First Year Engagement Ceremony at UQ School of Pharmacy

15 April 2016

In 2010, the UQ School of Pharmacy held its inaugural “First Year Engagement Ceremony,” the first of its kind in Australia.
The concept has been adapted from similar ceremonies undertaken in pharmacy (and medical) schools around North America, and sees first-year Bachelor of Pharmacy students presented with a white dispensing coat and a written “Statement of Commitment.”

UQ School of Pharmacy
First Year Engagement Ceremony at UQ School of Pharmacy (Photo: UQ)

The idea behind the engagement ceremony is to welcome incoming Bachelor of Pharmacy students to not only the school, but also to the profession as a whole. The ceremony has since been adopted as an annual event, sponsored by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (Queensland Branch).
In a nutshell, the students are given a dispensing coat by the school, followed by the recital of the Statement of Commitment, whereby they promise to uphold the principles of the profession and a focus on health care throughout their university studies and beyond. A number of distinguished guests from the profession and our alumni then shake hands with the students and welcome them to the “family.”
The UQ School of Pharmacy views the ceremony as an opportunity to provide the students with some sense of the history, pride and professionalism that is pharmacy and highlight the responsibility and crucial role pharmacists play in the community. The purpose of the ceremony is to give the new students a sense of community, as students and as health professionals in training.
The coat itself is designed to be used as a symbol of professionalism and a commitment to health care provision. Students will wear the coat in the professional components of the course, including in counselling and dispensing tutorials and for their oral exams. It will be an expected requirement for these sessions and will reinforce some sense of responsibility and accountability in the students.
Pharmacy is such a wonderful profession, steeped in history and with an exciting and challenging future—this ceremony is to remind the students that they are a critical part of it.

Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) Program at UQ

The Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) program is a well-established, professionally accredited learning framework that is well received by both students and the profession. The program has evolved into one of the country’s most comprehensive and well-respected pharmacy degrees, both domestically and internationally.
Program: Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours)
Location: Brisbane, Queensland
Semester intake: February
Duration: 4 years
Application deadline: November 15, 2016
Entry Requirements
Applicants to UQ Pharmacy are required to have completed their high school diploma. Applicants should have completed Grade 12 English, Chemistry and Math to meet program prerequisites.
If you have commenced or completed a university degree or any post-secondary studies, your most recent studies will be assessed in terms of your grades. If you have not completed the necessary prerequisite subjects in your post-secondary studies, your high school transcripts will then be assessed for prerequisite subjects.

Credit Transfers

Many international students with prior study (especially those with a science background) are able to enter directly into Year 2 of the Bachelor of Pharmacy. If credit is awarded, students can undertake an additional course in their first and second semester of enrollment and complete the program in just 3 years.

Apply to UQ Pharmacy School!

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For more information about the Bachelor of Pharmacy program at UQ, contact OzTREKK’s Australian Pharmacy Schools Admissions Officer Krista McVeigh at krista@oztrekk.com or call toll free 1-866-698-7355.

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