The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7219 p548
12 October 2002

Society summary

Society-sponsored PhD ethics studentships awarded

Two students sponsored by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society are about to begin PhD studentships in pharmacy ethics.

A studentship at King's College London, based in the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) of the School of Social Science and Public Policy, has been awarded to Ailsa Benson. She will be jointly supervised by Dr Alan Cribb, CPPR director, and Professor Nick Barber, director of the Centre for Practice and Policy, School of Pharmacy, University of London. The award will allow Ms Benson to explore and develop values and ethics in the pharmacy profession in an interdisciplinary academic context.

A four-year, full-time research studentship based at the Centre for Professional Ethics, Keele University, has been awarded to Zuzana Deans. She will be supervised by Dr Angus Dawson, with support from a wider steering group which includes Professor Alison Blenkinsopp and Professor Christine Bond. This studentship is the core element in a project exploring the ethical dilemmas faced by pharmacists in the course of their work. Ms Deans will be involved in gathering data from pharmacists working in different roles and working environments and at different stages of their careers. This data will provide the basis for doctoral research.

The need for research exploring pharmacy ethics was outlined in the Society's pharmacy practice research strategy last year. The Society says that ethics research is significantly underdeveloped in pharmacy and is best progressed through academic scholarship.