Since 1997, pharmacy has been a 4-year undergraduate course, leading to the MPharm degree. National initiatives to increase NHS staffing numbers have led to recognition of the need for greater numbers of pharmacists to undertake new roles and provide a greater range of pharmacy services.
Undergraduate and preregistration education and training
Since 1997, pharmacy
has been a 4-year undergraduate course, leading to the MPharm degree. National
initiatives to increase NHS staffing numbers have led to recognition of the
need for greater numbers of pharmacists to undertake new roles and provide a
greater range of pharmacy services. Most universities have increased their
intake of students, and in recent years a number of new sites have become
accredited. There are now a total of 25 Schools of Pharmacy across the UK. Two
universities offer sandwich courses delivered over 5 years, incorporating the
preregistration year.
To become a
pharmacist in the UK, all graduates must complete a 1-year period of
preregistration training under the supervision of a registered pharmacist. In
addition, all trainees must pass a registration assessment. The General
Pharmaceutical Council sets the standards for the training, and monitors the
quality to ensure that it is acceptably high across all sites.
A full revision of
the preregistration training programme was undertaken by the RPSGB in
preparation for the intake of the first graduates from the new 4-year degree in
August 2001. The aim of the new training programme was to develop pharmacists
who had patients as their primary focus and who were fit for practice in any
sector of the profession. Putting patients at the centre of care was a clear
theme within Pharmacy in the Future, the document dealing with pharmacy’s part
in delivering NHS change agenda in the late 1990s, so the change in focus was
timely.12 Cross-sector experience was introduced at this time,
although logistically it has not been possible to implement this across all
sectors. The work of the Modernising Pharmacy Careers Board looking at
developments in undergraduate and preregistration education may suggest a new
approach to this in the coming years.13 This will address a range of
issues including the context for theoretical learning; late exposure to
pharmacy practice; the large variation in quality of preregistration training
and tutors; and a need for greater coooperation between higher education
institutes and employers.
The current training
programme comprises performance standards which state what a newly qualified
pharmacist is expected to be able to do. These were devised in consultation
with members of all sectors of the profession and describe generic skills
required of all pharmacists. The examination syllabus was revised and updated
at that time, and now has a strong emphasis on the ability of pharmacists to
perform calculations.
The shift to a more
outcome-focused programme enables preregistration trainees to assess themselves
against the performance standards and so iden-tify what their learning needs
are, hence reinforcing the culture of CPD that is being developed throughout
the profession. In tandem with the trainee, pre-registration tutors also have
to demonstrate a commitment to CPD and main-tain a portfolio in which they
document how they have identified and met their learning needs.
The vast majority of
hospital trainees undergo an in-house training programme that typically
consists of a planned rotation through the main sections within the pharmacy
department. This will often include periods in the dispensary, wards and
clinical services, medicines information, techni-cal services and quality
assurance. Depending on the size of the hospital and the scope of services
offered, there may well be a period of training at a neighbouring hospital for
specialist experience. Most in-house training programmes are supplemented by a
programme of regionally taught courses, which may be delivered either as 1-day
courses or as residential blocks.
Trainees undergo
formal assessments with their tutor during the year, and the results of these
are sent to the registration body. In addition, the registra-tion body requests
copies of the in-house and taught course programmes, and may sample the tutor
portfolios to enable closer monitoring of the quality of training.
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