Pharmacy students face an uncertain future as a result of dispute
The HSE is considering cutting the funding of two major schemes provided by pharmacies, resulting in a dramatic decrease in day-to-day cashflow from which they pay staff, supply extra services not paid for by the HSE and cover costs.
As a pharmacy student, I feel the changes the HSE has proposed will compromise my education and prospects. The proposed changes will result in less community pharmacies taking on pre-registration students due to the unsteady financial situation this puts them in. Currently the vast majority of placements are funded by community pharmacists from their income and the few in hospitals are funded by the HSE, although some of these have now been withdrawn.
As a result of the dispute, community pharmacists are unable to commit to the cost of training a pre-registration student, hence our predicament. The pre-registration year is an obligatory part of the course, which must be completed before registering with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland and entering the pharmacy workforce.
If we cannot find a placement, we cannot register and become a productive, taxpaying member of society.
The uncertainty is causing a lot of turmoil in our college life. Many students feel the extra stress and are considering changing their career path to a more stable alternative. This has the potential to disrupt the future supply of home-trained pharmacists.
Also final-year students are experiencing extra strain on top of their exams, searching for placements in pharmacies for their pre-registration year. Many community pharmacies are currently unwilling to commit to taking on a pre-registration student as it is an extra cost to them and the financial future of the profession is uncertain. Many final year students are considering doing this training year for no pay in order to secure a place, but are worried over the financial implications for themselves and their families, especially in cases where they have been dependent on government grants for the last four years of education.
The State has invested in the education of its future pharmacists, as have we students and our families. I urge readers to write to their TDs and the health minister and urge them to consider the critical impact of the withdrawal of services from community pharmacies and to encourage all parties concerned to remember the students and our legitimate expectation to complete our five-year programme of education.
Diarmaid Semple
Vice-President
Dublin University Pharmaceutical Students
Association (DUPSA
TCD School of Pharmacy
Trinity College
Dublin 2
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
