Bachelor of Pharmacy

The purpose of the Bachelor of Pharmacy is to train pharmacy qualified learners according to the requirements of the South African Pharmacy Council. The graduate is professionally competent at internationally recognisable standards to serve the health care needs of South Africa.

The purpose of the qualification is to produce qualified learners who are competent as the

• Custodians of medicines;
• Formulators, manufacturers, distributors and controllers of safe, effective and quality medicine;
• Advisors on the safe, rational and appropriate use of medicine;
• Providers of essential clinical services including screening and referral services;
• Providers of health care education and information;
• Providers of pharmaceutical care by taking responsibility for the outcome of therapy and by being actively involved in the design, implementation and monitoring of pharmaceutical plans;
• Providers of pharmaceutical care by managing effective drug supply systems including the selection, procurement and distribution of medicines;
• By taking responsibility for the outcome of therapy and by being actively involved in the design, implementation and monitoring of pharmaceutical plans;
• Providers of cost-effective and efficient pharmaceutical services, based on the principles of Pharmacoeconomics and managed health care.

On completion of the qualification, qualifying learners will be able to

• Form an integral part of the multi-disciplinary healthcare team and make focused therapeutic interventions in the delivery of healthcare.
• Apply general management skills, whether in the context of pharmacy or in any other field of practice, including the ability to handle contingencies as well as routine work.
• Control the quality and effectiveness in the preparation and packaging of pharmaceutical and related products in community, hospital, and industrial settings.
• Manage the acquisition, storage, and movement of pharmaceutical materials and products in industrial, wholesale, hospital, and community pharmacy settings.
• Receive and assess prescriptions to ensure quality use of medicines and communicate with stakeholders.
• Consult with the patient, with due regard to cultural differences between patients, to devise an appropriate care plan.

Rationale

This qualification in the South African context addresses the diverse healthcare requirements of a partly first-world and predominantly third-world population. This embraces primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare.

Pharmacists ensure safe and quality use of medicines and optimise health outcomes by contributing to selecting, prescribing, monitoring, and evaluating medicine therapy, and researching, testing, and developing pharmaceuticals and medical products. As such, they form an essential part of the Health Care System serving South African Society.

The qualification enables the graduate to seek employment in the areas of

• Community Pharmacy.
• Hospital Pharmacy.
• Industrial Pharmacy.
• Managed Health Care
• Academia and Research.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

The institution has an approved Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) policy, which is applicable to equivalent qualifications for admission into the qualification. RPL will be applied to accommodate applicants who qualify. RPL thus provides alternative access and admission to qualifications, as well as advancement within qualifications. RPL may be applied for access, credits from modules, and credits for or towards the qualification.

RPL for access

• Learners who do not meet the minimum entrance requirements or the required qualification that is at the same NQF level as the qualification required for admission may be considered for admission through RPL.
• To be considered for admission in the qualification based on RPL, applicants should provide evidence in the form of a portfolio that demonstrates that they have acquired the relevant knowledge, skills, and competencies through formal, non-formal, and/or informal learning to cope with the qualification expectations, should they be allowed entrance into the qualification.

RPL for exemption from modules

• Learners may apply for RPL to be exempted from modules that form part of the qualification. For a learner to be exempted from a module, the learner needs to provide sufficient evidence in the form of a portfolio that demonstrates that competency was achieved for the learning outcomes that are equivalent to the learning outcomes of the module.

RPL for credit

• Learners may also apply for RPL for credit for or towards the qualification, in which they must provide evidence in the form of a portfolio that demonstrates prior learning through formal, non-formal and/or informal learning to obtain credits towards the qualification.
• Credit shall be appropriate to the context in which it is awarded and accepted.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is

• Senior Certificate, NQF Level 4 with endorsement.

Or

• National Senior Certificate, NQF Level 4, granting access to Bachelor's degree studies.

Or

• National Certificate (Vocational), NQF Level 4, granting access to Bachelor's degree studies.

