The British Pharmaceutical Students Association has accused some unnamed pharmacy employers of failing to exhibit the same level of professionalism that they expect of their prospective preregistration pharmacy trainees.
Representing the association's executive committee, Ms Mary Jobling told The Journal that many students had reported instances in which pharmacy employers were failing to adhere to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's guidelines on preregistration recruitment. In particular, employers had breached the guidelines by interviewing candidates and making job offers before the start of the final year of students' studies and by expecting commitments to remain with the prospective employer after completing training.
"One particular student was offered a placement on the condition that he did not attend any subsequent interviews. We feel that this is an unacceptable pressure for undergraduates, when deciding such a critical step in their careers, " Ms Jobling said. "This practice is detrimental in a number of ways. First, students may end up being unhappy in their placements, which is detrimental to this crucial transition from undergraduate to professional pharmacist. Secondly, we would have thought it obvious that this pressure may have long-term implications on the student's view of that employer. "
She said that the BPSA executive committee felt that a possible solution would be the introduction of a system similar to the UCAS process for university admissions. Students could apply to a central clearing house and would be given a sensible period of time to make informed decisions having viewed all of their options.
The matter was to be discussed by the BPSA and the Society at a liaison meeting on December 8.