Society summary

Society to fund research into professional ethics

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has decided to stimulate research into workforce, ethical and educational issues in pharmacy. To that end, it is looking for university departments interested in hosting a PhD studentship on pharmacy core values and professional ethics. At this stage the Society is not looking to appoint a student.

The need for ethics research was identified by the Society’s practice research division as part of its recent research strategy review. The Society says: “Ethics is an area of research which is significantly underdeveloped in pharmacy. We recognise it is an area best progressed by developing academic scholarship rather than the commissioning of specific projects.”

The Society sees the funding of a PhD studentship as the most appropriate way forward in the short term. It envisages that the studentship will provide valuable data in the mapping of pharmacy values and ethical issues experienced in practice and their implications for the education of pharmacists and students. The purpose of the PhD would be to develop learning about the perceptions and experiences of professional values and ethics of pharmacists at an individual level.

Further details of the proposed PhD studentship and the application process can be obtained from the Society’s practice research manager, Zoe Whittington (tel 020 7572 2276; e-mail zwhittington@rpsgb.org.uk).

Back to Top