Trinity College Dublin - Hospital Pharmacy

Course Overview/Contact:

The M.Sc. in Hospital Pharmacy consists of a practice-based teaching programme complemented by lectures, tutorials and workshops. The course provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to undertake all aspects of hospital pharmacy. Subjects covered include medical and surgical therapeutics, medicines information, pharmacoeconomics, purchasing skills, good manufacturing practice and aseptics, immunology and biotechnology. Management issues as they relate to hospital pharmacy and the broader context of healthcare systems are also addressed. Coursework is underpinned by a comprehensive practice-based element where students rotate through a variety of specialist areas to ensure that broad, practical experience is obtained in such areas as medicines information, dispensary, aseptic compounding and clinical specialities. Assessment is on a continual basis through formal examinations, written assignments, oral presentations and competency-based assessments. Students are required to undertake a research project and must demonstrate research competency. Research and methodological skills are addressed in a dedicated module that also covers an introduction to statistical evaluation. This is a two-year, part-time course with lectures and tutorials taking place on one half day per week in central locations. Courses are conducted on a biennial basis.

Course Options:

2 years part-time

Course Url

www.pharmacy.tcd.ie/postgraduate/msc_hospital.php

Course Email

nmcmahon@stjames.ie

Next Intake

January 2018

Closing Date

31st March 2017

Programme Content:

The M.Sc. in Hospital Pharmacy is the longest running postgraduate hospital pharmacy course in Ireland. It is also unique, in that it is the only broad-based hospital pharmacy course in Ireland, covering both clinical and non-clinical aspects of hospital pharmacy practice.

Key features of the course include the following:

• Provides students with expert knowledge and skills necessary to undertake all aspects of hospital pharmacy including clinical pharmacy, dispensary and drug distribution, administration and management, aseptic compounding, pharmacoeconomics and medicines information.
• Intensive practical experience will be gained by each student during his or her hospital attachment under the expert guidance of an assigned tutor(s)
• Provides graduates of our M.Sc. programme with excellent opportunities to fill specialist and leadership roles across a wide range of both clinical and non-clinical areas in hospital practice.
• Face-to-face teaching sessions from clinical experts and hospital managers, who are leaders in their field.
• Opportunity for students to network with pharmacists from other Irish hospitals.
• Completion of a 20,000 word practice-based research project in either a clinical or non-clinical area, with both academic and hospital based tutor support.

Student Testimonials 2016

I have found that the Trinity Masters in Hospital Pharmacy has provided me with an extensive education in all areas of hospital pharmacy. I feel that the course is unique in that it provides face-to-face interaction with lecturers, which worked really well for me in terms of understanding and affording the opportunity to ask questions. I particularly appreciated the confidence I gained in my daily work, as I put into practice the up-to-date knowledge base that was delivered to the highest standard from experienced lecturers. The structure of the course allows for the development of a comprehensive set of skills both academic and practical, which have definitely stood to me in my career today.
From Graduate of M.Sc. in Hospital Pharmacy 

I would highly recommend the TCD MSc in Hospital Pharmacy. The course's strengths are manifold including taught lectures, strong tutor involvement from base hospitals and long history of producing excellent graduates. It covers all aspects of hospital pharmacy (clinical, aseptics, MI, dispensary, management etc) and has a very strong research component. I would like to particularly highlight two major strengths. The first is student support. Students on this course have the weekly support of each other at lectures and ongoing support from the Course Co-ordinator. Most importantly, students have continuous input from tutors at their base site with whom they are working on real live cases and policy issues. This compares very favourably with distance learning courses which are a more lonely experience and will of necessity involve more scenarios rather than actual cases.

The second strength is the preparation this course gives to students for future senior and extended roles in the hospital pharmacy. The coursework is very multifaceted e.g. clerkship exercises encourage students to take on active policy work in the hospitals. Also, the assessment methods are very varied, not only exams and written assignments, but tutor led ward assessments, oral presentations to departments, patient cases and clerkship exercises with direct feedback from in house tutors. Students finish the course not only with comprehensive clinical and other hospital pharmacy knowledge but also with great skills in writing, presenting and policy work.
From Lead Tutor of M.Sc. in Hospital Pharmacy

Entry Requirements:

•  Eligible candidates must hold a first or second class (Grade 1) honours degree (or equivalent) in Pharmacy.
• Candidates must be registered (or eligible to be registered) with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland before the January 2018 course start date (see http://www.thepsi.ie/gns/home.aspx).
• Candidates must have one year's hospital pharmacy practice experience (this may include a hospital intern year).
• Interviews will be held for training places in the following course approved hospitals: Beaumont Hospital, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, St. James's Hospital, St. Vincent's University Hospital, St. Vincent's Private Hospital, Tallaght Hospital and Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore. The successful applicants will be based in full-time employment in one of the participating hospitals for the two-year duration of the course.