Medway School of Pharmacy

The Medway School of Pharmacy is a unique collaboration between the University of Greenwich and the University of Kent. Since opening in 2004 we have become recognised as an established school of pharmacy, by the regulator The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). We are delighted to have achieved our initial objective of having our Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) graduates working as pharmacists in a variety of careers both locally and nationally. We are now looking forward to the first graduating class from our BSc in Pharmacology and Physiology in July 2017.

The School is located at the heart of the multi-university campus development at Chatham Maritime in Medway, Kent. This splendid Edwardian redbrick and ivy-clad campus – dating from 1903. Extensive new laboratories and research facilities have opened and the campus has developed into a major higher education centre. In January this year, the campus opened a new Student Hub, a flexible entertainment and social space, which is the latest investment in student life funded by both Kent and Greenwich Universities.

The Medway School of Pharmacy mission is “to produce, through innovative teaching and research delivered in a supportive and caring environment, high-quality professional graduates committed to lifelong learning”. Student care and support is therefore an essential part of our School culture and we provide personal tutors to maintain regular contact and offer confidential help with either academic or personal problems. We were therefore extremely pleased and proud that our students voted the School the best institution in the country for overall programme satisfaction (National Student Survey 2009), and we consistently score very highly in this survey every year since.

We have designed an innovative patient-focused MPharm programme and believe that the future of pharmacy lies in meeting patients’ needs through working in partnership with patients, other health-care professionals, the NHS and industry. Pharmacists are the only health-care professionals with a unique knowledge of medicines from manufacture to their use in patients, and pharmacy offers a wide range of career options. Our MPharm programme already provides a significant amount of work placements to enhance the clinical learning, competencies and employability skills of our graduates.

The changing role for pharmacists and other healthcare professionals continues to allow the School to also develop and refresh a portfolio of postgraduate courses, including a multidisciplinary Postgraduate Certificate in Independent and Supplementary Prescribing and a Master’s programme in Medicines Management and the MSc in General Pharmacy Practice for hospital pharmacists.  As a dynamic school we have a commitment to the provision of lifelong learning and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and we offer a range of short courses for pharmacists and other health care professionals as exemplified by our Skills for MURs course, which has now attracted many thousands of practising pharmacists.

Beyond pharmacy we offer undergraduate teaching in pharmacology, physiology (BSc and BSc with Foundation year). The BSc with Foundation year in pharmacology and physiology has been specifically designed to bridge the knowledge gap for those students who lack the traditional qualifications (number, nature or subject mix) suitable for direct entry onto the BSc undergraduate degree, or whose career aspirations have evolved. In these programmes we aim to provide students with a broad theoretical knowledge and depth of practical skills in several core fundamental science subjects. We also aim to furnish students with the relevant analytical and problem solving skills and techniques, with which to apply their knowledge in a meaningful scientific way. The students on this programme will be embedded in a knowledge-rich environment, and will acquire experience through lectures, tutorials, laboratory-practical classes and student-centered workshops. Students have the opportunity to take a year of work placement practical experience after the second year of their BSc programme.

Research is critical to the success of the School. and takes place alongside teaching under the guidance of our Director of Research. The School has made a significant investment in facilities and equipment and continues to evolve strong collaborations and an interdisciplinary approach to research. We have had successful research grants from research councils such as the MRC and BBSRC, as well as from charities and industrial collaborators such as Pfizer. We have a vibrant PhD student group with over forty candidates currently researching with various staff members across our three subject groups of biological sciences; chemistry and drug delivery; and, clinical and professional practice.

The School has an experienced and dedicated team of staff comprising academic scientists, pharmacists and teacher practitioners from community pharmacy and the NHS, together with teaching support, technical, and administrative personnel.