Pharmacy

Programme Fact File

Study direction:
Health Care

Second level study programme
accredited until 08.05.2023.

Degree conferred:
Pharmacist's degree

Language: English

Credit points/ECTS: 200/300

Study location: Rīga

5 years

M T W Th F
8:00–18:00

Places:
10 paid

Table of Tuition Fees

The study programme aims to provide students with comprehensive knowledge of medicine and human health, preparing qualified and considerate professionals with a can-do attitude towards their work. After graduation of the study programme Pharmacy the students will have acquired skills and knowledge about:

types of drugs, drug manufacturing, analysis and determination methods
effects, metabolism, side effects, rational and safe use of drugs
research of drugs, preparation principles and methods in pharmacies and drug manufacturing companies, turnover of medicinal products
pharmaceutical care, the connection between pharmacy and other fields of healthcare, teamwork with other health care specialists
planning and implementation of scientific research in the field of pharmacy.

Study environment and methods

Study environment

1st study year: Cytology and genetics provide basic anatomic knowledge on the structure and form of cells and living organisms. Plant and animal biology is taught to recognise and classify plants and to highlight the importance of plant and animal products in medicine. The inorganic and organic chemistry classes as well as qualitative analysis are devoted to laboratory work where students acquire knowledge on the basic principles of chemistry and chemical processes, study the chemical structure and related properties of drug substances and acquire knowledge on the production of drug substances, methods for analysing and determining drug efficacy. Students pay visits to local pharmaceutical plants, the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis and during placement undertake various tasks in a pharmacy, gaining their first experience of working in a pharmacy.
2nd study year: In the second study year pharmacy students acquire physiology - the functions and processes of a living organism, pharmacognosy – the study of medical plants and biologically active substances; and microbiology – the study of microorganisms and illnesses caused by them.
3rd study year: The third study year is devoted to pharmaceutical subjects where students acquire knowledge on the efficiency, side effects, rational and safe use of drugs. Students also acquire the skills for preparing medications in a pharmacy.
4th study year: Students acquire such study subjects as: practical pharmacy, legal aspects of pharmaceutics which deal with the principles of pharmaceutical care and practical organisation of drug turnover in pharmacies and drug production companies; in social pharmacy and pharmaceutical care classes students acquire necessary skills for consulting a patient and study industrial drug production.
5th study year: The knowledge, skills and competences acquired in the previous study years are put into practice during six months of placement and writing a thesis. Upon successful presentation and defence of the thesis and passing of the state examinations, the student is awarded the degree of a Pharmacist.

Study methods

lectures
seminars
practical classses
laboratory work

During studies at the Faculty of Pharmacy students have to carry out a large amount of laboratory work in groups and individually. Chemistry courses are devoted to synthesis analysis. In plant and animal biology, cytology, genetics and microbiology courses students use microscopes. When studying the technologies of drug preparation, students have to prepare drugs of various forms – capsules, pills, creams, ointments, and solutions. The study course Social pharmacy and legal aspects of pharmaceutics emulates real-life situations in pharmacy. The acquired skills in consulting clients are tested by the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE).

