Layout 2 - University of Central Lancashire

Just the tonic
Double first for pioneering courses in dentistry and pharmacy.
The summer of 2011 represented a proud
moment for UCLan and all those connected with
the graduate entry year for the Bachelor of Dental
Surgery and Master of Pharmacy programmes.
The first students from both courses, located
within the School of Dentistry and the School of
Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, graduated
from the University. Many are now filling
desperately needed roles within the NHS
throughout the North West.
When it opened its doors in 2007, UCLan’s School
of Dentistry was one of only two new schools to
be created in England for over 100 years. It has
one of the most sophisticated ‘phantom head’
rooms in Europe where students learn their skills
on simulators before progressing to patients.
The first 30 dental graduates undertook a new
mode of dental education, in which they gained
their experience in local community Dental
Education Centres (DECs) rather than city centre
hospitals. The DECs, located in Accrington,
Blackpool, Carlisle and Morecambe Bay, were
established in areas of high need and poor
dental health where access to NHS dentistry was
limited, in part, owing to difficulties in attracting
qualified dentists to the area. Towards the end of
their first year, students began training at one of
the four DECs, which then became their base for
the next three years of clinical practice. Twenty
one of the 30 graduates have secured their
mandatory training places in the North West and
hope to remain in the region to enhance local
NHS dental services.
Barry Cockcroft, Chief Dental Officer from the
Department of Health, said: “The Government
has made a clear commitment to further improve
access to NHS dental services and to introduce a
new contract focusing on improving the oral
health of the population with a particular focus
on improving the oral health of children.
“With its innovative approach to dental course
delivery within a primary care setting, UCLan is
playing a major part in realising those objectives.”
Complementing the University’s dental stars were
over 30 students graduating from the Master of
Pharmacy degree, which was established four
years ago and has now been granted the full
General Pharmaceutical Council accreditation for
the maximum permitted five years.
The School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences
was commended for the course’s coherence,
with its excellent horizontal and vertical
integration and the quality of the undergraduate
student placements, as well as their distribution
across all years of the course.
To celebrate the first cohort’s graduation, the
School held a reception with guests of honour
including Ms Helen Gordon, Chief Executive
Officer of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
Ms Gordon commented: “Given the high calibre
of all the graduates, this is great news for health
services in the North West and further afield.
I have high expectations that these graduates will
be real assets to all sectors of pharmacy.”
Dean of School, Professor Tony D’Emanuele, said:
“Our new graduates have a major responsibility as
tomorrow’s leaders. The NHS is undergoing many
changes and there are significant opportunities to
develop the role of the pharmacist.
“These opportunities will only be realised if we
engage and demonstrate what we have to offer
as a profession. It is the membership that will
decide the direction of travel and we must lead
on these changes.”
Graduate Huda Ridha commented: “I give my
sincere gratitude to the School for such a unique
opportunity. I now hope to complete my
pre-registration training in hospital pharmacy and
gain experience in clinical pharmacy.”
Fellow graduate Yusuf Seedat added: “We
received a lot of support from our tutors and had
access to fantastic resources. I had tears in my
eyes at the graduation ceremony; it was a very
proud moment and the culmination of several
years hard work.”
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Pictured above: UCLan’s first cohort of students to complete the graduate entry Bachelor
of Dental Surgery programme marked the occasion at a special celebratory dinner.