Atlantic Technological University

The Department of Pharmacy at ATU is future-focused, integrating clinical pharmacy practice with cutting-edge healthcare and pharmaceutical sciences research. Developing graduates with the expertise required for contemporary pharmacy roles and to take on the expanded responsibilities that pharmacists now have in patient care. Students have access to state-of-the-art teaching facilities in a newly purpose-built STEM building in Sligo, ensuring they are well-equipped to meet the evolving needs of the pharmacy profession in the Northwest region and beyond.

About the MPharm Course

The ATU is currently undergoing an accreditation process with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland to commence a five-year MPharm programme at the ATU. This Level 9 Masters programme will be delivered on site in ATU’s Sligo campus.

The ATU MPharm will deliver a programme of pharmacy education and training which meets all the requirements set out in pharmacy law, allowing the student to develop all the competencies necessary to become registered to practise as a pharmacist in Ireland.

Over the five years, students will have the opportunity to learn from and alongside pharmacists, clinicians, patients and other leading experts from a variety of fields, as well as undertaking structured work placements across the spectrum of pharmacy and healthcare practice.

Integrated work placements are a central part of the MPharm programme. In addition to the completion of mandatory work placements (as required by pharmacy legislation), the MPharm programme also incorporates a structured and planned schedule of site visits and workplace experiences to develop and deepen students’ understanding of pharmacy practice, health services as well as the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and MedTech industries.

The experiential learning programme for MPharm students has three components:

a) a short placement (2-week block) in Year 2,

b) a 4-month placement in Year 4, which may be undertaken in community, hospital, industry or other approved establishment under the tutelage of a tutor pharmacist, and

c) an 8-month placement in Year 5, which may only be undertaken in a patient-facing pharmacy setting, i.e. community or hospital pharmacy under the tutelage of a senior preceptor pharmacist

There will be two research projects, one in Year 4 and one in Year 5 of the programme.

Course Features

Our MPharm Programme is modern, fully integrated and designed to engage students and prepare them for diverse careers in the rapidly transforming fields of pharmacy practice, pharmaceutical sciences and wider health sector.

ATU’s MPharm programme is future-focussed, integrating evidence-based clinical pharmacy practice with cutting-edge healthcare and pharmaceutical sciences research. It will develop well-rounded new pharmacists with the knowledge and skills for contemporary pharmacy practice. ATU’s MPharm graduates will have the solid foundational grounding necessary to enable them to quickly develop new skills and competencies to take on expanded pharmacist roles, as the pharmacy profession evolves to meet the needs of patients and the health service.

If you are interested in –

combining science with being a healthcare professional,
working directly with people,
discovering and developing new medicines and drug treatments,
sustainable use of medicines as critical health resources

then the MPharm programme is for you!

Each subject you study will have lectures, labs, workshops and practical classes so that you can see how all of your learning fits together.

You will gain significant experience in the Model Pharmacy and Pharmacy Professional Practical Centre using dispensing systems, practicing interactions with simulated patients and using clinical equipment so that you are confident and competent to undertake these roles in clinical practice.

Entry Requirements

Leaving Certificate Applicants to the MPharm programme will be required to achieve all the following minimum entry requirements:

At least six subjects must be presented to include O4 or H6 in Mathematics & O6 or H7 English,
H4 in Chemistry or Physics/Chemistry,
H4 in one of Physics, Biology, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Geography, Geology, Computer Science or Agricultural Science. Physics/chemistry may not be presented with chemistry or physics to satisfy requirements.

Career Opportunities

The ATU MPharm programme will offer diverse and rewarding career pathways to graduates, who will have opportunities to work in clinical roles in community and hospital pharmacies; across the pharmaceutical and MedTech industries; as well as in regulatory, policy, academic, research and management roles.

ATU’s new MPharm programme is focussed on preparing you for the primary purpose of the pharmacist’s role, as a health professional, is to enable people to achieve the best outcomes from the use of medication.

Further Study Options

The Pharmacy Act 2007 requires that all pharmacists must undertake continuing professional development (CPD). Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a continual process of lifelong learning which is focused on implementing learning within professional practice and improving outcomes for patients.

CPD involves maintaining appropriate experience in the practice of pharmacy, keeping up to date with continuing education and professional competency and undertaking appropriate development and training opportunities that are relevant to the practice of pharmacy.

ATU’s MPharm graduates will be well equipped to undertake further studies in any of the pharmacy disciplines including clinical pharmacy at MSc or PhD level.

Professional Accreditation

To qualify as a pharmacist in Ireland, you must complete a master’s degree in pharmacy (MPharm) which has been accredited by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI).

Once you have successfully completed the ATU MPharm, you will be eligible to apply to register as a pharmacist in Ireland.

We patients appreciate the Pharmacist as our most available healthcare professional in our communities; they are always willing to provide much needed advice on medication and our medical conditions. And when we are at our sickest in hospital, the Pharmacists there provide for our medication requirements. To have a new pharmacy course training pharmacists in the ATU is so welcome for the care of all patients but particularly those in the North-West.

Ann Mooney – Patients for Patient Safety