I don't know if it's right for me to pour my thoughts in here as well, but if it's not preferable, please let me know through comments, then I'll make this blog thoughts-less ;p
Anyway before all that, I want to write my thoughts on the course I'm taking right now. Yes, Pharmacy, a course which is collaborated with University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
(for those of you who are not sure, the course I'm taking is Master of Pharmacy, to be precise. differences between the Bachelor degree and this Master degree is..the origin of the certificate. Master of Pharmacy is from UK. Bachelor is from anywhere else, besides America, Canada and a few other places. places like Canada will award Doctor of Pharmacy for graduates. any Master of Pharmacy at undergraduate level is from UK. plus don't get fooled by the award title, it's just the same as ANY Bachelor's degree. not to say that Pharmacy do not have any postgraduate courses. there is.)
Warning: TEXT POST, no pictures. It might bore you to
death.
It's definitely not easy, that is what I've to say if anyone ask me how's the course. It's really difficult, for a person like me because I'm not the type who would sit down and study 24/7. I'm a playful
kid person. I need to move around most of the time. I really cannot sit still. I don't know why.
So if you can sit down and study, then, taking courses like Pharmacy is cool. There's too many things to study in a semester (4 months, max). An overview of modules I've taken till now.
- Bioscience 1 & 2
Biological sciences. A general module though, just like Biology. Biological Sciences, Biology, NO DIFFERENCE. Plus, I'm not a Biology person, so what can I do? LOL. I cannot memorize. Besides, I'm not ashamed to tell the whole world I failed Biology at pre-university level because, I REALLY AM NOT A MEMORIZING PERSON! I know, bad results, how to meet the world, etc. Thank God AUSMAT takes top 4 subjects into account.
- Foundation Chemistry
Another general module, just like general Chemistry. A lot of understanding too. I don't attend classes so, it's a problem. If I'm not mistaken, we learnt Analytical, Structure and Bonding, Organic, Inorganic, Physical. The 5 chapters in Foundation Chemistry. My favorite one is Analytical and Physical because they are very closely related to Mathematics.
- Basic Mathematics for Pharmacists
Hey! Guess what!? I didn't attend ANY classes for this module because the lecturer talks to himself so I didn't want to attend as I won't have any mood to be in his class. Sorry Dr Stefen. But it's alright. It's what I've learnt in Form 4, Form 5 and a little from pre-university. And there's a lot I didn't understand as well. Differentiation, integration, algebra, functions? Normal stuff. Just the only extra one is to differentiate and integrate trigo.
- Biopharmacy 1
I thought it'll be closely related to Biology because of the word bio but I was wrong. It's a module full of ORGANIC CHEMISTRY. It's all about carbon, carbon and more carbon. Not very easy, and not very tough either. But the practicals in Biopharmacy is the best, compared to Foundation Chemistry and Bioscience. It's also partially because I don't need to write a full report for this module. They have prepared the report forms for us! It's really awesome. All you need to do is just write down your experiment results and do some calculations. Speaking of lazy kids like me.
- Physiology 1 & 2
This module is DEFINITELY not easy. A lot of memorizing too. Worst than Bioscience but I hope I can pass this because my upcoming test is 100%, consist of 1 essay. Yes, 1 essay, worth 100%. Physiology is something like..neurons, endocrine, cardiovascular system, central nervous system, cells, etc. Something like that. Hmm. It's more on humans though. Like hello! Pharmacy, right!?
- Statistics for Pharmacists
I don't know why this module existed =/ Never attended after I went for a class.
- Foundation Pharmacy
Lol, another module I'm blur about. It's more ethical than other modules as this module 'teach' you how to be a 'perfect' pharmacist. Study the ethics a pharmacist should have, etc. I've an assignment to do for this module. A report on migraine. The causes, effects, prevention, cure, etc. 3000 words o.O or was it more? Sigh, I'm too blur.
- English for Academic Writing
ANOTHER USELESS MODULE! I don't know why they want us to take this module for. It's to 'help' us. My goodness. The uni I'm in wants IELTS and MUET so fine, I take them and they now force us to take this module. Well.. Sigh. Oh yes have I added that my uni will only accept Band 7.0 for IELTS and Band 4 for MUET? UK universities only require Band 6.5 but my uni wants us to get Band 7.0 for some reason. Sigh. And MUET too =/ I thought twinning programmes won't need this? Plus I'm in a private university, NOT local university. Well. Regulations!
