UK student wants to do pre reg year in Ireland

[little one]

Hi,
I am currently entering the 4th year of my MPharm degree in the UK. I am originally from Ireland and would love to move back home. I am wondering if anybody can help me. Is it possible to do my pre reg year in Ireland, either community or hospital? (Although I would prefer hospital). Has anybody else encountered a situation like this before? Or does anybody know where I can find this information?
Will I have to complete my pre reg year in the UK and take the exam to become registered in Ireland? Will I still need to sit my exam in the UK before I move over?
I have my heart set on coming back home. I know I can make it work despite the poor economic conditions.
Any advice is useful.
Many thanks.

[Pharmanaut]

Hi,
I am currently entering the 4th year of my MPharm degree in the UK. I am originally from Ireland and would love to move back home. I am wondering if anybody can help me. Is it possible to do my pre reg year in Ireland, either community or hospital? (Although I would prefer hospital). Has anybody else encountered a situation like this before? Or does anybody know where I can find this information?
Will I have to complete my pre reg year in the UK and take the exam to become registered in Ireland? Will I still need to sit my exam in the UK before I move over?
I have my heart set on coming back home. I know I can make it work despite the poor economic conditions.
Any advice is useful.
Many thanks.

As far as I know the EU regulations apply - freedom of movement etc.

You'll need to ask the GPhC for the full details.

[hibernia]

As far as I know the EU regulations apply - freedom of movement etc.

You'll need to ask the GPhC for the full details.

As far as I know free movement only applies to QUALIFIED pharmacists.

We don't actually have pre-reg as such any more in the Republic of Ireland. Our students do a B.Pharm or B.Sc(Pharm) then become 'interns' in a taught M.Pharm programme which involves studying for a masters degree while working a full 40 hour week. Tough going by all accounts. Then they sit the Professional Registration Exam which if passed gives them the M.Pharm and the right to register with the Pharamceutical Society of Ireland (PSI, our equivalent of the GPhC) and practice.
I'll try to find out next week if it would be possible for you to enter this programme but I'm pretty sure you can't.

If you do your pre-reg in the UK and register there you can move to Ireland and register here right away. I should warn you that we have an embargo on employment in our health service and NO newly qualified pharmacists were employed in any Irish hospitals this year and all those who did their internship in hospital have emigrated to the UK or moved into community. This is likely to be the case for the next 3-4 years while we are ruled by the ECB/IMF.

While community practice in Ireland is comparable to that of the UK, except we don't have pharmacist prescribers, hospital pharmacy here would still be far behind that in the UK in terms of clinical involvement so do your homework and think carefully before making any moves.

[little one]

Thanks, its great to get some advice I will look into the role of a hospital pharmacist in Ireland, and maybe try to get some work experience/shaddow a hospital pharmacist.
Please let me know if you find out anything about entering the Irish system. I really, really appreciate it! Could I contact the PSI to find out if I could enter the Irish system?
I thought the free movement only applied to qualified pharmacists too, do you know where I could check this?
Is the Professional Registration Exam at the end of the Irish "pre-reg" the same/similar to the exam I would have to take to become registered as a pharmacist in Ireland?

Thanks again

[hibernia]

Could I contact the PSI to find out if I could enter the Irish system?
I thought the free movement only applied to qualified pharmacists too, do you know where I could check this?

You can certainly contact the PSI. Their website is PSI pharmacy regulator Home Page and has the contact details and they should know about free movement. From a look at the information on there it does appear as if you will have to qualify in the UK before you can apply to join the register in Ireland. The M.Pharm internship programme only accepts applicants from graduates of the three schools of pharmacy in ROI. With the number of graduates we have now it has become harder to get tutors for them all, especially as tutors here don't get ANY payment.

Is the Professional Registration Exam at the end of the Irish "pre-reg" the same/similar to the exam I would have to take to become registered as a pharmacist in Ireland?

The Professional Registration Exam is taken by Irish graduates and by pharmacists who qualified outside the EU but if you complete your pre-reg in the UK and qualify there you won't have any other exams to pass. You just need a certificate from the GPhC.

Hope this helps and good luck.