Part-time students in the workforce - enhancing practice in course provision

This paper describes a recent project on HE delivery to part-time students in the workforce. The main aim has been to investigate and propose effective practice in part-time provision in engineering in order to enhance the experience of part-time students at the same time as giving potential benefits to courses, departments and all students. The project has included interviews with employers and a questionnaire survey for current part-time students. The final guidance has been assembled with the aim of supporting the enhancement of existing courses and the development of new part-time provision. The paper presents the approaches taken in the project as a whole, analyses the results of the student survey, and summarises the overall outcomes.

Does the subject content of the pharmacy degree course influence the community pharmacist’s views on competencies for practice?

Do community pharmacists coming from different educational backgrounds rank the importance of competences for practice differently-or is the way in which they see their profession more influenced by practice than university education? A survey was carried out on 68 competences for pharmacy practice in seven countries with different pharmacy education systems in terms of the relative importance of the subject areas chemical and medicinal sciences. Community pharmacists were asked to rank the competences in terms of relative importance for practice; competences were divided into personal and patient-care competences. The ranking was very similar in the seven countries suggesting that evaluation of competences for practice is based more on professional experience than on prior university education. There were some differences for instance in research-related competences and these may be influenced, by education.

Science or practice? UK undergraduate experiences and attitudes to the MPharm degree

Objective: The debate surrounding the science/practice balance in the teaching of undergraduate pharmacy has been played out in the professional literature for years. The objective of this work was to explore the attitudes of pharmacy undergraduates on the practice-science debate. Setting: The study was undertaken as part of a national study of teaching, learning and assessment methods in United Kingdom (UK) schools of pharmacy. Method: Six focus groups were carried out. The sample was 44 volunteer students from nine UK schools of pharmacy, representing all 4 years of the MPharm programme. Groups were tape recorded and transcribed. Analysis of the transcripts was theme based by topic. Main Outcome Measure: Qualitative data on student attitudes and experiences. Results: Most students thought that there was too strong an emphasis placed on the science components of the course in the early part of their studies. Later in the course they realised that the majority of the science was necessary; it just had not been apparent to them at the time. There were strongly held attitudes across all 4 years that it would be beneficial to include more practice-related material at the beginning of their studies. This would be beneficial for three reasons: to make the course more interesting, to aid in the contextualisation of the science component and to assist the students in any early placement or vacational work. Conclusion: Internationally, changes to the role of the pharmacist from a traditional supply function to a more clinical role has resulted in differing educational needs for the pharmacist of the future. Pharmacy will remain a degree built on a strong scientific background, but students advise that the contextualisation and sequencing of material within the degree could make a considerable improvement to their learning. Consulting students helps us to understand the teaching, learning and assessment experience better by giving insights into ways of improving the delivery. In the case of the UK, there are legislative changes impending which may provide an opportunity to review the balance of practice-and science in the curriculum. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Applied pharmaceutical practice

Applied Pharmaceutical Practice is an invaluable resource and will guide the student pharmacist and pharmacy technician through the main stages involved in pharmaceutical dispensing. As a core reference text, it is ideal as a companion to the compulsory dispensing courses found in all undergraduate MPharm programmes and the equivalent technical training courses. Contents include: •medicines classification and standard operating procedures •NHS supply in the community and within hospitals •non-NHS supply •controlled drugs •emergency supply •patient counselling and communication •poisons and spirits This practical textbook contains useful exercises with an answers section and numerous examples and is written by authors with extensive experience within the field. This is a comprehensive guide through the main stages of pharmaceutical dispensing.The textbook is designed to guide student pharmacists or pharmacy technicians through the main stages involved in pharmaceutical dispensing. It provides students with a core reference text to accompany the compulsory dispensing course found in all pharmacy undergraduate programmes, highlighting and explaining all key concepts behind the processes involved in pharmaceutical dispensing.

Applied pharmaceutical practice

Applied Pharmaceutical Practice is an invaluable resource and will guide the student pharmacist and pharmacy technician through the main stages involved in pharmaceutical dispensing. As a core reference text, it is ideal as a companion to the compulsory dispensing courses found in all undergraduate MPharm programmes and the equivalent technical training courses. Contents include: •medicines classification and standard operating procedures •NHS supply in the community and within hospitals •non-NHS supply •controlled drugs •emergency supply •patient counselling and communication •poisons and spirits This practical textbook contains useful exercises with an answers section and numerous examples and is written by authors with extensive experience within the field. This is a comprehensive guide through the main stages of pharmaceutical dispensing.The textbook is designed to guide student pharmacists or pharmacy technicians through the main stages involved in pharmaceutical dispensing. It provides students with a core reference text to accompany the compulsory dispensing course found in all pharmacy undergraduate programmes, highlighting and explaining all key concepts behind the processes involved in pharmaceutical dispensing.

Practice based learning for automotive engineering design students

The automotive industry combines a multitude of professionals to develop a modern car successfully. Within the design and development teams the collaboration and interface between Engineers and Designers is critical to ensure design intent is communicated and maintained throughout the development process. This study highlights recent industry practice with the emergence of Concept Engineers in design teams at Jaguar Land Rover Automotive group. The role of the Concept Engineer emphasises the importance of the Engineering and Design/Styling interface with the Concept engineer able to interact and understand the challenges and specific languages of each specialist area, hence improving efficiency and communication within the design team. Automotive education tends to approach design from two distinct directions, that of engineering design through BSc courses or a more styling design approach through BA and BDes routes. The educational challenge for both types of course is to develop engineers and stylist's who have greater understanding and experience of each other's specialist perspective of design and development. The study gives examples of two such courses in the UK who are developing programmes to help students widen their understanding of the engineering and design spectrum. Initial results suggest the practical approach has been well received by students and encouraged by industry as they seek graduates with specialist knowledge but also a wider appreciation of their role within the design process.