GPhC extend Provisional Registrant arrangements until 2022 and delay this year’s Summer exam dates

The GPhC has announced that they are extending the provisional registrant arrangements until January 2022, and due to an associated delay to the Summer registration exam date, any of the current (20-21) cohort of pre-registration trainees wishing to practice from 1 August will now have to also become provisional registrants until the results are released and they are eligible to join the pharmacist register.

The revised registration assessment dates for 2021 are:

Summer assessment: 27, 28 and 29 July 2021

Autumn assessment: 16 November 2021

The July dates are in place of the original June sittings. The GPhC has confirmed that the papers on each of three July dates will be different, though identical in number and types of questions and the standard required to pass.

Sittings are for current Pre-Registration pharmacists, those Provisionally registered and resitting candidates who have decided not to sit the March assessment.

These sittings will be delivered through Pearson VUE, mainly at test centres in the UK and the GPhC say these are the earliest available dates that Pearson VUE can accommodate the expected number of candidates.

These changes will provide more freedom for current exam candidates, whether pre-reg, provisionally registered or resitters who may not feel ‘fit to sit’ in July. They should be able to delay taking the assessment until November 2021.

The extension of provisional registration to January 2022 is due to the change of dates. As candidates usually receive their results around six weeks after each sitting the earliest possible date that candidates who pass the summer assessment this year could join the register as a pharmacist will be 15 September 2021. For candidates who pass the autumn assessment, this will be 1 January 2022. Potentially this means a pre-reg from the 19-20 cohort may continue practicing until next January as a provisional registrant without passing the exam.

What does this mean for Provisionally Registered Pharmacists:

Those who were expecting to sit the registration assessment for the first time in June, can instead sit in July or November, while continuing to practice as provisional registrants. Those who do not pass in March can resit in July or November.

What does this mean for Pre registration Pharmacists (20-21 cohort):

The change in date means that for Pre Registration Pharmacists, if their training is satisfactorily completed, there will be a period of time where they can become provisionally registered pharmacists.

The decision to extend provisional registration means that members of this cohort can take up offers of employment at the same time as they usually would, from 1 August 2021. However, this will mean any potential employer will need to accept that these individuals will be subject to any restrictions on practice and additional support requirements for employing provisionally registered pharmacists, compared to fully registered pharmacists, before offering them employment. Employers will also need to understand these individuals will need to be released for exam preparation and the actual exam dates.

As provisionally registered pharmacists cannot practice as locums, this means any of the current cohort who were intending to work as locums from 1 August will not be able to do so until they have successfully passed the exam.

What does this mean for overseas candidates:

The option of remote sittings for candidates in the UK and overseas subject to the latest government guidelines is being considered. There is no timeline for a decision about this.

Paul Day, PDA Director said: We support individuals and can appreciate that whilst these changes may resolve some of the issues faced by candidates sitting this year, we also recognise that this change, another in a year of many changes, could present an additional obstacle and concern for many members because of their particular circumstances or plans.

We are disappointed that the GPhC are continuing to count the March sittings as one of the three attempts that candidates have to pass the entire exam. We believe that this unnecessarily adds to the pressure on those who will be sitting an exam arrangement in which few, if any, have complete confidence.”

The PDA is committed to supporting all those taking the registration assessment at any sitting through our continued dialogue with the GPhC, our education offer and our rep support. As the independent trade union for pharmacists we are also best placed to support members who have concerns or issues relating to their employment as either pre-reg, provreg or fully registered pharmacist.

Read today’s full announcement from the GPhC here: