| 2003 |
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YEAR BOOK |
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
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Ireland's newest School of Pharmacy
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The establishment of the School of Pharmacy marked the fruition of a five-year planning and development process and coincided with a government initiative to provide more pharmacy places. This recognised that there was a shortage of pharmacists generally and that a large number of Irish students each year went to schools in the UK. The new school offers more opportunity for students to study in Ireland. The school welcomes applicants from graduates in other disciplines who would like to study pharmacy. As in RCSI generally, it is intended that there will be an international dimension to the student body.
The School of Pharmacy is based on the RCSI campus at St Stephen's Green, Dublin, and will occupy new accommodation in the Biopharmaceutical Sciences Institute on York Street.
Teaching
RCSI has a commitment to modern approaches to teaching - including integrated teaching, use of computer- and web-based learning, and problem-based learning. The School of Pharmacy has adopted these approaches and has designed a curriculum to equally develop both scientific and professional skills in the student, based upon defining the core knowledge, core skills and core attitudes needed by the graduate. The many career paths open to the graduate - including community, hospital, industry or research - require education in many subjects. Undergraduate modules include topics as diverse as anatomy, physiology, pharmaceutical technology, drug design, biotechnology, veterinary pharmacy, alternative medicines, ethics, communication skills, and behavioural science.
In a major teaching initiative, the School of Pharmacy plans to make laptops available to all of its undergraduate students. Coupled with a comprehensive wireless system, this will enable access to teaching materials anywhere in the campus, or from any other location via the internet.
Ultimately there will be 200 undergraduate students in total undertaking the four-year programme.
Postgraduate Programmes
In addition to the undergraduate programme, the School of Pharmacy is establishing postgraduate programmes intended to provide opportunities for continuing professional development and a supply of graduates with specialist skills. The first of these programmes is an MSc in Industrial Pharmaceutical Science. This is a two-year modular distance-learning programme, delivered jointly with the Institute of Technology, Sligo. It is particularly intended to increase the industrial skills base, and is valuable for people currently in the healthcare industry who want to increase their knowledge and skills in relevant subjects.
The Future
By the end of the first degree cycle, the School of Pharmacy will be occupying new purpose-built accommodation on the RCSI campus. This will permit a marked expansion of research activities. Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching will equally mix the professional and scientific faces of pharmacy education. E-learning will be a major part of all the teaching programmes, including distance learning and its application to postgraduate teaching, and to continuing professional development. The School of Pharmacy will be a major addition to biomedical science teaching and research at RCSI.
Contact: Professor John G. Kelly, Director, School of Pharmacy, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland,
126 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2;
Tel: +353 1 4022100; E-mail: [email protected]