Pharmacy School - United Kingdom

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, integration with the European Union has resulted in the BPharm and BSc courses being superseded by a four-year course for the qualification Master of Pharmacy (MPharm). In Great Britain the General Pharmaceutical Council is responsible for regulation of pharmacy affairs and in Northern Ireland it is the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland. Graduates must complete one year of practical training and pass a registration examination before they can be entered on the register of pharmacists, known as the register of pharmaceutical chemists.

Please see the List of schools of pharmacy in the United Kingdom which offer the MPharm course.

Pharmacists registered in other countries can also register in the UK. Overseas pharmacists are required to undertake the Overseas Pharmacists Assessment Programme (OSPAP), a one-year intensive course focused on pharmacy practice in Great Britain. OSPAP authorisation can be given by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and the course is undertaken either the University of Sunderland, Aston University, Robert Gordon University, Kingston University or the University of Brighton. However, pharmacists that have obtained their qualifications and are registered in other countries of the European Economic Area can register with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain without undergoing additional or pre-registration training.

Pharmacists in the UK can now be accredited to perform a number of enhanced services. These include but are not limited to medicine use reviews (MUR's) and Patient Group Directives (where certain prescription only medicines can be sold by the pharmacist for indications of hair retention, weight loss and erectile dysfunction).

The titles Pharmacist, Pharmaceutical Chemist and Pharmaceutist are legally protected in the United Kingdom. They can only be used by individuals that are registered with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain ; any other users are guilty of a criminal offence.