Medical Courses

Medical: Overview

Medical training covers a vast amount of courses.

Health Care is the art and science of healing.

Training

Training in the medical sector usually spans several years to reach an advanced level. As new medicines and therapies are constantly being developed, skills will regularly need to be topped up.

Doctors are expected to keep abreast of advances in their specialty through ongoing continual medical education.

Underoak lists many short courses to aid you in your career progression. These may be funded individually or through your company. To search these courses, simply type the relevant key words and click on ‘request information for free’ to send your enquiry direct to the trainer.

Related Careers

• Psychiatry
• Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• Dental Nurses
• Health Records Staff
• Midwifery
• Orderly/Porter
• Counselors
• Occupational Therapists
• Scientific Laboratory Technician
• Paramedics

Useful Links

Job Sites

Average working hours per week

Job Spotlight

Pharmacist

The Role

Hospital pharmacists work in a hospital pharmacy service, primarily within the public sector. They are responsible for ensuring the safe, appropriate and cost-effective use of medicines. Hospital pharmacists use their specialist knowledge to dispense drugs and advise patients about the medicines they have been prescribed. They work collaboratively with other health care professionals to devise the most appropriate drug treatment for patients.

The role of the hospital pharmacist sometimes extends outside the hospital, with responsibility for medicines in health centres, nursing homes, hospices and general practitioners' (GP) surgeries.

Tasks may include:

• Participating in ward rounds
• Liaising with physicians, nurses and other fellow health care professionals
• Counselling patients on the effects, dosage and route of administration of their drug treatments
• Monitoring every stage of medication therapy to improve all aspects of delivery and reporting patient side effects
• Communicating effectively with patients' relatives, community pharmacists, general practitioners (GPs), etc
• Preparing and quality-checking sterile medications
• Supervising and checking the work of less experienced and less qualified staff
• Responding to medication-related queries from within the hospital, other hospitals and the general public
• Keeping up to date with, and contributing to, research and development

Core Skills

A four-year degree in pharmacy (MPharm), followed by one year of pre-registration training (pre-reg), is necessary in order to practice as a hospital pharmacist.

Entry to the profession without a pharmacy degree or with an HND only is not possible. Work as a pharmacy technician (usually trained to NVQ level 3) will give experience of the work environment but will not allow progression to hospital pharmacist.

Hospital pharmacies are heavily computerised for both routine control and for financial management. Computer literacy is essential. It is essential for the potential candidates to demonstrate the following skills:

• The ability to work carefully, methodically and accurately
• Good interpersonal skills and a caring and sympathetic manner
• A responsible attitude to work
• General clinical awareness

Pharmacists with supervisory responsibility require:

• Effective management skills
• The ability to delegate tasks and monitor the work of junior staff

Salary:

• Pre-registration graduates: £19,683
• Qualified hospital pharmacists £23,000 to £32,000