Undergraduate courses and subjects 2000

Bachelor of Pharmacy

General information
Curriculum
BPharm degree rules

General information

The aim of the four-year Bachelor of Pharmacy course at the Victorian College of Pharmacy is to produce graduates with a knowledge and understanding of the sciences, technologies and practices which underpin pharmacy as a profession and, together with the clinical skills gained in the third and fourth years of the course, to have acquired the competencies suitable for registration as pharmacists capable of building a career in any branch of pharmacy.
The undergraduate studies are oriented towards, and placed within, a pharmacy context.
Any period of pre-registration practical training which may be required must be regarded as an essential educational bridge which links the undergraduate course and the graduate's work as a registered pharmacist.

Curriculum

From 1997 the academic course occupies four years of full-time study. Four grades of pass will be awarded in the following subjects of the course (high distinction, distinction, credit, pass). The HECS loadings shown are those that applied in 1999. It was not possible at the time of preparation of the handbook to list the expected 2000 HECS loadings for any year.

First year

· VCP1071 Pharmaceutical chemistry (0.282)
· VCP1021 Medicinal chemistry I (0.192)
· VCP1081 Physiology (0.258)
· VCP1091 Mathematics (0.138)
· VCP1011 Pharmacy practice I (including human behaviour) (0.130)

Second year

· VCP2031 Pharmaceutics I (0.202)
· VCP2021 Medicinal chemistry II (0.236)
· VCP2041 Pharmacology I (0.220)
· VCP2061 Pharmaceutical microbiology I (0.140)
· VCP2011 Pharmacy practice II (0.120)
· VCP2091 Biochemistry (0.082)

Third year

· VCP3031 Pharmaceutics II (0.120)
· VCP3021 Medicinal chemistry III (0.120)
· VCP3041 Pharmacology II (0.180)
· VCP3011 Pharmacy practice III (0.360)
· VCP3061 Pharmaceutical microbiology II (0.120)
· VCP3051 Clinical pharmacy I (0.100)

Fourth year

· VCP4031 Pharmaceutics III
· VCP4011 Pharmacy practice IV
· VCP4051 Clinical pharmacy II
· VCP4091 Drug development

Students are advised that, when completing applications for Austudy support, they will be requested to list their HECS loading for each semester. If a student is enrolled for all subjects in a given year, their loading for each semester will be 0.500; however, if they have been granted exemptions from some subjects, their loading may be calculated by referring to the above information. In all cases, students are advised that it is best to check with the administrative officer at the college to ascertain their HECS loading if they are unsure.

BPharm degree rules

Provisions governing the structure of the course and the progress of students through the course are set out in the Bachelor of Pharmacy regulations. The following rules amplify and supplement the provisions of the regulations.
1. The college board is responsible for all matters relating to the course and the progress of students within the provisions of the course regulations and subject to other relevant Monash University statutes and regulations.
2. Subject to these rules, students must pass the examinations in all the subjects prescribed for study during the first year of the course before the college will admit them to the course of study in the subjects prescribed for the next year of the course and likewise for each succeeding year.
3. A candidate who fails to attain the standard set by the examiners at the examinations in any year may be admitted to repeat the course of study in the following year or may be excluded from the course.
4. A candidate who fails to attain the standard set by the examiners at the annual examinations on more than one occasion or who fails to attain the standard set by the examiners at the annual examinations after having been granted advanced standing in the pharmacy course may be excluded from the course.
5. Candidates who present themselves initially for the whole of the Pharmacy I, II, III or IV examination may, at the discretion of the board of examiners, be granted credit for single subjects in which they have attained the standard set by the examiners.
6. With reference to the Pharmacy IV examination, the single subject credits referred to in rule 5 may not be held beyond the Pharmacy IV examination held in November the following year, after which time re-entry for the whole examination shall be required.
7. After two years have elapsed following the candidate's initial entry to the Pharmacy IV examination, the college will not accept a further enrolment from the candidate.
8. Where sickness or other circumstances warranting compassion arise, candidates for examinations may apply for special consideration. The application which is required to be accompanied by a medical certificate or other documentary evidence must be lodged with the registrar as soon as possible and not later than 48 hours after the relevant examination.
9. A candidate must observe the examination rules published from time to time.
10. The college will publish the results of examinations but the college board may, in the case of a candidate's failing to observe the examination rules, omit the results of the said candidate and take action in accordance with the provisions of Statute 4.1 Discipline.
11. Supplementary examinations will be held when necessary at the discretion of the board of examiners. Individual examiners may prescribe additional examinations, either written, oral, or practical when and as required. Candidates are therefore advised to be available after the completion of the annual examinations and pending publication of the examination results.