School of Pharmacy

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• First Year

Explore…Your First Year

The Stage 1 programme provides a truly integrated and fully contextualised introduction to the Keele MPharm degree. The programme is based upon a single 120-credit module which spans both semesters and comprises three cycles of learning, assessment and reflection. 

Each cycle comprises seven weeks of teaching followed by one week which is reserved for end-of-cycle examinations and any other assessments which cannot fall within the teaching period.   At the end of each cycle you will also have a meeting with your personal tutor who will provide you with comprehensive feedback on your academic performance and achievement during the cycle.   This is a key feature of the programme design: allowing students to use this week to reflect upon their own progress while also using the immediate feedback to prepare for the next cycle.

The principal aim is to develop integrated knowledge and skills in a wide variety of disciplines.   This is done by demonstrating the linkages between topics in science and practice which might initially seem unrelated.   This then underpins the remainder on the course. Rather than packaging your studies into smaller, discrete modules the Stage 1 programme allows you to see more clearly the linkages between all strands of the programme.

Topics covered in Stage 1 will include calculations and IT, communication skills, physiology, pathology, genetics, metabolism, biochemical aspects of cell biology, drug design, pharmaceutical chemistry, dispensing and pharmacy practice.  You will look at the skills, attitudes and abilities that are required to become a Pharmacist as well as investigating the concepts of governance, professional ethics and law.   Within the three cycles of learning and assessment the material has been contextualised into three broad contexts: those of individual people/patients, of people/patients as members of families, and of wider populations. This is strengthened in later cycles by focussing upon particular patient groups, and upon specific diseases which affect these groups.   For example: studies in the anatomy and physiology of the gastro-intestinal tract combine with topics in bioenergetics, metabolism and nutrition to provide the background to designing care plans for patients with diabetes and other metabolic disorders. This is supported by visits to the Anatomy Suite in the Keele School of Medicine, another unique feature of the programme.  

Throughout the course, the relevance of each group of teaching sessions to the healthcare of the individual, family or population will be highlighted.   After completing the three cycles of learning and assessment you will then undertake a synoptic assessment to ensure that you can demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the interdependency of the material throughout the Stage 1 programme.   Teaching sessions will be supported by further learning opportunities including extensive interaction with a variety of patients.   Opportunities to participate in sessions with real patients, simulated patients and virtual patients will allow students to develop their consulting skills.   Students will also engage in both Hospital and Community visits in Stage 1 in addition to participating in Keele’s inter-professional education (IPE) course.