Undergraduate - Course2630 - Bachelor of Pharmacy and Bachelor of Commerce

This double-degree course recognises that pharmacy has a business as well as a professional component. The course is especially relevant to those graduates considering managing or owning a pharmacy or those who find themselves in a management role in a hospital pharmacy or the pharmaceutical industry.

Pharmacists are health professionals with the skills and knowledge to manage a patient's understanding and utilisation of medication, in order to optimise medicines related to health outcomes.

The Bachelor of Pharmacy component of this course has four streams of study:

• enabling sciences
• applied pharmaceutical sciences
• clinical and integrated sciences
• pharmacy practice sciences.

During third and fourth year, students undertake work placements in hospitals and community pharmacies through the Professional Experiences Placement program. The program provides an understanding of the processes involved in, for example, providing primary health care, drug information, and clinical pharmacy services in different practice environments.

To be registered as a pharmacist, at the completion of this course students must complete an additional one year pharmacy internship program under the supervision of the Pharmacy Board of Australia. Monash University offers a pharmacy internship program, either as a stand-alone course or as part of course 3460 Graduate Certificate in Pharmacy Practice.

Refer to the two single degree entries at http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2013handbooks/courses/2628.html and http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2013handbooks/courses/0179.html.

96 credit points

Special requirements

Police and Working With Children checks are required for the professional experience placements in clinical and community settings in the Bachelor of Pharmacy. All students will be required to obtain and pay for a police check and Working With Children check prior to undertaking the clinical and community placements in their course.

Before commencing their professional experience placement students are required to show records that they have been immunised in line with the Department of Human Services' list of immunisation for health workers.

For further information or for clarification contact the placement program coordinator at pep@monash.edu.

During third and fourth year, students undertake work placements in hospitals and community pharmacies through the professional experience placement program. Refer to http://www.pharm.monash.edu.au/students/placements/index.html for more details.

Pharmacy Board of Australia

To practice as a pharmacist in Victoria it is necessary to register with the Pharmacy Board of Australia. To qualify for registration with the Pharmacy Board of Australia, a period of internship practical training must be undertaken after completing this undergraduate course. For detailed information, refer to the entry under 'Registration as a pharmacist' in the faculty information section of this Handbook at http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2013handbooks/undergrad/pharm-02.html.

Royal Australian Chemical Institute

Bachelor of Pharmacy graduates from Monash are eligible to become members of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) after a period of practical experience. RACI members are able to practise in many areas of industry as professional chemists and receive the salaries determined by the RACI.

Bachelor of Commerce

For further details visit http://www.buseco.monash.edu.au/esg/asu/publications/professional-recognition.html

The pharmacy component of this double degree comprises 192 points including core units and an elective.

The commerce component of this double degree comprises 96 points completed at the Clayton campus, including the following:

• a set of core units which provide an introduction to the key areas of commerce
• a major from those listed under 'Areas of study'
• two open electives.

Commerce component

• Accounting
• Actuarial studies
• Business law and taxation
• Business modelling
• Econometrics and business statistics
• Economics
• Finance
• Financial and insurance mathematics
• International commerce
• Management studies
• Marketing
• Sustainability

Pharmacy component

First year

Semester one

• PAC1111 Introduction to physiology
• PAC1121 Bioorganic and medicinal chemistry I
• PAC1211 Physicochemical basis of pharmacy
• PAC1311 Pharmacy, health and society I

Semester two

• PAC1132 Systems physiology
• PAC1142 Bioorganic and medicinal chemistry II
• PAC1222 Drug delivery I
• PAC1322 Pharmacy, health and society II

Second year

Semester one

• PAC2151 Biochemistry and molecular biology
• PAC2161 Cell function, communication and pathology
• PAC2171 Basis of drug action I
• PAC2331 Pharmacists as communicators

Semester two

• PAC2182 Basis of drug action II
• PAC2232 Drug delivery and disposition
• PAC2342 Pharmacy in a public health context
• PAC2412 Integrated therapeutics: Introduction and cardiovascular

Third year

Semester one

• PAC3191 Microbiology and immunology
• PAC3241 Drug delivery, disposition and dynamics
• PAC3351 Context for practice I
• PAC3421 Integrated therapeutics respiratory and gastrointestinal disease

Semester two

• PAC3252 Drug delivery II
• PAC3362 Context for practice II
• PAC3432 Integrated therapeutics: Infectious diseases

One elective from:

• PAC3512 Current aspects of pharmaceutical research
• PAC3522 Applied research project
• PAC3532 International experience in pharmacy
• PAC3542 Leadership
• PAC3562 Community project
• PSC3032 Current aspects of pharmaceutical biology
• PSC3112 Drug discovery and development

Fourth year

Semester one

• PAC4261 Drug delivery and development
• PAC4371 Professional experience placement program
• PAC4441 Integrated therapeutics: Endocrinology and renal
• PAC4451 Integrated therapeutics: Dermatology and pain

Semester two

• PAC4382 Context for practice III
• PAC4462 Integrated therapeutics: Neurology and oncology
• PAC4472 Integrated therapeutics: Psychiatry
• PAC4482 Preperation for practice

Bachelor of Pharmacy (with honours)

Students can qualify for the in-course Bachelor of Pharmacy (with honours) at the conclusion of the four-year pharmacy course, awarded in one of the grades of H1, H2A or H2B, where the aggregate of the marks they obtain in all units completed reaches minimum levels of achievement determined by the faculty board. See the faculty in-course honours policy at http://www.pharm.monash.edu.au/students/undergrad/honourscalculations.html.

Commerce component

Students must complete:

(a.) six compulsory common core units (36 points):

• AFC1000 Principles of accounting and finance
• BTC1110 Business law
• ECC1000 Principles of microeconomics
• ETC1000 Business and economic statistics
• MGC1010 Introduction to management
• MKC1200 Principles of marketing

(b.) a major of eight units (48 points):*

• the major must come from the approved majors offered at the Clayton campus listed under 'Areas of study'
• at least two units (12 points) must be completed at each of second and third-year levels

* Note: depending on the major chosen, one of the units in the major may have already been studied as part of the group of common core units - where this is the case, students will complete additional unit as detailed below.

(c.) additional units from the Faculty of Business and Economics in the Bachelor of Commerce at the Clayton campus to reach the required minimum of 16 units (96 points).

Additional Bachelor of Commerce degree requirements:

• a maximum of eight first-year level units (48 points)
• a minimum of four third-year level units (24 points)
• in addition to specific unit prerequisites, second-year level units require the successful completion of three first-year level units and third-year level units require the successful completion of two second-year level units.

Bachelor of Commerce
Bachelor of Pharmacy
Bachelor of Pharmacy (with Honours)
Bachelor of Pharmacy with honours

Where more than one award is listed for one or both components of the double degree the actual award(s) conferred may depend on units/majors/streams/specialisations studied, the level of academic merit achieved, or other factors relevant to the individual student's program of study.