Good day, any MPHarm graduates from the UK and CURRENTLY working in the UK ?

Need some info regarding TIER 2 VISA. =)

Hi there.

A question from an a levels student really interested in doing pharmacy...

I have no interest in doing industrial work or etc., since I like the idea of using my knowledge to assist others while working with people.

But I'm more of an analytical person than a person who can memorize things really well.

So my question is: For a hospital/retail pharmacist, what do you all think about the ratio of memory work to analytical skills required?


50:50?

Also, I suck horribly at memorizing formulas for trigonometric functions and how to integrate them etc. (B/c I barely understand trigo), but I am good in grasping stuff related to biology (especially stuff like evolution and natural selection where a bigger picture is involved). Do I need trigo skills when doing pharmacy?

Thanks (sorry if some of the questions are rather stupid ): )

http://www.pharmacy.gov.my/index.cfm?&menuid=101&parentid=10

it's confirmed! fresh grads can work in private settings for their PRP now!

I am a final year pharmacy student.

What i can tell you is you'd need more memorizing skills than "trigo?" skills. No questions are stupid =).

tier 2 visas means need to have a firm job offer to qualify.....

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Added on November 6, 2012, 8:45 amrunning out of jobs in the gov.....

possible over supply and joblessness looming?.....

This post has been edited by limeuu: Nov 6 2012, 08:45 AM

running out of PRP places maybe but certainly not lack of jobs. besides many who do this degree have no intention of working in clinical/hospital settings so its technically a good move. just not sure what kind of training you can get outside the public hospitals and how's the salary scheme like.

if 'i-care' (or whatever they want to call it) comes through, there is going to be possibly a doubling of retail pharmacists needed....

Hi, I'm a final year student in Uni of Nottingham, UK. It's true that you will need to memorise tons of things like physiology and pharmacology etc, but at the same time, you will be trained to analyse situations by considering factors like signs & symptoms, past medication history etc and decide which drug or what kind of treatment is needed for a particular patient. The latter part is what I find most interesting and challenging.
About calculation, well, you don't have to worry about integration, differentiation and those complicated A-level Math topics, basically just simple chemistry calculations which I believe you've already learnt in A-level will be involved. Of course, there're some other slightly more complicated formulations in courses/subjects like spectrometry, drug delivery etc etc, but I believe it won't be a major problem, so don't worry ya

Hope this help

haha securing a pre-reg position? what do you need to know?

i am not sure if the details of getting an employment in uk has been discussed in this thread before but i have not seen information regarding this in the first post so i will just provide some information here for those who wants to know more about securing a pre-reg/pharmacist position in uk after graduation, since that was what i wish to know from here too when i was still new in pharmacy.

to be able to work in the uk, you'll first need a job offer, then using the job offer, you'll have to apply for your working visa to allow you to continue your work in uk after your graduation. previously, foreigners could apply for the Tier 1 Post Study Work scheme which entitle them to work in UK after graduating as long as they have gotten a job offer. however, securing a pre-reg position in uk is not as easy anymore beginning from this year. the uk border agency has recently made some changes to their visa schemes and unfortunately the Tier 1 (PSW) scheme has been removed. now if you wish to work in uk, you'll have to apply for the working visa through another route ie. the Tier 2 visa.

however, there is a catch, to be qualified for the Tier 2 visa application, your job offer should have a minimum salary pay of £20,710/year, no less. at the moment, the salary schemes for community pre-reg ranges from £15k-21k/year (depends on location/workload/etc) while NHS (generally hospital) pre-reg pays above the minimum salary requirement, ie. more than £20,710/year. therefore, to fully secure a pre-reg position in uk, you should get a job offer from hospital pharmacy so you could apply for your working visa. but unlike in malaysia, hospital pharmacies in uk are more exclusive as they only accept the very best graduates and have limited positions available, so it is very competitive to even get a chance for an interview.