This qualification comprises compulsory modules at National Qualifications Framework Level 5, 6, 7, and 8, totalling 576 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, Level 5, 126 Credits

• Introduction to Medical Science 18 credits
• Chemistry l 36 credits
• Physics l 18 credits
• Pharmaceutical Practice 36 credits
• Health Systems Sciences I 18 credits
• First Aid 0 credits
• Computer Literacy 0 credits

Compulsory Modules, Level 6, 186 Credits

• Anatomy for Pharmacy Students 24 credits
• Physiology and Medical Biochemistry I 48 credits
• Pharmaceutical Chemistry I 36 credits
• Pharmaceutics I 36 credits
• Pharmacy Practice I 18 credits
• Pathology 12 credits
• Medical Microbiology 12 credits

Compulsory Modules, Level 7, 114 Credits

• Pharmaceutical Chemistry II 18 credits
• Clinical Pharmacy I 36 credits
• Pharmacy Practice II 18 credits
• Pharmaceutics II 18 credits
• Pharmacology I 24 credits

Compulsory Modules, Level 8, 150 Credits

• Pharmaceutics III 36 credits
• Pharmaceutical Chemistry III 18 credits
• Special Project 30 credits
• Clinical Pharmacy II 18 credits
• Pharmacy Practice III 36 credits
• Pharmacology II 12 credits
• Emergency Medical Assistance* 0 credits

1. Form an integral part of the multi-disciplinary healthcare team and make focused therapeutic interventions in the delivery of healthcare.
2. Apply general management skills, whether in the context of pharmacy or in any other field of practice, including the ability to do contingencies as well as routine work.
3. Control the quality and effectiveness in the preparation and packaging of pharmaceutical and related products in community, hospital, and industrial settings.
4. Manage the acquisition, storage, and movement of pharmaceutical materials and products in industrial, wholesale, hospital, and community pharmacy settings.
5. Receive and assess prescriptions to ensure quality use of medicines and communicate with stakeholders.
6. Consult with the patient, with due regard to cultural differences between patients, to devise an appropriate care plan.
7. Assess health and pharmaceutical information on request, as well as initiate and/or participate in the provision of health care education and information to the public and other health care professionals.
8. Evaluate promotive and preventative health education, and both initiate and participate in community health projects.
9. Initiate and participate in research and development of medicines and health care strategies and keep up to date with research findings in the discipline.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 1

• Assess the diversity of clinical problems in South African hospitals, plan and implement therapeutic interventions, and evaluate the outcomes thereof.
• Provide accessible, cost-effective pharmaceutical healthcare (in the context of managed healthcare), taking cognisance of the escalating costs of healthcare in our current society.
• Act professionally, ethically, and responsibly towards the environment and the health of others.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 2

• Take responsibility for managing activities, resources, people, and information in a pharmaceutical environment in accordance with professional and legal requirements.
• Apply knowledge innovatively and skills in the provision of optimal healthcare in the face of economic realities.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 3

• Authorise and control materials, plant, and processes in the manufacturing and packaging of pharmaceutical products, and control the quality of these.
• Manage the resources within the budgets required for the process; and
• Audit pharmaceutical systems internally and externally for compliance with the relevant requirements.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 4

• Order, receive, sample, release, store and prepare for dispatch,
• Control transport and keep records of pharmaceutical materials and products in compliance with legal and technical requirements.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 5

• Gather all information required to assess a person's health care and drug-related needs.
• Devise, document, and implement an appropriate care plan and monitor its outcomes.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 6

• Consult, examine, and perform the required investigations to assess a person's health care status.
• Devise, document, and implement an appropriate care plan.

� Monitor the care plan outcomes, reviewing them and revising future care plans accordingly.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 7

• Retrieve, interpret, evaluate, and supply information on the use of drugs, disease states, and health care to the public, other health care providers, and patients.
• Establish databases and interpret scientific information to provide bases for rational drug use. > Demonstrate knowledge of the principles of managed health care, health, and Pharmacoeconomics.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 8

• Identify and respond to the community's health needs and educate the community on how to manage and be proactively involved in their healthcare.
• Identify community health needs.
• Plan and implement appropriate, promotive and preventative programs to address community health needs, including screening, directly observed therapy (DOT) and immunisation.
• Provide the community with Primary Healthcare strategies, education, and information.
• Identify which are essential drugs to achieve health for all.

Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcomes 9

• Conduct research and apply research findings to health care, specifically in the South African context
• Fulfill the needs of the pharmaceutical industry, which entail researching, developing, clinically evaluating, producing, marketing, and managing pharmaceuticals.
• Initiate and direct research, teach and foster community outreach for the betterment of society and the advancement of the pharmacy profession.

INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT

Integrated assessment is achieved through cumulative and summative evaluations. Accumulative assessment comprises tutorials, laboratory practicals, and case presentations. The summative assessments across the degree are achieved by means of tests and examinations.

To promote, monitor, and measure student learning throughout a course, no single assessment may count for more than 40% of the final mark unless there are special circumstances, in which case the permission of the Dean is required.