Why I Created an Organic Chemistry Course for Aspiring Pharmacy Students 🔬
- Zeenat Akmal
- Jul 20
- 4 min read
Bridging the Chemistry Gap in the Modern Pharmacy Degree
When I started tutoring pharmacy students over a year ago, I saw a pattern—one that kept repeating, no matter the university, the student’s background, or their future ambition.
Many of my students had the passion to be pharmacists, the communication skills to build great patient relationships, and the drive to succeed.
But the one thing most of them lacked?
Confidence in chemistry, especially organic chemistry.
🎓 The Evolving Pharmacy Degree: Less Chemistry, More Clinical Skills
Pharmacy education has changed dramatically over the past decade. Today’s MPharm degrees place increasing emphasis on:
🩺 Clinical skills
💬 Communication and consultation
💊 Prescribing readiness
👥 Person-centred care
This is a fantastic move for the profession—but it has come with trade-offs. The space once used to explore chemistry over two years has now been condensed, with many universities cramming Year 1 and Year 2 chemistry content into a single year. That’s an intense pace, even for those who studied A-Level Chemistry.
Now imagine how that feels for students who:
Took an Access to HE course
Completed BTEC Applied Science
Came through a foundation year
Or haven’t studied chemistry since GCSE
They’re expected to master reaction mechanisms, carbon chemistry, aromatic compounds, NMR, chirality, and phytochemistry all at once—while also learning clinical practice, physiology, and pharmacy law.
🧠 My Experience as a Pharmacy Tutor
As a pharmacy student and tutor, I’ve helped students revise for exams, write lab reports, and make sense of dense lecture slides. But more than that, I’ve had deep conversations with students about what they’re struggling with—and why.
They told me:
“I don’t know what my lecturer is talking about—what is NMR?”“We’re doing reactions I’ve never even heard of.”“I didn’t do A-Level Chemistry, so I have no idea what nucleophilic substitution is.”“We did phytochemistry this week and I had no idea plants had functional groups!”
That’s when I realised something:
We don’t just need more chemistry teaching—we need better chemistry teaching that connects with pharmacy.
🧪 What This Course Covers – and Why It’s Pharmacy-Relevant
I created Organic Chemistry Essentials for Aspiring Pharmacy Students to give students a solid foundation in both A-Level-style chemistry and the newer topics now taught in pharmacy degrees. Here’s what it includes:
🔹 Core Organic Chemistry (Year 12 + Year 13 Level)
Alkanes, Alkenes, Haloalkanes
Alcohols, Esters, Carboxylic Acids, Amines
Aromatic Compounds (Benzene and derivatives)
Isomerism (structural, E/Z, optical)
Functional Groups & Nomenclature
Reaction Mechanisms (curly arrows explained)
🧪 These are the language of pharmacy science. They're essential for understanding how drugs are made, how they work, how they interact, and how they're metabolised.
🔬 New Topics in the Pharmacy Curriculum (Included in the Course)
1. Phytochemistry 🌿
The chemistry of plants and natural products. You’ll learn:
How plant-derived molecules like morphine, quinine, and paclitaxel are structured
What secondary metabolites are (alkaloids, terpenes, flavonoids)
How functional groups in plants affect drug action
The basics of herbal medicine and its chemistry
🧪 Why it matters: Many drugs come from natural products. Understanding the chemical structures of plant-derived medicines is essential for both community and clinical pharmacy.
2. Carbon Chemistry 🧱
Goes beyond naming hydrocarbons. You’ll explore:
The versatility of carbon atoms in building molecules
Hybridisation (sp³, sp², sp) and its role in bond angles and reactivity
Chain length, branching, and ring structures
🧪 Why it matters: All organic molecules—including drugs—are built on carbon. Knowing how carbon behaves gives you insight into drug solubility, target binding, and stability.
3. NMR Spectroscopy 📈
Introduced in most pharmacy courses now as part of:
Structure elucidation
Analytical techniques for purity and identification
Understanding ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectra
You’ll learn:
What chemical shifts mean
How to count peaks, splitting, and integration
How to identify functional groups using spectra
🧪 Why it matters: NMR is one of the most powerful tools used in the drug development industry, and it's frequently tested in practical exams and assessments.
💡 How to Use This Course Alongside Your Lectures
This course was specifically designed to support your university learning, not replace it. Here’s how students are already using it effectively:
📚 Before Lectures:
Preview core concepts (e.g. nucleophilic substitution, isomerism)
Watch short videos to familiarise yourself with reaction mechanisms
Learn the pharmacy-specific terminology in advance
🧠 During Lectures:
Connect what your lecturer is saying to your pre-existing understanding
Recognise keywords like electrophile, chiral centre, or elimination reaction
Ask better questions because you already have the basics
🔁 After Lectures:
Rewatch topics that didn’t quite make sense during the live session
Do practice questions to reinforce mechanisms and structures
Apply what you learned to drug examples (e.g. aspirin synthesis or steroid metabolism)
🎯 Who This Course Is For
Year 12 & Year 13 students preparing for pharmacy
Access to HE or BTEC science students transitioning to university
Foundation year students heading into MPharm Year 1
Current pharmacy students struggling with chemistry
Anyone who needs a structured, pharmacy-focused chemistry foundation
💬 Final Thoughts: Confidence in Chemistry = Confidence in Your Career
Pharmacy is a brilliant career—but it requires more than communication skills and clinical knowledge. It requires you to be a scientist, capable of understanding the molecules you’re recommending, dispensing, or even designing.
Organic chemistry is the blueprint of pharmacology. Without it, you’re memorising facts. With it, you’re understanding the why behind the what—and that’s what makes you a great pharmacist.
I created this course not to teach "more" chemistry, but to teach better chemistry—for pharmacy students, by someone who’s walked in your shoes, tutored others through the same journey, and seen firsthand what works.
If you’re ready to learn at your pace, build your confidence, and start your pharmacy degree strong, this course is for you.
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