medical illnesses and those undergoing various treatments can get prescriptions from pharmacists. Therefore, it is essential that they behave morally and discreetly while preserving patient confidentiality. In order to protect individuals’ right to privacy, pharmacists should never reveal specifics about their illnesses. This is particularly crucial if you reside in a small town where most people know one another.
Strong analytical abilities
When wanting to advance your career as a pharmacist, using analytical skills can be advantageous. These abilities enable you to recognise issues in your area of responsibility and provide workable solutions. They make it possible for you to comprehend a patient’s past and afterwards provide the best medical care. These abilities should enable you to identify any negative pharmaceutical side effects and take appropriate action.
Strong skills and abilities in maths and science
Excellent abilities required to become a pharmacist include science and maths. You must use the information from these fields in your work as a pharmacist. You can know the components of medications and their effects on the body if you have a thorough understanding of biology and chemistry.
A vital technical ability for pharmacists is maths proficiency. You can order medication appropriately, calculate dosages accurately, and package the appropriate quantity of pills if you have strong arithmetic skills.
Career Options for Pharmacy Graduates
One of the following jobs is possible for you:
- Academic Pharmacist
- Hospital Pharmacist
- Industrial Pharmacist
- Medicines manufacture
- Pharmacologist
- Primary Health Care Pharmacist
- Product development scientist
- Research Scientist
- Toxicologist
- Veterinary Pharmacist
General Pathway of Becoming a Pharmacist in Malaysia
You must complete the Pre-University programme after SPM/IGCSE/O-Levels. Before enrolling in a Bachelor of Pharmacy programme, you can choose to pursue a Foundation, Diploma, STPM, or other equivalent qualifications.
Apply for a Pharmacy Bachelor’s degree in Australia for 4-5 years. You need to have a high level of competency in English with a minimum score of IELTS or TOEFL.
After earning your bachelor’s degree, you will need to fulfil criteria for supervised practice and an internship training programme for 1 year. A two-year Post-Study Work (PSW) visa will then be available to you, which you can use to complete your internship.
You will be eligible to take the Pharmacy Board’s registration exam once your internship training programme ends.
You will be a qualified pharmacist to apply for general registration if you are likely to succeed.
Note: To practise pharmacy in Malaysia, you must confirm that the Pharmacy Board of Malaysia recognises your Bachelor’s degree.
General Pathway of Becoming a Pharmacist in Australia
You must complete the Pre-University programme after SPM/IGCSE/O-Levels. Before enrolling in a Bachelor of Pharmacy programme, you can choose to pursue a Foundation, Diploma, STPM, or other equivalent qualifications.
Apply for a Pharmacy Bachelor’s degree in Australia for 4-5 years. You need to have a high level of competency in English with a minimum score of IELTS or TOEFL.
After earning your bachelor’s degree, you will need to fulfil criteria for supervised practice and an internship training programme for 1 year.
You will be eligible to take the Pharmacy Board’s registration exam once your internship training programme ends.
You will be a qualified pharmacist to apply for general registration if you are likely to succeed.
General Entry Requirements to Study Pharmacy in Australia
i) Academic Entry Requirements
Australian Matriculation (ATAR) | Minimum 84 |
Great Britain General Certificate of Education (GCE A levels) | Minimum 12 |
IB Diploma | Minimum 33 |
Matriculation | Minimum CGPA 3.25 |
STPM | Minimum CGPA 3.00 |
UEC | Minimum of Grade Average A1 |
Note: Universities may have different requirements. To learn more, get in touch with us!
ii) English Language Entry Requirements
IELTS | Minimum 6.5 |
TOEFL | Minimum 79 |
Note: Universities may have different requirements. To learn more, get in touch with us!
Top Australia Universities to Study Pharmacy
# 1 Monash University
Monash University, the second oldest university in Melbourne, Victoria, was founded in 1958 and is named after Sir John Monash, a World War I general. The university includes four campuses (Clayton, Caulfield, Peninsula, and Parkville) in Victoria, as well as a dynamic network of teaching sites in Malaysia, Italy, India, and China. It is Australia’s largest university, ranked in the top 100 in the world and a member of the elite Group of Eight.
