Welcome to the programme where every minute is valuable

The demand for licensed pharmacists remains high and the future is bright for students at the Complementary Programme for Pharmacists with a Foreign Degree. A new report states that three years after completed education, eight out of ten participants have established themselves in the Swedish labor market. Of these, 93 percent work in a profession with a direct connection to the education.

“Our students have already completed an education and often also worked as pharmacists in foreign country. Many have also entered the Swedish labor market, but need a Swedish professional license to continue their career. With us, they translate their knowledge into a Swedish context, the throughput is high and the fact that basically all of our students have job offers before graduation is proof that we are are on the right track,” says Parvaneh Aghazari, National programme coordinator.

At the start of this semester, number 17 to be exact, yet another over-intake allowed the teachers to welcome as many as possible to Uppsala University and BMC. After an introductory language semester where participants strengthen their Swedish skills, a semester with focus on pharmaceutical sciences, drug therapies and communication follows, before the programme concludes with a semester of pharmacy internships.

“We have cherry-picked content from our First cycle programmes and tailored a course syllabus that gives each participant relevant and up-to-date knowledge for a career as a pharmacist in Sweden. Our students are incredibly motivated and deserve all success, and our dialogue with the Swedish pharmacy chains confirms that they are also very positive to the Complementary Programme as an effective path to a pharmacist license,” says Viktoria Lind, teacher at the Faculty of Pharmacy.

Course evaluations show that the appreciation is mutual: “An amazing year” with “committed teachers” who ensure that “every minute is valuable” are just a few examples of the participants’ praise. That the training delivers the goods is further confirmed by the fact that today, pharmacists trained outside the EU receive one in three new Swedish pharmacist licenses.

“I participated the very first year of the Complementary Programme and it met all expectations. Our teachers were experts, former students helped us and my internship provided invaluable knowledge. I will never regret my choice to start the training,” states an alumnus who is today an Associate Professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

Text: Magnus Alsne, photo: Mikael Wallerstedt