Syllabus

Course code	Study course title	Offered by	Course leader	Credit points/ETCS
ZFTK_002	Biology of Plants and Animals	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Ludmila Baranova	4 / 6
SL_006	Biostatistics	Statistical Unit	Vinita Cauce	2 / 3
FKK_005	Chemistry and Cosmetic	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Inese Mārtiņsone	2 / 3
AURK_041	Civil Defense in Catastrophie Medicine and First Aid	Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care	Viesturs Liguts	3 / 4.5
ISK_026	Clinical Oncology	Department of Internal Diseases	Dace Baltiņa	2 / 3
FKK_018	Clinical Pharmacy	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Dace Bandere	2 / 3
ZFTK_036	Clinical Research	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Elita Poplavska	2 / 3
ZFTK_048	Clinical Research	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Elita Poplavska	3 / 4.5
HZK_008	Communication Psychology	Department of Humanities	Vija Sīle	2 / 0
BUMK_003	Cytology and Genetics	Department of Biology and Microbiology	Agnese Zariņa	2 / 3
ZFTK_045	Dermocosmetics in Pharmacy	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Ludmila Baranova	2 / 3
FF_016	Dosage Form Technology and Practical Pharmacy	Faculty of Pharmacy		1 / 1.5
FKK_028	Drug Development	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Reinis Vilšķērsts	2 / 3
AUVMK_003	Environmental Health	Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine	Maija Eglīte	2 / 3
AUVMK_037	Environmental Health and Environmental Defence	Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine	Maija Eglīte	2 / 3
ZFTK_041	Food Supplements in Pharmacy	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Viktorija Joņina	2 / 3
ISK_045	Gerontopharmotherapy	Department of Internal Diseases	Jānis Zaļkalns	2 / 3
SVUEK_114	Health Promotion in Pharmaceutical Care	Department of Public Health and Epidemiology	Anda Ķīvīte-Urtāne	2 / 3
ZFTK_009	History of Pharmaceutical Education in Latvia	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Baiba Mauriņa	2 / 3
ZFTK_003	History of Pharmacy	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Baiba Mauriņa	2 / 0
ZFTK_010	History of Pharmacy in Latvia	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Baiba Mauriņa	2 / 3
ZFTK_018	Hospital Pharmacy	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Inese Sviestiņa	2 / 3
MK_052	Human Anatomy	Department of Morphology	Dzintra Kažoka	3 / 4.5
ZFTK_014	Industrial Dosage Form Technologies	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Ilze Bārene	9 / 13.5
FKK_007	Inorganic Chemistry	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Aija Gulbe	5 / 7.5
FKK_029	Integrated Pharmacy	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Inga Urtāne	2 / 3
ZFTK_042	Introduction in Registration of Medicine	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Ilze Bārene	2 / 3
ZFTK_005	Introduction to History of Pharmacy	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Venta Šidlovska	2 / 3
ZFTK_032	Introduction to Pharmaceutical Care	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Elita Poplavska	2 / 3
ZFTK_038	Introduction to Pharmacy	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Baiba Mauriņa	1 / 0
PMUPK_020	Introduction to Psychosomatics	Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy	Gunta Ancāne	2 / 3
FK_006	Mathematics and Informatics	Department of Physics	Zenta Avota	2 / 3
CFUBK_047	Medical biochemistry	Department of Human Physiology and Biochemistry	Ināra Nokalna	5 / 7.5
ZFTK_023	Medical Care Commodity Sciences	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Venta Šidlovska	2 / 3
FKK_006	Medical Chemistry	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Reinis Vilšķērsts	2 / 3
FKK_016	Methods of Instrumental Analysis	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Pāvels Sudmalis	2 / 3
BUMK_049	Microbiology	Department of Biology and Microbiology	Ingus Skadiņš	4 / 6
FF_023	National Degree Examination	Faculty of Pharmacy		0 / 0
CFUBK_049	Normal physiology	Department of Human Physiology and Biochemistry	Leons Blumfelds	5 / 7.5
FKK_031	Organic chemistry	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Māra Plotniece	9 / 13.5
FKK_008	Organic Chemistry	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Māra Plotniece	8 / 12
PAK_021	Pathology	Department of Pathology	Andrejs Ancāns	4 / 0
ZFTK_011	Perspective Dosage Forms	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Ilze Bārene	2 / 3
FF_022	Pharmaceutical Care	Faculty of Pharmacy	Baiba Mauriņa	1 / 1.5
FKK_002	Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Dace Bandere	11 / 16.5
FF_015	Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Pharmacognosy	Faculty of Pharmacy		1 / 1.5
ZFTK_049	Pharmaceutical Information	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Elita Poplavska	2 / 3
