Paul Day, PDA Director explains: “Pharmacy students and trainee pharmacists are eligible for free membership of the PDA from the start of their pharmacy education and membership remains free until after they register as a pharmacist. All that pharmacy students/trainee pharmacists need to do to access the benefit of membership is sign up online at https://www.the-pda.org/join ”
PDA are constantly campaigning for the future of pharmacy and as such the views of those currently studying or in their trainee pharmacist year are very important to us. Those registering this year are likely to still be practicing well into the second half of this century, so they have the most to lose or gain from the environment that pharmacists operate within and from the employment terms set by employers in coming years.
Membership benefits include access to training, events and communications, a helpline manned by experienced pharmacists and lawyers, professional indemnity and legal defence insurance, the PDA Plus range of additional benefits and being part of a not-for-profit organisation run by pharmacists, exclusively for pharmacists. The PDA Union is now the largest individual membership organisation in the sector with over 28,000 pharmacists, trainee pharmacists and pharmacy students
As a democratic, member-lead, organisation joining means individuals get a say within the union and can volunteer and vote for trade union roles. The PDA charity partnership also means that every joiner generates a £1 per year donation to Pharmacist Support, even though membership is FREE for students and pre-registration trainees.
Mark Pitt, Director of Defence Services at PDA, added “Every year we support hundreds of trainee pharmacists to prepare for their registration assessment and we advise many others on workplace issues they never expected. Academic studies do not always prepare trainee pharmacists for the realities of a trainee pharmacist year and by joining the PDA for free, trainee pharmacists have ready access to the advice and support they need to help ensure their progress towards registering as a pharmacist goes as smoothly as possible.”
Join for FREE here: https://www.the-pda.org/join