Information for Preceptors
The Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sydney welcomes and appreciates practitioners’ involvement in the training of our future pharmacists.
The Pharmacy profession cannot be maintained without the support and experience of pharmacists such as yourself. The experiential and clinical component of the student’s training is pivotal to their future practice competence and career. Your involvement in the training and education of future pharmacists is integral to this.
It has been shown that students, having been inspired by their preceptors and mentors at their initial training site, tend to return post-graduation, to continue on their chosen career paths.
Similarly, preceptors have reported that sharing their experience and expertise with enthusiastic novice practitioners, is a gratifying experience. The knowledge that they have had a valuable influence on the future of the profession is extremely rewarding.
The University of Sydney, Faculty of Pharmacy offers two degrees that lead to registration as a pharmacist:
In each degree, students undertake clinical placements throughout the course (first year through to final year) which may occur across the calendar year. It is possible that, in your practice, you may encounter students from either of these programs.
These placements occur within a range of practice settings, including community, hospital, specialist medical clinics, aged care facilities, professional organisations and the pharmaceutical industry. Some of these placements are organised by the Faculty staff, the Coordinator of each program, whilst others are organised by students.
While the overall purpose of the clinical placement program is to allow students to gain knowledge and skills, and to appreciate ‘real world’ practice issues, there are specific and different objectives for each type of placement. Summaries of the different placement types, including the main focus and timelines, can be found by clicking on the submenu listing (left) for each degree.
For further information please contact the Clinical Placements Student Services Officer, on (02) 9351 8957.
Postgraduate training for Pharmacists
The Faculty also offers an Intern Training Program (ITP) as part of its Graduate Certificate in Pharmacy Practice.
The NAPE ITP is a competency-based program, developed to address the Competency Standards for Pharmacists in Australia, 2003 in accordance with the Accreditation Standards for Australian Pharmacy Intern Training programs 2010.
Pharmacy interns who successfully complete the two units of study that make up the ITP will be able to complete a further two units of specialised study in order to achieve the award of the Graduate Certificate in Pharmacy Practice.
Specialised units of study to be offered in 2012 as part of the Graduate Certificate include Healthy Ageing and Mental Health, both of which are areas of research and teaching strength of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Sydney.