ZFTK_027	Pharmaceutical Information	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Elita Poplavska	3 / 4.5
FKK_033	Pharmaceutical Pharmacology	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Inga Urtāne	5 / 7.5
VC_033	Pharmaceutical Terminology in the English Language	Language Centre	Olga Voika	7 / 10.5
VC_114	Pharmaceutical Terminology in the English Language	Language Centre	Olga Voika	4 / 6
FKK_001	Pharmacogenetic	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Renāte Ranka	2 / 3
ZFTK_046	Pharmacognosy with Phytotherapy Course	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Edita Romāne	7 / 10.5
FLK_024	Pharmacology	Department of Pharmacology	Līga Henke	3 / 4.5
FF_021	Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy	Faculty of Pharmacy	Baiba Mauriņa	1 / 1.5
FLK_003	Pharmacotherapy	Department of Pharmacology	Līga Henke	5 / 7.5
FKK_034	Pharmacotherapy in pharmacist practice	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Inga Urtāne	5 / 7.5
ZFTK_001	Pharmacy Dosage Form Technology	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Venta Šidlovska	8 / 12
VC_038	Pharmacy Terminology in Latin	Language Centre	Ieva Fībiga	2 / 3
VC_035	Pharmacy Terminology in Latvian	Language Centre	Inga Kaija	2 / 3
VC_036	Pharmacy Terminology in Russian	Language Centre	Ludmila Jermakoviča	2 / 3
HZK_012	Philosophical Anthropology	Department of Humanities	Vija Sīle	2 / 3
FKK_032	Physical Pharmacy	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Pāvels Sudmalis	3 / 4.5
FKK_013	Physical Pharmacy	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Pāvels Sudmalis	4 / 6
FK_029	Physics	Department of Physics	Zenta Avota	2 / 3
ZFTK_035	Placement	Department of Dosage Form Technology		1 / 1.5
ZFTK_030	Placement in Pharmacognosy	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Edita Romāne	1 / 1.5
FF_014	Placement in Propaedeutics	Faculty of Pharmacy	Dzintra Bernāte	1 / 1.5
ZFTK_012	Practical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Legislation	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Nora Krauja	5 / 7.5
SVUEK_036	Public Health and Epidemiology	Department of Public Health and Epidemiology	Lauma Spriņģe	2 / 3
FKK_020	Qualitative Analysis	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Pāvels Sudmalis	4 / 6
FKK_003	Quantitative Analysis	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Inga Urtāne	4 / 6
FF_008	Research Project	Faculty of Pharmacy		8 / 12
ZFTK_019	Social Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Care	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Elita Poplavska	3 / 4.5
ZFTK_050	Social Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Care	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Elita Poplavska	4 / 6
ZFTK_020	Specific Drug Dosage Forms	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Venta Šidlovska	2 / 3
SUUK_091	Sports for Health	Department of Sports and Nutrition	Indra Vīnberga	2 / 3
SUUK_135	Sports for Health 1	Department of Sports and Nutrition	Voldemārs Arnis	2 / 3
SUUK_136	Sports for Health 2	Department of Sports and Nutrition	Indra Vīnberga	2 / 3
ZFTK_013	Therapeutic Mineral Waters and Mud	Department of Dosage Form Technology	Venta Šidlovska	2 / 3
FKK_012	Toxicological Chemistry	Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry	Katrīna Sudmale	5 / 7.5

Description of the Pharmacy study programme

Description of the Health Care study direction

Admissions requirements

Study bases

Career opportunities following studies

The main work places for graduates are pharmacies, where pharmacists provide pharmaceutical care - counsel pharmacy customers, dispense prescription medications, prepare medication etc. Pharmacists also work in medical supermarkets and pharmaceutical manufacturing companies, medical products agencies, laboratories, scientific research institutions. Our graduates work in state institutions - Ministry of Health of the Republic of Latvia, State Agency of Medicines of the Republic of Latvia, Health Inspectorate, The National Health Service - in the public service at various levels, as specialists, inspectors.

Graduates

Graduating from Riga Stradiņš University has helped be grow both profesionally, as well as an individual personality. I am proud to say that I have graduated from this university. I can't deny that the road to knowledge has not been the easiest, and no wonder there is an expression Per aspera ad astra (heading through thorns to reach the stars). Having completed my undergraduate studies in the Pharmacy study programme I decided to continue in the RSU Master's study programme Clinical Pharmacy as I know that I won't be disappointed with the knowledge transmitted by the teaching staff and the work completed with them.
Lāsma Mukāne, pharmacist at "Saules aptieka" Pty. Ltd.