A year in the life of the President
The role of President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society is not one
to be treated lightly. Gill Hawksworth looks back at a hectic year
Gill Hawksworth was first elected to the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society’s
Council in 1992 and was elected President of the Society in June
2003 after two years as Vice-President
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During
my term as President, I have often been asked if I enjoy the job.
The answer is an unequivocal “yes”. I am honoured to hold
the office and enjoy the variety of duties I have experienced in this
action-packed period.
After being elected President, you hit the ground running. The staff
who organise the President’s hectic diary make an enormous contribution.
The sheer volume of work means that you must be well-organised. Everyone
knows that the President chairs the meetings of the Council but what
else does the President do that fills these busy days?
Any past president will tell you that you need a good fountain pen to
sign the many hundreds of registration certificates that cross your desk.
The registration team manages this process with military precision: first
the certificates go to the Registrar (who also needs to sign them) and
then to the President. It has been a pleasure to read the names of the
many pharmacists coming on to the register or who have applied to register
in their married names. The pen is also well used for letters to members
who have been on the register 50 or 60 years and for responding to the
many letters I have received from members.
A major feature of the role is, of course, meeting people and representing
the Society across a wide range of business. It is crucial to maintain
links within the profession and my year has included regular meetings
with colleagues in other pharmacy organisations, including the National
Pharmaceutical Association, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee,
the College of Pharmacy Practice and the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists.
I have enjoyed and learned from our meetings throughout the year.
Committee work
My Society duties have involved me in a lot of committee work, chairing
several committees and attending many others. I have made regular visits
to the Scottish and Welsh Executive meetings in Edinburgh and Cardiff.
Another important group I have been working with is the Heads of Schools
of Pharmacy.
The future pharmacy workforce is, of course, crucial. As a member of
the Workforce Policy Advisory Group — a joint initiative with the
Health Departments in England, Scotland and Wales — I have contributed
to this important initiative, which will be reporting in the summer.
I have found a warm welcome at many branch meetings in England, Scotland
and Wales. The branch network is an important part of the Society and
I have been privileged to meet so many active and committed members throughout
the year. Through the branches, I have been pursuing a dialogue with
the profession about a personal pledge on registration. Conferences
The President, second from right, in Malta at the launch of the
book ‘MCQs in pharmacy practice’, with, left to right,
Anthony Serracino Inglott and Maurice Zarb Adami (contributors to
the book), Roger Ellul-Micallef (rector, University of Malta), Louis
Deguara (Malta’s health minister), Lilian Azzopardi (editor
of the book), Steve Hudson (a contributor to the book) and Frederick
Fenech (University of Malta) |
As President, it has been a privilege to represent the Society at international
conferences, including the Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association
conference (held only once every four years) in Jamaica in August 2003,
the International Pharmaceutical Federation congress in Sydney in August
2003 and the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union conference
in Denmark in June 2003. Just as memorable was my visit to Malta in
December 2003 to attend the launch of a new Pharmaceutical Press publication
edited by a Maltese pharmacist. The event was hosted by Malta’s
minister of health and we had an audience with the deputy premier,
whose son is a pharmacist.
Nearer home, the British Pharmaceutical Conference in Harrogate in
September 2003 was obviously a highlight for me in my native county
of Yorkshire.
I have also enjoyed the many other UK conferences I have attended as
President, such as those of the United Kingdom Clinical Pharmacy Association,
the United Kingdom Psychiatric Pharmacy Group, National Co-operative
Chemists and the British Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers. More
recently, I have attended conferences of the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists,
the Institute of Pharmacy Management International, the National Association
of Women Pharmacists and the British Pharmaceutical Students Association.
This networking is an important part of the President’s role on
behalf of the Society.
As President, I have been honoured to represent the Society at many formal
dinners, such as those held by the PSNC, the Proprietary Association
of Great Britain, London University, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical
Industry and the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the British Pharmaceutical
Conference. I have attended a dinner to celebrate the Pharmaceutical
Care Awards, and I have also enjoyed presentation awards ceremonies such
as that held for the Pharmacy Assistant of the Year.
Events held by the NHS, other professions, the science community and
patient groups are a regular feature of the President’s diary.
I have been asked to take part in gatherings in hospitals, community
pharmacies, schools of pharmacy and industrial settings. I have worked
with the Pharmacy Healthlink charity (formerly the Pharmacy Healthcare
Scheme) on the public health agenda and with the Medicines Partnership
(the concordance taskforce), both of which are housed at the Society.
It was also a special privilege recently to address a combined meeting
of the British Pharmacological Society and the Physiological Society.
As President, I have become experienced at dealing with the media. I
have hosted media briefings and had many face-to-face interviews with
the press. When the latest Which? report on the advice given in pharmacies
was published (PJ, 7 February, p143), I recorded nine local BBC radio
interviews in a row. Practice makes perfect!
Parliament
The Society’s President becomes familiar with the Houses of Parliament
and the Departments of Health, because a major part of the President’s
role is meeting ministers, politicians and other policy makers. I meet
many members of Parliament, members of the Scottish Parliament and members
of the National Assembly for Wales. The year has been punctuated with
formal meetings with ministers to discuss the progress of the vision
for pharmacy and to provide an opportunity to raise issues of concern.
I have also accompanied Rosie Winterton, the health minister responsible
for pharmacy services at the Department of Health, on visits that she
has made.
I have worked closely with my own MP, David Hinchliffe, who is chairman
of the House of Commons Health Select Committee, with Sandra Gidley,
a Liberal Democrat MP who is a pharmacist and with Howard Stoate, the
chairman of the All-Party Pharmacy Group.
When I meet the many pharmacists from all branches of the profession,
industry and academia, as well as community, hospital and primary care,
I am strengthened in my belief that our profession is one to be immensely
proud of. For me, this is what being President is all about. It is a
great honour and a great pleasure to serve our profession.
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal