The PDA supports pharmacists having an effective professional body and will be getting involved by contributing to this important consultation. The Society aims to launch the final post-registration Foundation Pharmacist Curriculum in July 2021.
The RPS Foundation Pharmacist Curriculum is aimed at bridging the period until the new General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) Initial Education and Training (IET) standards has been fully implemented, by offering a structured pathway for newly qualified pharmacists. This will ensure that those pharmacists registering before the IET changes are fully implemented have a route to independent prescribing which is part of a rounded curriculum.
Since the announcement of changes to the GPhC’s IET standards, the PDA has viewed the developments as an exciting opportunity to ensure that the education and training of pharmacists provides them with the skills and expertise needed to take their rightful place in healthcare multi-disciplinary teams across all sectors. However, we know that this undertaking is not without significant risks.
The changes must be implemented in a way that ensures that the system has the necessary funding, capacity, and capability to achieve the intentions of the reforms for all stakeholders. The new standards also need to support the development and careers of existing registrants as well as new pharmacists. This is to protect the safety of patients and to improve the reputation of the profession within healthcare.
The PDA remains convinced that new prescribing pharmacists deserve the support and development offered by a period of supervised prescribing in cross-sector placements like that given to medical students and GP registrars. The PDA would like to see this approach included in the foundation curriculum for newly registered pharmacists once the GPhC IET changes have been fully implemented.
The PDA will be submitting a response to the consultation and encourage members to do the same via the online form or Word document. Any comments or feedback can be sent to the PDA at policy@the-pda.org
The consultation will close at 5 pm on Friday 18 June 2021.
Related links
- Foundation Pharmacist Curriculum
- RPS Post-registration Foundation pharmacist curriculum Executive Summary
- RPS Post-registration foundation pharmacist curriculum
- RPS Post-registration foundation pharmacist topic guide
- Foundation Pharmacist Framework (2019)
Not yet a PDA member?
If you have not yet joined the PDA, we encourage you to join today and encourage your colleagues to do the same.
Membership is FREE to pharmacy students, pre-regs and for the first three months of being provisionally registered/newly qualified.
Read about our key member benefits here.