An overview of the pharmacy specialty

Pharmacy is generally defined as a technology, or the science of manufacturing and preparing new medicines, and making appropriate modifications to old medicines. As for the pharmacy specialty, it is a medical and health specialty. Its function is to link health with pharmacology. It also aims to ensure, provide, and secure the safe, healthy, appropriate, and effective use of medicines.

The appropriate definition of pharmacy: Pharmacy means providing the necessary treatment, medications, and medical assistance to patients, as the field of pharmacy also includes the management of pharmacies, clinics, medical institutions, and hospitals.

Number of years of study in pharmacy

In general, and in most countries, the pharmacy major includes 165 academic hours and takes 5 years to study. In some countries, the study phase for the pharmacy major lasts 6 years, 5 years of study and the final year is practical.

These years are distributed as follows:

3 years of study.

Two preparatory years. It includes a year called “Prepharma” in which an additional specialization subject is taught and students must pass it. This year is also dedicated to learning the basic terms related to pharmacy to prepare male and female students for their specialization. That's why it's called the preparatory year.
Internship year: This is the year that includes training for graduate pharmacists in order to enable them to enter the labor market.

In general, the study phase for the pharmacy major includes the following:

Medical terms related to pharmacology.

Prescribing medications.
Providing medical prescriptions to patients.
Educate patients, and continue to communicate with them.
Maintaining patient records and files, and following up on their cases.
This is in addition to the logistical, administrative, and financial operations that occur within medical institutions as well.

A graduate of the College of Pharmacy obtains a pharmacist’s certificate

Areas of work in pharmacy

Retail Pharmacy: The work of pharmacists in a retail pharmacy includes many tasks, such as checking, dispensing, and delivering medications to patients, as well as providing advice to patients, giving injections, and supervising the treatment process for people with chronic diseases such as diabetes.
Independent Pharmacy: Includes the same duties as before, in addition to supervising financial matters and pharmacists.
Hospital Pharmacy.
Clinic pharmacy.
Medical representative: His job includes promoting some medical products, diagnosing people's medical conditions, and writing treatments for them.
In addition to the following functions:

Working in the pharmaceutical industry; That is, in factories.
Working in mental and psychological health institutions and rehabilitation centers, where the pharmacist can supervise patients’ cases, follow up on their cases, and provide advice to them.

Pharmacists can work in many fields and places such as hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and the Ministry of Health, in addition to pharmaceutical manufacturing companies, nursing centers, psychological and mental centers, in addition to the possibility of working for regulatory and legal authorities. The pharmacist can also specialize in many different medical fields, such as oncology, epidemiology, infection control, nutrition, critical cases... and many other different fields.

At present, there are no postgraduate studies at the College of Pharmacy, University of Kirkuk, because it is a new college

The College of Pharmacy at Kirkuk University is considered a government college