you could also apply for community pharmacies which offer pay above the minimum salary requirement, though not many will offer at such high salary as even giant pharmacy chain stores like boots, llyods only offer an average salary of £18-19k/year. only a small number of independent/privately-owned community pharmacies could offer above the minimum salary requirement after negotiation with the employer.

thankfully, since most of the pre-reg positions based within the community setting are offering salary less than the minimum required amount, the ukba agency has agreed for RPS (uk royal pharmaceutical society) to support foreigners graduated from uk pharmacy schools in their working visa application if their salary is below the Tier 2 minimum salary requirement. this is offered via the Tier 5 PPSS visa scheme.

however, this does not solve the problem too as the Tier 5 visa scheme is only catered for students who have enrolled into the MPharm course before 2012. the reason was because international students (eg: hong kong) enrolled into the course prior to the change in visa regulation, were expected to graduate and work in uk to be a fully qualified pharmacist first before going back to HK. the HK pharmacy board only recognises overseas qualification if they return to HK as a qualified pharmacist, not as a fresh graduate. which is why there is a leniency for RPS to support overseas students, otherwise their 4 year degree would be a waste for not being able to work in HK in the future if they could not secure a training position with the minimum salary in UK (indirectly, malaysian students benefited from this although we do not have this limitation). beginning this year, having been informed about the changes in the visa regulation, it is up to international students to prepare for the possible consequence of not being able to secure a job to be a qualified pharmacist - if they have still decided to study in the uk (ie. a waste of a four year degree for HK students).

for those who have enrolled into the course prior to the change in visa regulation, not to worry. getting a job offer from a community pharmacy is no biggie (at least for me), and if you do not mind the location, the chances of getting it is even higher. the only concern is the salary of the offer. therefore, it is entirely possible for you to have gotten a job offer but fail in the working visa application process due to the pay. but as long as you're covered by RPS, you should be fine.

more info here:
http://www.rpharms.com/preregistration-tra...cy-students.asp
and
http://www.rpharms.com/pharmacy-profession...udents/faqs.asp

i hope i did not discourage anyone from going to uk to study pharmacy just because of the slimmer chance in securing a job there after graduation. i would say the experience as a pharmacy student in uk is worthwhile too if you have the money, especially if you really do spend some time working in the pharmacy during weekends/holidays/summer of your university life. besides, the visa scheme may change in favour of graduates again in the future, who knows?

for a hospital/retail pharmacist your requirements of memorising differs in which position you are in... having said that.. as a pharmacy student you have be prepared to mug loads of information and vomit out during the exams. trigo skills is not really required but calculus is a big plus

thanks very much for the info. will put this in first page!

Thanks everyone.

I hope I'm fit for it then, memorizing bio seems to be fine for me. Chemistry calculations are so far so good I guess, but I'd prefer memorizing over calculating lol.

Yeah. Trying to hit the 20,710 annual limit to apply for a TIER 2. Thanks so much for your time and effort ! Looking at the links youve posted and the fact that RPS is sponsoring students to achieve a TIER 2 sounds really comforting.
I will have to look into that ! Thank you so much again! =)

Anyway...you shouldn't be choosing a course based on the subjects on offer.. you should really think about life after the degree and the career pathways you are interested in...

Hi guys and girls. I have a few question to ask about pharmacy :-)

1) I'm 30 yo this year. Am I too late to study for this? I'm really interested.

2) How long does it take to complete that enables me to work as one while saving money to continue studying to a higher level?

3) How much does it cost for each level?

4) Can I use this diploma/degree to work in Australia?

Thank you. :-)

This post has been edited by shoduken: Nov 19 2012, 03:40 PM

1) its never too late if you are really interested

2) if you are referring a higher level to those master degrees, it may take 3-5 years.

3) depending on which institution you are at, private will likely to cost more

4) no

sure u can!! fully support u!

As long as you have $$ , age isn't a matter.

New entry requirements beginning March 2013. added to 1st page. They are really placing emphasis on Chemistry now

Source

STPM
-CGPA 3 dan ke atas termasuk sekurang-kurangnya B dalam subjek Kimia
i) Pemohon warganegara Malaysia wajib lulus Bahasa Malaysia dan Bahasa Inggeris dengan sekurang-kurangnya mendapat gred C dalam Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) atau yang setara

ii) Wajib lulus minimum band 3 dalam Malaysian University English Test (MUET) sebelum pelajar bergraduat



A - LEVEL
3B ATAU 2A1C ATAU 1A1B1C dalam Biologi DAN Kimia DAN Fizik ATAU Matematik dengan sekurang-kurangnya B dalam subjek Kimia

(Dengan merujuk Sistem Skor Universities and Colleges Admission Service

(UCAS) yang dilaksanakan di United Kingdom bagi keputusan A-Level iaitu dengan ketetapan skor A+ = 140, A=120, B= 100 dan C=80)

* Keperluan 3B yang dicadangkan oleh LFM adalah menyamai jumlah skor 300 dengan B untuk matapelajaran Kimia

i) Pemohon warganegara Malaysia wajib lulus Bahasa Malaysia dan Bahasa Inggeris dengan sekurang-kurangnya mendapat gred C dalam Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) atau yang setara



ii) Wajib lulus minimum band 3 dalam Malaysian University English Test (MUET) sebelum pelajar bergraduat


MATRIKULASI ATAU PRA-PENGAJIAN PERUBATAN DAN FARMASI ATAU FOUNDATION DALAM SAINS

Matrikulasi ATAU Pra-Pengajian Farmasi/ Perubatan dengan GPA 3.0 ke atas dengan sekurang - kurangnya B bagi Kimia


ATAU

Foundation dalam Sains dengan GPA 3.5 ke atas dengan sekurang - kurangnya B bagi Kimia

DAN

Program perlu di jalankan dalam tempoh sekurang-kurangnya 1 tahun

i) Pemohon warganegara Malaysia wajib lulus Bahasa Malaysia dan Bahasa Inggeris dengan sekurang-kurangnya mendapat gred C dalam Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) atau yang setara

ii) Wajib lulus minimum band 3 dalam Malaysian University English Test (MUET) sebelum pelajar bergraduat

iii) Lulus Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) dengan sekurang-kurangnya 5 B dalam Biologi DAN Kimia DAN Fizik DAN Matematik (ATAU Matematik Tambahan) DAN satu subjek lain di peringkat Sijil Persekolahan atau yang setara


DIPLOMA


Diploma Sains (Kimia atau Biologi atau Fizik) CGPA 3.75 dan ke atas termasuk B dalam subjek Kimia

ATAU

Diploma Farmasi CGPA 3.5 dan ke atas


i) Pemohon warganegara Malaysia wajib lulus Bahasa Malaysia dan Bahasa Inggeris dengan sekurang-kurangnya mendapat gred C dalam Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) atau yang setara

ii) Wajib lulus minimum band 3 dalam Malaysian University English Test (MUET) sebelum pelajar bergraduat

iii) Lulus Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) dengan sekurang-kurangnya 5 B dalam Biologi DAN Kimia DAN Fizik DAN Matematik (ATAU Matematik Tambahan) DAN satu subjek lain di peringkat Sijil Persekolahan atau yang setara


IJAZAH PERTAMA DALAM SAINS

Ijazah Pertama dalam Sains CGPA 2.75 dan ke atas

(CGPA 2.75 = Gred C+)

NOTA:

Setiap pelajar perlu mematuhi syarat baru (A) dan syarat tambahan baru (B) (jika ada) seperti di atas sebelum meneruskan pengajian di peringkat ijazah farmasi.

This post has been edited by zstan: Jan 16 2013, 02:07 PM

A prelude to the revision of the minimum requirements in med, I presume.

Sign of the times; too many students and too few places available.

Will result in some consolidation of colleges and universities.

i think you meant too many under qualified students smaller and upstart universities will have problems filling in their places now but I guess most will make it up by making their foundation courses even easier to get 3.5 and above?