How we teach you
You will study subjects ranging from Biochemistry and Metabolism in your first year through to Integrated Patient Care and Diagnosis in your fourth year. Throughout your time at Reading you will be taught by committed and enthusiastic staff, many of whom have nationally and internationally recognised research profiles. They use a wide variety of teaching methods to ensure that you receive a first class education in pharmaceutical discovery, development and practice.
Your learning is aided by the variety of teaching methods used within the MPharm programme:
- Lectures and on-line supporting material
- Tutorials and Workshops
- Practical classes
- Pharmacy practice classes
- Problem based learning (PBL) sessions
- Course assessment
- Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs)
Lectures
Lectures are given in one of our modern lecture-demonstration facilities which include video links, computer simulations and "ask the audience" interactive response systems alongside traditional classes. Lectures present you with the information you need to be able to learn each of your subjects. Lectures are supported by an on-line ‘Blackboard’ facility where lecture notes, supporting material, tutorials, workshop exercises and answers and, for some modules, pod casts of lectures are provided (see below for an example). All Pharmacy modules are linked to an accompanying Blackboard area.
If you want to know what a lecture is like, download the Powerpoint and MP3 file for the first lecture of the “Biochemistry and Metabolism” course given by Professor Philip Strange:
Tutorials and workshops
Many of our modules, such as Medicinal Chemistry, will involve team working and smaller-group teaching through workshops and tutorials. These are smaller group teaching environments built around individual or group exercises with individual support from teaching staff. These classes are designed to assist you in understanding how to practically use material introduced within lectures.
Practical classes
Most modules within the MPharm programme include practical sessions and these vary considerably depending on the subject area. We understand the importance of practical work and you will spend time in our new Pharmacy Practice, Tablet Manufacturing and Pharmacology laboratories. During your first year at Reading, you will synthesise and analyse your own drug compounds, make your own fully formulated medicines and carry out a series of biological assays. By your fourth year you will be ready to carry out an extended research project which will be supervised by an expert in your chosen area and conducted in collaboration with other research staff within the School.
Pharmacy practice teaching
We place great emphasis on the importance of Pharmacy Practice which is taught as a common and continuous thread throughout the entire course. You will be introduced to the structure of the National Health Service and the role that pharmacists play in delivering an evidence-based, patient-centred approach to healthcare provision.
You begin practical classes in your first year, within our state-of the-art pharmacy practice laboratory, which we use to simulate the dispensing processes and real-life clinical scenarios of an operational pharmacy premises.
Our team of Lecturers and Teacher-Practitioners (all registered pharmacists) will assist you in learning basic dispensing skills through to the ‘professional’ aspects of being a pharmacist. By your final year, you will be skilled in the art of clinical assessment and counselling, managing therapeutic and ethical dilemmas and exercising your professional judgement in preparation for becoming a registered Pharmaceutical Chemist with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.
Problem based learning
A distinctive feature of Pharmacy at Reading is our commitment to problem-based learning (PBL) through case studies. You will be taught how to apply inter-disciplinary scientific methods to pharmacy practice and gain all important experience in the practice of evidence-informed heath care.
PBL is the main teaching method used for teaching Therapeutics, one of our core subjects, but it is also used in a variety of other courses. PBL is a style of learning in which the problems act as the context and driving force for learning. All learning of new knowledge is done within the context of the problems. This is an excellent approach for you to learn about understanding, judging and managing diseases, and thus we have incorporated PBL as a major teaching and learning method within the MPharm curriculum at Reading. Our students enjoy working with real-life case studies and working as a team and find this method of learning highly motivating and productive. Our PBL facilitators are supported by external professionals from community pharmacies and hospitals, as well as doctors and specialised nurses who are experts in their field.
Assessment
We assess our students' performance by a variety of in-course assessment methods and by written examination at the end of each year. The performance at Years 2, 3 and 4 contributes to the overall degree classification. A percentage of every module is assessed through coursework; examples include practical class experimental reports, on-line workshops, open book mid term tests, group projects, case studies, practical exams, essays and longer dissertations.
Objective Structured Clinical Examination
In the final year, we use Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) to assess the clinical knowledge and professional skills you have gained from the MPharm programme. As this involves a face-to-face consultation with a patient, you are given the opportunity to demonstrate your practical ability to assess and advise patients appropriately. This type of assessment is increasingly being used in recruitment of pharmacists and as an assessment tool in post-graduate courses for qualified pharmacists.