Monash is a modern, worldwide, research-intensive university that provides world-class teaching and research in Australia and the Indo-Pacific.
Programme Offered | Major Electives offered include:
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Intake | Feb |
Duration | 4 years (full-time) |
Indicative Fees (2022) |
Contact us right now for a free consultation if you’d like more details about the costs, the format of the programme, and the entry requirements!
#2 The University of Sydney
It is ranked as one of the world’s leading universities, having been founded in 1850 as Australia’s first university. The university is one of six sandstone institutions in Australia. The university offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees through its eight academic faculties and university schools.
The Group of Eight, CEMS, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, and the Association of Commonwealth Universities are all affiliated with the University of Sydney.
According to the QS World University Rankings, the university is one of the top 25 universities in the world in terms of academic reputation, as well as the top 4 in the world and first in Australia in terms of graduate employability. It was one of the first universities in the world to admit students exclusively on the basis of academic achievement, and it was also one of the first to admit women on an equal footing with males.
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Programme Offered |
Major Electives offered include:
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Intake |
Feb |
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Duration |
5 years (full-time) |
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Indicative Fees (2022) |
Contact us right now for a free consultation if you’d like more details about the costs, the format of the programme, and the entry requirements!
#3 The University of Queensland
Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland, is the primary location. UQ is one of the six sandstone universities, an informal title for each state’s oldest university, which was founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament. It is ranked 47th in the world by the QS World University Rankings.
In their most recent research assessment, the Australian Research Council placed the University of Queensland second nationally and equal second in Australia based on the average of four major global university league tables. The University of Queensland is a founding member of edX, Australia’s leading Group of Eight, and the International Association of Pacific Rim Universities, both of which conduct extensive research.
The Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Boeing Research and Technology Australia Centre, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, and the UQ Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation are among the over one hundred research institutes and centres that offer research programmes at UQ. The university’s recent important research includes inventing high-performance superconducting MRI magnets for portable scanning of human limbs, pioneering the design of the HPV vaccination that protects cervical cancer, and developing a COVID-19 vaccine that was in human trials.
Programme Offered | Major Electives offered include:
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Intake | Feb, Jul |
Duration | 4 years (full-time) |
Indicative Fees (2022) |
Contact us right now for a free consultation if you’d like more details about the costs, the format of the programme, and the entry requirements!
#4 The University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney)
UNSW Sydney is a founding member of the Group of Eight, an Australian research-intensive university group. UNSW is a research institution that was founded in 1949 and is now ranked 43rd in the world by QS World University Rankings. It is a member of Universitas 21, an international network of research universities. Over 200 universities around the world have exchange and research connections with it.
UNSW is also one of Australia’s top medical schools, with a median ATAR (Australian university entrance examination results) for medical students.
The university offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees through its seven faculties. The main campus is located in Kensington, a Sydney suburb 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) from the city’s central business district (CBD). New South Wales has a number of research sites spread across the state.
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Programme Offered |
Major Electives offered include:
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Intake |
Feb |
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Duration |
5 years (full-time) |
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Indicative Fees (2022) |
Contact us right now for a free consultation if you’d like more details about the costs, the format of the programme, and the entry requirements!
#5 Curtin University
Curtin University is an Australian public research university with its headquarters in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. Curtin University was formerly known as Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT). The largest university in Western Australia is named after John Curtin, who served as Prime Minister of Australia from 1941 to 1945.
In 1986, a law was passed by the Western Australian Parliament, giving Curtin University official recognition. Since then, the university has expanded, and in addition to its partnerships with 90 other universities in 20 other countries, it also has campuses in Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai, and Mauritius. The university has 95 professional centres and five core faculties. Curtin University is a member of the Australian Technology Network. Research is being done at Curtin University in a variety of academic and industrial sectors.
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Programme Offered |
Major Electives offered include:
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Intake |
Feb, Jul |
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Duration |
4 years (full-time) |
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Indicative Fees (2022) |
Contact us right now for a free consultation if you’d like more details about the costs, the format of the programme, and the entry requirements!
For more information regarding the university, programs offered, entry requirements and fees, contact Excel Education.
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About The Author
Brenda Wong
Simplicity is the best.