In the first year of study Biology, Chemistry, Biomedical Mathematics, and half courses in Human Behavioural Sciences and Physics, are taken. Graduates are required to serve a traineeship of one year before being registered with the South African Pharmacy Council as qualified pharmacists. Students also need to complete a first-aid course. The first two years of study provide a firm scientific foundation on which the specialised study of the subsequent years is based. Clinical studies begin in the third year at the Oral and Dental Teaching Hospital.
Practical experience is gained by doing clinical work under supervision.
Students also need to complete a first-aid course. In the first year students have the same subject choices as for MB BCh I above, in addition to the course Introduction to Physiotherapy. The emphasis of the first two years of study is on theory and is designed to give students a firm scientific base for their studies. This includes dissection of the human body in order to obtain a thorough knowledge of the structure of the body. In the third and fourth years of study more clinical and practical work is done, including ward rounds and clinical demonstrations and discussions.