Career & Professional Development

Potential career and professional development opportunities that graduates may explore after completion of the program

Within pharmacy practice:

• Providing an evidence-based professional pharmacy service to athletes, at all levels of performance, on issues relating to the safe, effective and permitted use of medications and supplements in sport.
• Establishing pharmacy-led clinical services for athletes and sports people in the community.
• Contributing to clinical pharmacy interventions for sports-related medical conditions.
• Contributing as a pharmacist to a multi-disciplinary clinical team with other sports medicine practitioners.
• Providing an informed point of contact and resource within a community pharmacy or other medical organisation on issues concerning drug and supplement use in sport.

Working with sports organisations:

• Providing clinical pharmacy services to sports teams and clubs.
• Advising on pharmacy and medicines management services for sports clubs and events.
• Developing relations with local and national sports clubs and associations to supply medicines and provide expert advice on issues relating to drugs and supplements.
• Becoming an advisor for sports, medical or anti-doping organisations.
• Working with athletes as a pharmacist through their national or International Sports Federation (IFs) on safe medicines and supplements use.
• Becoming an accredited Doping Control Officer through a National Anti-Doping Organisation (NADO), International Federation (IF) or other agency.
• Participating in discussions on anti-doping strategies, policies and procedures through anti-doping organisations, or national and international pharmacy organisations.

Working at sporting events:

• Contribute to the development and delivery of pharmacy services or doping control procedures at major sporting events.
• Providing expert pharmacy service as a volunteer or paid employee at events such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games, for example through working in the Athlete Village Polyclinic Pharmacy.

Involvement in education and research:

• Developing education programs on use of drugs and supplements in sport for students, athletes and athlete support personnel, in schools, colleges, sports clubs and beyond.
• Undertaking research on issues such as clinical drug use, or substance misuse in sport.
• Participating in national and international conferences on sport-related and health-related themes.