Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy - IQS - Ramon Llu

The IQS-Blanquerna Bachelor's Degree in Pharmacy provides a comprehensive foundation in all aspects of pharmacy, preparing students for careers in healthcare, industry, and research. The program emphasizes hands-on learning, personalized attention, and ethical and humanist perspectives, equipping graduates with the skills and knowledge to optimize healthcare systems and contribute to the advancement of the pharmaceutical field.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The IQS-Blanquerna Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy provides a solid foundation of knowledge in Community Pharmacies, Hospital Pharmacies, and the Pharmaceutical Industry. Students will cover all aspects related to the pharmaceutical profession guided by a clear, humanist, and scientific orientation. The IQS Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy employs a methodology based on combining direct contact with the professional world, scientific rigour, and the commitment to offering an ethical and comprehensive education.

Objectives:

To train experts in all aspects related to drugs and medications.
To prepare graduates to become part of the healthcare system and contribute to optimizing it by employing all of their humanist, care, and pharmacotherapeutic knowledge.
To empower students to join the pharmaceutical, chemical, cosmetic, veterinary, or food industry thanks to technical, leadership, and management skills.
To provide advanced knowledge in a highly specialized scientific research.
To motivate professionals by preparing them for autonomous learning, educated within a culture of quality, good communication, and the ability to function in complex work environments.

Competences:

Possess and understand the specific knowledge established by law for Pharmacy graduates, along with the latest knowledge at the forefront of their field of study.
Understand how to apply the knowledge acquired to their work in a professional, reasoned manner that facilitates solving problems within their area of study.
Have the ability to compile and interpret relevant data to make judgments that include reflections on relevant social, scientific, or ethical issues.
Be able to convey information, ideas, problems, and solutions to both specialized and non-specialized audiences.
Develop the learning skills necessary to undertake further studies with a high degree of autonomy.
Demonstrate oral and written communication skills in English.
Acquire sufficient computer skills to reliably manage the main technological tools related to health sciences.
Incorporate a holistic vision of people, always taking into account all their dimensions (physiological, human, social, psychological, or transcendent), and apply it to all action areas for pharmaceutical professionals.

Outline:

Structure:

The program is 5 academic years long.
It consists of 300 ECTS credits.
The program starts in September 2024.
The timetable for the first year is:
Monday to Thursday: 2:30 pm to 9:00 pm
Friday: 8:30 am to 2:00 pm

Modules:

First Year:

| Subject | ECTS | |---|---| | Anatomy and Physiology I and II | 12 | | General and Inorganic Chemistry + Laboratory | 9+3 | | Physical Chemistry + Laboratory | 6+3 | | Biology + Laboratory | 6+3 | | Microbiology and Parasitology + Laboratory | 6+3 | | Physics Applied to Pharmacy | 6 | | Interdisciplinary Pharmaceutical Seminar | 3 |

Second Year:

| Subject | ECTS | |---|---| | Pharmaceutical Chemistry + Laboratory | 6+3 | | Pathophysiology I and II | 9 | | Analytical Chemistry + Laboratory | 6+3 | | Organic Chemistry + Laboratory | 6+3 | | Biochemistry + Laboratory | 6+3 | | Biostatistics | 6 | | Immunology | 3 | | Health Anthropology | 3 | | History of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Legislation, and Ethics I | 3 |

Third Year:

| Subject | ECTS | |---|---| | Pharmaceutical Technology I and II + Laboratory | 12+3 | | Pharmacology I and II | 12 | | Pharmacognosy + Laboratory | 6+3 | | Structural Determination | 6 | | Biotechnology | 6 | | Food Science | 6 | | Nutrition | 3 | | Pharmaceutical Care and Clinical Pharmacy I | 3 |

Fourth Year:

| Subject | ECTS | |---|---| | Biopharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics + Laboratory | 6+3 | | Toxicology | 6 | | Pharmaceutical Care and Clinical Pharmacy II | 6 | | Public Health | 6 | | Pharmacoeconomics and Pharmaceutical Management | 6 | | Advanced Drug Delivery Systems | 3 | | Individualized Therapy (Pharmacogenomics) | 3 | | History of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Legislation, and Ethics II | 3 | | Research Methodology | 3 | | Registries in Pharmaceutical and Related Industries | 3 | | Supervised Practicum I | 12 |

Fifth Year:

| Subject | ECTS | |---|---| | Elective subjects | 24 | | Internship | 12 | | Bioethics | 6 | | Supervised Practicum II | 12 | | Final Degree Project (TFG) | 6 |

Elective Subjects:

Students can choose 4 optional tracks to delve deeper into different areas of the pharmaceutical sector:

Food and nutrition:
Nutrition and Metabolism
Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics
Food Hygiene, Safety, and Quality
Nutraceuticals and Food Supplements
Specialty-Focused Internship
Drug design and production:
Molecular Design
Advanced Synthesis
Process Chemistry
Integrated Laboratory
Specialty-Focused Internship
Pharmaceutical management and marketing:
Technical Management in the Pharmaceutical Industry
Logistics and Processes in the Pharmaceutical Industry
Pharmaceutical Marketing
Economic and Financial Analysis of the Pharmaceutical Industry
Specialty-Focused Internship
Pharmaceutical support services:
Management and Organization of Community Pharmacy Services
Pharmaceutical Care for Chronic Diseases
Quality and Safety in the Use of Medicines
Evidence-Based Clinical Pharmacy

Teaching:

The program includes more than 1,200 hours of laboratory work.
The methodology emphasizes personalized attention and training spaces with small groups of students through seminars.
The program provides value through optimal preparation so students are ready for professional work.

Faculty:

The program is taught by a team of experienced faculty members from IQS and Blanquerna.
The faculty members have expertise in various areas of pharmacy, including pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacology, pharmacognosy, and pharmaceutical technology.

Careers:

Pharmacists can choose from more than 50 different career opportunities in Spain.
Potential career paths include:
Healthcare (Community Pharmacy, Hospital Pharmacy, or Primary Care)
Industry (Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Cosmetics, or Food)
Service companies (CROs)
Health administration (Public Health)
Clinical analysis
Teaching
Research and innovation (R&D&i)

Other:

The program includes 6 months of compulsory internships in a Community Pharmacy and/or Hospital Pharmacy and 3 months in the Pharmaceutical Industry or similar, related to the different specialization tracks.
Students work in laboratories and workshops equipped with the latest technologies.
The program includes more than 1,000 hours of laboratory work starting in the very first year.
The curriculum establishes the completion of external internships worth 36 ECTS from the 4th year.
A high percentage of graduates find work thanks to their internships.
The supervised practicums are divided into two subjects: Supervised Practicum-I (12 ECTS) and Supervised Practicum-II (12 ECTS).
The objective of these practicums is for students to acquire the necessary training to carry out the specific activities of their profession in the field of pharmacy care.
These practicums can be carried out in a community pharmacy open to the public and/or in a hospital under the supervision of the pharmacy service.
The joint oversight committee, formed by representatives from IQS and Blanquerna, the Department of Health, and the Board of the Association of Pharmacists of Catalonia, has prepared the document that establishes the organizational model as well as the teaching guide for the supervised practicums of the Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy.