Pharmacy
What to expect
Pharmacy is a specialised field that has a great deal to offer those with a passion for science, health care and working with people. It provides a secure and interesting career path and presents graduates with a range of potential workplaces.
Pharmacy courses tend to be tightly regulated by the profession and are competitive to get into, usually demanding high tertiary entrance rank and Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test (UMAT) scores. Yet graduates who succeed in getting through the often demanding four-year courses can look forward to excellent employment prospects in the face of significant pharmacy skills shortages (see below).
Despite an apparent shortage of pharmacists, courses in pharmacy are available at
just 12 campuses throughout the country (except for in the ACT). And as such, the limited number
of available places is reflected in the high entry scores.
Getting a degree in pharmacy
Visit the University Ratings section for pharmacy course ratings.
Courses and specialisations
The four-year Bachelor of Pharmacy is usually the first step for those starting out in this field. Degree courses in pharmacy typically centre around four core areas of study:
- Medicinal chemistry (the chemistry of drugs)
- Pharmacology (the action of drugs)
- Pharmaceutics (the formulation of drug dosages)
- Pharmacy practice (the application of all aspects of pharmacy to professional practice).
Courses typically include a practical component, usually in the later years of the course, which may involve work placements in hospitals and community pharmacies.
A new degree structure that has already been established in some fields at selected institutions has the potential to become an option in pharmacy. The structure follows a US-style model where undergraduates enter a general pre-professional degree (perhaps in science or applied science) and then transfer to a postgraduate qualification in pharmacy.
Getting in
Pharmacy courses tend to be tightly regulated by the profession and are competitive to get into, usually demanding high tertiary entrance rank and Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test (UMAT) scores.
Where to study
Professional qualifications in pharmacy are available in most areas of Australia, in both metropolitan and regional areas. However, they are offered at only a few campuses, which obviously limit choice and makes courses very competitive to get into.
Careers for pharmacy degree graduates
Pharmacists enjoy secure, interesting and rewarding careers and have the option of working in a variety of settings including the local community, hospitals, universities, industry and the armed forces.
Community pharmacists have a range of responsibilities; in addition to offering advice to customers and processing prescriptions, they generally run their own businesses. Hospital pharmacists supply medication and work in conjunction with doctors and other health professionals to implement drug therapy programs. Industrial pharmacists, on the other hand, are involved with the manufacture and distribution of medicinal products.
The pharmacy profession is one of several that are experiencing significant skills shortages. The upside of such shortages is that they are likely to ensure employment prospects for pharmacists remain extremely positive for several years to come.
In recent years pharmacy graduates have emerged with low levels of satisfaction and their ratings are still below average. Job prospects for both pre- and post-registration pharmacy graduates are excellent and the best for any field of study, with 98 per cent employment. Future employment is also set to be extremely strong in this field. The majority of pharmacy graduates are employed in the private sector (78 per cent) and in public sector
(19 per cent). At $37,234, starting salaries for pharmacy graduates (pre-registration) are very low compared with most other fields of study. However, upon registration — typically 12 months after graduation — salaries rise significantly to an average of around $60,000.
For more information
For more information about careers in pharmacy, contact:
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, www.psa.org.au
Pharmacy Guild of Australia, www.guild.org.au
If you have an interest in this field you may also want to consider other health-related fields such as nursing , medicine , health services and support , rehabilitation , and veterinary science .
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