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M.Sc. in Hospital Pharmacy

Duration: Two years, part-time hybrid course
Closing Date: 30th June 2025, for admission in the following January (biennial intake)
Application:Applications for this course should be made online through this link. Two references are required, only one of these should be academic.
Course Code: DPTPH-HPHA-1P01
Course-Director: Adj.Assoc.Prof. Niamh McMahon
Email: nmcmahon@tcd.ie
Graduate Studies Homepage: Graduate Studies Office

Winner of the 2019 GradIreland Postgraduate Course of the Year Award in the Health Sciences Division, the M.Sc. in Hospital Pharmacy embraces an innovative flexible blended teaching style, with interactive, online learning materials. It is the only broad-based hospital pharmacy course in Ireland, covering both clinical and non-clinical aspects of hospital pharmacy practice. Of note, the School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences is ranked 28th in the 2023 global QS Subject Rankings.

Key features of the course include the following:

Provides students with vital core skills and expert knowledge necessary to prepare for the role of an advanced specialist pharmacist.
The course has been developed by healthcare professionals and academics to reflect the most up to date clinical and hospital practice-related information.
Delivered via a hybrid model (mixture of face-to-face study days, online live webinars and pre-recorded lectures), this provides flexibility for learners, who are also practising hospital pharmacists.
The blended learning approach uses Blackboard 9.1, Trinity College’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), and participants can work through course materials/directed reading in their own time. Students also have access to TCD’s extensive library.
Seven face-to-face taught study days during the academic year, are held on campus or in participating hospital education centres, and are delivered by experienced academics, advanced/specialist pharmacists, hospital pharmacy managers and other members of the healthcare team, including medical consultants and registrars, and Advanced Nurse Practitioners.
Students gain the expert knowledge and skills necessary to undertake all aspects of hospital pharmacy including clinical pharmacy, dispensary and drug distribution, administration and management, aseptic compounding, pharmacoeconomics and medicines information, opening up multiple opportunities to take on a variety of advanced practice and leadership roles upon graduation.
Intensive practical experience will be gained by each student during his or her hospital attachment, with the opportunity to gain advanced clinical decision-making skills, under the expert guidance of an assigned tutor(s), who will provide constructive, tailored, developmental feedback.
Students work on real life patient cases, developing a person-centred approach to medicines optimisation, and ensuring improved patient outcomes in relation to medicines use.
Multi-functional graduates of our M.Sc. programme have excellent career opportunities to fill specialist and leadership roles across a wide range of both clinical and non-clinical areas in hospital practice.
Opportunity for students to develop valuable networks with pharmacists from other Irish hospitals.

Admission requirements

Eligible candidates will normally hold a first or second class (Grade 1) honours degree (or equivalent) in Pharmacy. In exceptional circumstances the Course Committee may consider applications from candidates who do not meet the grade requirement. Such candidates should contact the Course Director at nmcmahon@tcd.ie prior to submitting an application.
Candidates must be registered (or eligible to be registered) with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland before the January 2026 course start date (see http://www.thepsi.ie/gns/home.aspx).
Candidates must have minimum 8 months hospital pharmacy practice experience.
Interviews will be held for training places in the following course approved hospitals: Beaumont Hospital, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, St. James's Hospital, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Tallaght University Hospital and Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore. The successful applicants will be based in full-time employment in one of the participating hospitals for the two-year duration of the course.

Course structure & content

The course is delivered via a hybrid model, with a mixture of face-to-face and online learning. Students have access to Trinity's online virtual learning environment (Blackboard 9.1).

The M.Sc. is divided into 9 modules:

Module Name	Description
PH7301 - Practice of Hospital Pharmacy	A broad based module,covering advanced clinical skills, professional and problem-solving skills, risk management, medicines information, and dispensary management & procurement.
PH7302, PH730 - Medical therapeutics I & II	The role of the advanced specialist pharmacist in medicines management and optimisation of the acute and chronic stages of various disease states. These modules cover the the following major therapeutic areas: cardiology, respiratory, antimicrobial stewardship & resistance, endocrinology, gastroenterology and rheumatology,and are underpinned by the practice-based hospital rotations.
PH7310 - Surgical therapeutics	The role of the pharmacist in the management of pharmaceutical care issues relevant to the surgical patient e.g. fluid balance & electrolytes, peri-operative medicines use, post-operative analgesia etc..
PH7305 - Aseptics & Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).	To provide students with a fundamental understanding of aseptic processing in hospital pharmacy. GMP and principle of clean room technology, quality assurance and quality control in the aseptic services unit, risk management and health & safety will be covered.
PH7306 & PH7307 - Medical Specialities Part I & II	Deal with specialist areas e.g. renal, intensive care, neurology, haematology/oncology, psychiatry, paediatrics etc. The importance of immunology & the emerging role of new and sophisticated biotechnology products are covered here.
PH7308 - Health Services Management	General management issues e.g. leadership, organisational and communication skills, negotiating skills, conflict management and teamwork are covered here. Quality and risk management, national trends and policies in relation to healthcare, and legal and ethical considerations will also be covered. Various guest lecturers contribute to this module. There is a dedicated series of lectures/workshop delivered by the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics.
PH7000 - Research Module	This module covers research study design and methodologies, and incorporates a practical statistics programme, with an emphasis on hospital pharmacy research and data analysis.

All modules are compulsory.
This course is delivered by Adj.Assoc.Prof. Niamh McMahon with the support and assistance of Module Coordinator, Ms. Ruth McHugh, and the following lead tutors:

Martin Ferguson, B.Sc.(Pharm), M.Sc., MPSI, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9
Emma Baker, B Pharm(Hons), MA, MPSI, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9
Claire Keane, B.Sc. (Pharm), M.Sc., MPSI, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin 4
Michelle Griffin, B.Sc. (Pharm), M.Sc., MPSI, Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15
Fionnuala Kennedy, B.Sc. (Pharm), M.Sc., MA, MPSI, Mater Private Hospital, Dublin 1
Danielle Neale, B.Sc. (Pharm), M.Pharm, M.Sc, MPSI, Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore, Co. Offaly
Paul Gilvarry, MPharm, PgDip, MPSI, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8
Christine Mc Auliffe, MPharm, M.Sc., PgDip, MPSI, Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin 24
Jane Fogarty B.Sc. (Pharm), M.Sc., MPSI, Naas General Hospital, Naas, Co. Kildare
Ciara McManamley, B.Sc. Pharm, M.Sc., MPSI, UPMC Group, Clane, Co.Kildare

Assessment

Assessment of the course includes continuous assessment, practice-based coursework, written assignments, oral presentations, and either a written dissertation (max. 20,000 words in length) or completion of a research project and production of a paper for submission to a target journal, in either a clinical or non-clinical area, with both academic and hospital based tutor support.
Previous research projects of the M.Sc. in Hospital Pharmacy (PDF)

Students also undergo a competency based training programme to assure competence in delivery of patient care, problem solving and personal competencies. This also helps students to develop the necessary skills for lifelong Continuous Professional Development, a requirement for continued registration with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, which is managed by the Irish Institute of Pharmacy. (IIoP). Student coursework and associated reflections can be used as evidence towards building the individual’s IIoP pharmacist eportfolio.

For the award of the M.Sc., candidates must satisfy the examiners in both the taught and research components of the course. Students may be called to attend a Viva-Voce examination, conducted by an External Examiner.