Lincoln School of Pharmacy established

The new School of Pharmacy has been officially established at the University of Lincoln. It will be located within the soon-to-be-built science and innovation park, which is being created in conjunction with Lincolnshire Co-operative.

The School of Pharmacy will be housed in a refurbished iconic 1930’s art deco-styled building and, following significant refurbishment, will offer state of the art laboratories and clinical teaching spaces.

Undergraduate courses on offer will be a BSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences, with the first intake due to start in September 2013 and a Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) to begin in September 2014.

At the helm is newly appointed Head of the School of Pharmacy Dr Paul Grassby, who says the creation of the new School is a fantastic opportunity to develop innovative and exciting courses to ensure all graduates from both programmes are work-ready to meet the challenges in both the development of new medicines and optimising the use of current medicines.

Dr Grassby said: “The unique opportunity we have is to be able to develop the MPharm course based on the General Pharmaceutical Council’s (GPC) new standards for education and training of pharmacists which is now driven by outcomes in terms of what the students can actually do – the application of knowledge when they graduate. Over the last 20 years clinical pharmacy, particularly in hospitals has developed significantly, and pharmacy is now a recognised clinical vocation underpinned by good science. The big issues within the NHS are the ageing population, which is a particular concern in Lincolnshire, and long-term medical conditions – all of which need drug therapy. There is a huge social need for the pharmacy profession to take a more pro-active role in helping people manage their medicines.- and ensure they are taking medicines that are the most effective and safe for them.”

Dr Grassby is relishing the chance to build the School from scratch having been heavily involved in the development of the School of Pharmacy at the University of East Anglia.

He said: “There has been an historical shortage of pharmacists in Lincolnshire and as a lot of graduates tend to stay where they study, the creation of the School will address a long-term problem. There is also a need for the local pharmacy community to have a School with which they can develop a relationship with in terms of continuing education, teaching, research and service development.”

Lincolnshire Co-operative runs more than 200 outlets across its trading area, including 47 pharmacies.

Head of Pharmacy Alastair Farquhar said: “We’re looking forward to establishing projects that will see Lincolnshire Co-op supporting the students, such as offering placements in our pharmacies so they can see how the academic skills they’re learning will relate to the job in practice. The establishment of the School of Pharmacy will also provide our pharmacists with opportunities for professional development.”

Initially joining Dr Grassby in the School of Pharmacy team are Professor Ian Marshall, Dr Graham Lappin, Reader in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Professor Nick Blagden, Chair of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Dr Dritton Vllasaliu.

The MPharm degree is subject to seven annual accreditation steps by the General Pharmaceutical Council as the course is being designed and delivered to ensure the new standards are achieved – receiving the final accreditation when the first cohort of students graduate in 2018.

For more information go to http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/home/lsp/