MAFARPRA Advanced Pre-Registration Training Course description

Through practical training at a pharmacy, the students will gradually develop a basis for mastering the professional role of a pharmacist with a master’s degree ( provisorfarmasøyt). The period of practical training will allow the students to practise applying their knowledge and to acquire skills that can only be learnt through practice. They should be able to contribute to promoting health and quality of life for individuals and society by actively using their expertise on pharmaceuticals at an advanced level. Considerable emphasis is placed on communication in connection with focus on solving drug related problems, medication reviews and cooperation with other health personnel. Special attention will be devoted to communication with vulnerable patient groups and challenges relating to intercultural communication. The students will reflect on their own progress and future role as a pharmacist.

The student must have been admitted to the study programme.

After completing the course, the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge 

The student

• can discuss the role and importance of pharmacists in cooperation with other health service professions
• can describe and discuss various aspects of managing a pharmacy and being a pharmacist
• can critically assess the effects, side effects and use of pharmaceuticals in the prevention and treatment of physical and mental illnesses
• can critically assess problems relating to drug administration, clinical pharmacy and other pharmaceutical services
• can explain digital solutions in the health service and related legal challenges
• can discuss the development of the pharmacy profession from a sustainability perspective

Skills 

The student 

• can analyse, adapt and give advice on advanced pharmaceutical therapy and drug administration in cooperation with other health personnel, next of kin and patients
• can cooperate and communicate with a high degree of independence with people from different backgrounds and cultures
• can use their professional knowledge at an advanced level to identify and manage issues relating to pharmaceuticals, guide and facilitate user participation when dispensing prescription medicines and selling medical and other pharmacy products as a contribution to maintaining patient safety
• can critically assess the quality assurance system in pharmacies
• can carry out structured medication reviews in cooperation with other health personnel in the health service
• masters independent and responsible professional practice in accordance with acts, regulations, professional ethical guidelines and industry standards

General competence

The student 

• can communicate their pharmaceutical knowledge with professional confidence, both in writing and verbally, to relevant groups, and can document the healthcare provided
• can use their professional knowledge in cooperation with other health personnel, the authorities and general public to contribute to ensuring optimal pharmaceutical treatment and equitable pharmaceutical services
• can analyse and reflect on ethical issues in pharmaceutical practice, show respect for users of pharmaceutical services and provide guidance that safeguards the integrity and rights of users
• can critically reflect on their own limitations and be conscious of their own work and profession, and the pharmacist’s role in the pharmacy, society and in cooperation with other health personnel
• can use observations and experience from pharmacies as a basis for developing their own leadership role

The course comprises two months’ supervised practical training at a pharmacy. The work and teaching methods also comprise lectures and seminars where students work on assignments. Digital learning resources will be actively used in the course.

Discussion between the programme lecturers, practical training supervisors and students is facilitated via digital tools. Students will be closely followed up by a supervisor at the pharmacy and have regular supervisory sessions.

During the period of practical training, the students will work individually on written assignments relating to the training.

The following must have been approved in order for the student to pass Part 1 Practical training:

• Written assignments related to the practical training, as set out in the practical training compendium

The written assignments are assessed by the practical training supervisor or lecturer from the programme. The students have up to two attempts to have the assignment approved during the practical training period. If a written assignment is not approved, it must be revised and re-submitted. A student who receives the assessment "not approved" on the first attempt will receive individual feedback and advice om what needs improvement to meet the requirements. If the second attempt at a written assignment is also not approved, practical training will be registered as "failed". This counts as one (1) attempt to pass practical training.

Note that there is an attendance requirement (90%) for practical training. For more information about the attendance requirement for practical training, see ‘Assessment of practical training’ in the main section of the programme description.

The aim of this course is to provide an understanding of the historical and contemporary context in which social work has been developed and is practised. The course will critically consider the Western, power-based knowledge and theoretical perspectives that inform and are reinforced in social work, and the influence this has globally. This will be considered through focus on decolonial history, intersectional perspectives and globalisation processes.

The course will also focus on how social work has been developed within specific contexts of practice. We will demonstrate how theory is connected to practice within social work. We use a case-based approach in which we explore social work, as practised in Norway and other countries, to demonstrate the importance of contextualisation as a framework for understanding social work theories and practice. Through an investigation of cases, we will also explore the ways in which practice reaffirms certain theories as ‘normal’ and ‘natural’.

Language of instruction is English.

The student must have passed all exams in the first and second year of the programme.

After completing the course, the student should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student has knowledge of

• the ways in which perspectives in social work are shaped within specific social and normative contexts and how the field of social work also shapes our understandings of the contexts within which we practice

• the history and development of social work and its influence on contemporary understandings of social work globally
• hegemonic knowledge production in social work, contemporary social problems, social inequalities and systems of oppression for social work in an international context

Skills 

The student can

• identify different perspectives and apply knowledge about how these perspectives are shaped within specific contexts

• critically reflect on how specific conceptualisations shape social work understandings, how context-based and power-based perspectives shape social work practice and how social work practices reinforce these perspectives
• understand how context is key to understanding how social work practice and services are developed and delivered, with reference to values, ethics and anti-oppressive practice

General competence

The student can

• identify and communicate knowledge concerning different, global perspectives on key issues taken up in the field of social work
• exchange knowledge about how dominant norms within social work function to set the premises for models applied and for the meaning this has at the social and individual levels

The teaching takes place with in-person attendance on campus. The course is based on lectures, class exercises, homework assignments and assigned literature. Students are expected to read the course literature and to actively participate in the course meetings, with an emphasis on dialogue.

If no students from abroad are registered for the course, teaching and discussions will alternate between Norwegian and English, as appropriate.

The following coursework requirement must have been approved in order for the student to take the exam:

• Coursework 1. Describe a theme and research question within the area of global perspectives on social work. The research question must be justified. List recommended sources that may be relevant for further work on the research question. This work requirement is the starting point for the individual written submission assignment which is the final exam for the course (see the course plan). Length: up to one page.

The goal of the assignment is to increase knowledge about social work from a global perspective and to apply theory/analytical perspectives to address a self-selected research question.

The coursework requirement must be completed and approved by the given deadline in order for the student to take the exam. If the coursework requirement is not approved, the student will be given the opportunity to resubmit an improved version one more time within the specified deadline.