| Normally to become a pharmacologist you need to study
BSc Pharmacology at University. Details of courses can be
found on the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service
(UCAS) web site, use Pharmacology as a keyword www.ucas.ac.uk.
The aims of a typical course will be develop your understanding
of how medicines affect the body, how the body handles medicines
and how new medicines are developed, as well as developing
many practical and other key skills. The course would involve
studying how the body works from the molecular level (e.g.
how are genes switched on and off) to the whole body (e.g.
what regulates blood pressure) and how diseases occur. You
would study the actions of medicines in computer simulations,
in cells and tissues from animals, possibly in whole animals,
and in student volunteers. You need to understand how the
whole body reacts to medicines from the point of view of effectiveness
and safety. In addition, you would further your understanding
of chemistry as you need to know the relationship between
the structure of medicines and their actions.
Details of the contents of a typical Pharmacology course
can be found in the Educational Resources section of this site.
You can also combine a Pharmacology degree with many
other subjects, such as Biochemistry, Chemistry, Foreign languages,
Immunology, Management and Physiology.
Do be aware that a BSc Pharmacology course is very different
from a BSc Pharmacy course. A Pharmacy course aims to train
someone so that they can work in a hospital pharmacy, chemist’s
shop or manufacture medicines in industry. This type of course
would include pharmacology but also the formulation of medicines,
chemical synthesis, microbiology and the social aspects of
medicines.
See www.ucas.ac.uk
for further details on Pharmacy courses. |