- Bahasa Malaysia
USELESS MODULE. They said the MQA requires us to study this, Moral Education and Malaysian Studies at diploma level. I don't know if they want our money or what, but it's a must. I studied them last year in Sunway already ):
That's all I've stepped into. I'm not looking forward to Semester 3 because I know they have Microbiology. I'm really scared of Biology. I'm currently in Semester 2, and will finish my 1st year by late September and I'll be in 2nd year in late October.
(WOOHOO! 2nd year student yo!)
Don't ever think that Pharmacy is 90% Chemistry and 10% Biology or they have a little Biology and a lot of Chemistry. Sigh. I heard that it is that way but from what I'm studying now, it doesn't seem so.
If you want to
put yourself into misery study Pharmacy, think twice. Go ahead if becoming a pharmacist have been your dreams all the while but stop and think if you are not willing to
give up your social life for this course. I like socializing so..I
kinda regret.
Not only that, other things you would like to consider is the
recognition of the degree. I've always wanted to study in University of Sydney from some weird reason but I couldn't go there because I didn't reach the requirement. Let's say I'm not smart enough. The offers I got from Australia was Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, from University of Canberra and RMIT.
Not forgetting the
cost too. If I were to study in Sydney, I'll need a rough amount of RM600k, because their fees increase every year, and let's say if you pay AUD35k per annum for the first year, you might have to pay AUD36~k for the 2nd year. It's not like UK, where if you pay £17k, you'll pay £17k per annum till you graduate. Now, I'm taking 2.5 + 1, and I need a rough amount of RM190~k for the whole course. And if I were to take 2 + 2, I will need RM260k~. Well, further information, if you need, you can ask me, or you can go and do your own research why, and what are the differences.
There's a lot to know about this, and what I have about this course is 3 years worth of collection. It may not be the best, but I don't mind sharing with ANYONE of you who would want to take up Pharmacy as your undergraduate course.
You know what's stupid? I planned to go to Australia all the while since Form 4 and look, I'm now taking a twinning programme to UK. *sweat*
btw people, the latest information I got about Pharmacy is last year, so it might have changes, as their regulations may change and all.
If you were to ask
why I chose Pharmacy..
I've been thinking of becoming a pharmacist since high school because any courses I talk/suggest to my dad/family will always get a rejection. The courses I suggested were mass comm, hotel management, criminology, etc.
It was either medicine, dentistry or pharmacy. So here I am, in Pharmacy. I don't know if it's the best for me or what.
Oh yes, I went for 2 interviews. I went to both Monash and IMU for their MBBS entrance interview. I got through for both, but the only thing that stopped me from entering is my results. Sigh. It's not a heart wrenching thing though. I wonder why. Monash is definitely not easy to enter, because they require ISAT, an interview and results. IMU is easier as they require an interview and results. Oh yes, not forgetting both require IELTS.
If you ask me how many courses I've considered, I'd say
plenty.
Before this, Pharmaceutical Sciences was in my choice just in case I couldn't get into Pharmacy. Just so you know, Pharmaceutical Sciences is another pathway into Pharmacy if you can't get into Pharmacy. It's a 3 years course. So if you want to be a pharmacist in profession, take up a postgraduate course in Pharmacy and there you go - a pharmacist. Additional 2 years after graduating, so 5 years altogether.
Sadly I could get into MPharm =/
If I couldn't, I would have gone to either Canberra or RMIT. (maybe not) (I'm just crapping. my dad wouldn't allow anyway. it's too pricey to study abroad)
(Oh yes not forgetting Psychology too! I dropped Psychology as a choice after I took Psychology as a subject in MCKL last year for A Levels. It's too boring for me. All you need to do is read, understand and read. I CANNOT!)
Initially (before I got into this course) I thought Pharmacy won't be
that tough. And I am here suffering now because I play a lot. I am not willing to sit still and study. That's all. If I have perseverance, then I could have sit still and STUDY like a nerd. But I can't.
Sigh.
What a disappointment to my dad.
For now, I see it as a torture, but maybe 10 years down the road, I won't regret, and will be glad for studying Pharmacy.
P/S: For those who read this post, I'm so sorry for this long winded post. If you don't want this kind of post again, please comment below, or dislike this post, then I'll know and I won't bore you to death again.
SORRY PEEPS!
<3
