Ospap 2009

[ramgopal chowdary]

hi can u provide me information regarding ospap?
is it possible to apply for ospap after completing b.pharm in india and having an ielts of 7 in each?

[paul2008]

There is an information pack on the RPSGB website, if you need more information, email them. Look at The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. Otherwise you can read the threads on this forum, The only way you will know for sure is if you apply to do the conversion course, but if other people from your university have applied successfully, chances are you will be able to as well.

[ayo!preddy]

Hi all, I did MSc in Pharmaceutical sciences at Loughborough University last year and I am currently on PSW visa. I've been looking for jobs for the last 10 months and had no luck so far.

I have a pharmacy degree from India and I am thinking of applying for OSPAP. By reading some posts in this forum, I came to know that Community Pharmacy jobs are saturated and the fate of hospital pharmacists is uncertain. I am not sure if its worth risking £15000 more (i.e. fee+accommodation)

I think the biggest problem would be getting a work permit visa after pre-reg. I dont know how easy it is to find a job after completing the course. If pre-reg pays me over 20k, I think Ill be eligible for Tier-1 HSMP visa but they seem to pay around 16-18k only. If they increase the pay I might have a narrow chance.

I am getting mixed reactions from the people I've enquired so far...any help from you all is welcome....

regards,
preddy

[paul2008]

Hi all, I did MSc in Pharmaceutical sciences at Loughborough University last year and I am currently on PSW visa. I've been looking for jobs for the last 10 months and had no luck so far.

I have a pharmacy degree from India and I am thinking of applying for OSPAP. By reading some posts in this forum, I came to know that Community Pharmacy jobs are saturated and the fate of hospital pharmacists is uncertain. I am not sure if its worth risking £15000 more (i.e. fee+accommodation)

I think the biggest problem would be getting a work permit visa after pre-reg. I dont know how easy it is to find a job after completing the course. If pre-reg pays me over 20k, I think Ill be eligible for Tier-1 HSMP visa but they seem to pay around 16-18k only. If they increase the pay I might have a narrow chance.

I am getting mixed reactions from the people I've enquired so far...any help from you all is welcome....

regards,
preddy

Hospital pre-reg salaries are around £20,000 currently but there is quite a bit of competition for places and I'm not sure wqhat the current work permit rules are. After pre-reg you are unlikely to get a work permit in the community so chances are you will have to work in hospital where the salary only reaches £30,000 after 3 years depending on promotion, pay freezes etc.

It won't be easy but would be good experience which you could take back to India and use to help start up a clinical pharmacy service in a hospital there. If you are looking at it purely as an investment or a way to stay in the UK, you may be disappointed but as a learning experiance registration here is worth it.

Good luck,

Paul

[ayo!preddy]

Hospital pre-reg salaries are around £20,000 currently but there is quite a bit of competition for places and I'm not sure wqhat the current work permit rules are. After pre-reg you are unlikely to get a work permit in the community so chances are you will have to work in hospital where the salary only reaches £30,000 after 3 years depending on promotion, pay freezes etc.

It won't be easy but would be good experience which you could take back to India and use to help start up a clinical pharmacy service in a hospital there. If you are looking at it purely as an investment or a way to stay in the UK, you may be disappointed but as a learning experiance registration here is worth it.

Good luck,

Paul

Thank you for such a quick reply Paul. I have few more questions to ask.

1.Will the student visa cover the entire course+pre-reg or do I have to apply another visa for pre-reg? If I need to apply for a new visa for pre-reg what are the odds of getting it? Will my pre-reg employer sponser my visa or do I need to apply it on my own?

2. If my pre-reg is in Community pharmacy and If I wish to work for Hospital Pharmacy (or vice versa) after pre-reg or may be in future; would that be possible?

3. How long will I have left in my student visa, once my pre-reg is completed? If its around 6 months then I might have good chances of finding a job.

4. If I apply for OSPAP in Feb, would I have good chances of securing a Hospital Pharmacy pre-reg seat?

I really appreciate you for being such an active member and for helping many people like me...CHEERS!

[johnep]

Unfortunately, the govnmt does not know what a pre reg is. They say it is paid employment and will NOT issue a visa for community as now judged to be no shortage of pharmacists. Hospital is still open, but enormous competition for places.
Between what we would call a rock and a hard place.
johnep

[paul2008]

1.Will the student visa cover the entire course+pre-reg or do I have to apply another visa for pre-reg? If I need to apply for a new visa for pre-reg what are the odds of getting it? Will my pre-reg employer sponser my visa or do I need to apply it on my own?

Student visas cover the course but not the prereg and limits you to a maximum of 20 hours work per week. have a look at other posts to find a link to the UKBIA and more details. This question has been answered lots of times.

2. If my pre-reg is in Community pharmacy and If I wish to work for Hospital Pharmacy (or vice versa) after pre-reg or may be in future; would that be possible?

Much easier to go from hospital to community but is possible to go either way depending on job availability and I guess work permits.

3. How long will I have left in my student visa, once my pre-reg is completed? If its around 6 months then I might have good chances of finding a job.

Not really practical to work on a student visa, unless you want to stack shelves in supermarkets on the weekends for minimum wage or something like that.

4. If I apply for OSPAP in Feb, would I have good chances of securing a Hospital Pharmacy pre-reg seat?

Hospital pre-reg places are advertised from March to August, search the threads on this forum for details, if you look at the OSPAP threads you will also see peoples work permit experiances

[ecooo]

back to the main question plzz do u know any thing about the OSPAP interview ??? i need urgently to know ?? please HELP!!

[johnep]

They ask you questions, you answer them.
johnep