| · New contract (12)
· Apothecaries
· Overseas members
· Preoperative association
· Boots the Chemists
· Levothyroxine
· Complementary medicine
· Retention fee
· Preregistration exam
Letters to the Editor
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Overseas members
Equal fees, equal treatment?
From Mr I. C. Nock, MRPharmS
It seems that both vastly increased fees and compulsory continuing professional
development will come into effect for overseas pharmacists in January
2005.
I note from The Society section (PJ, 9 October, p546) that already many
branches in the UK are holding meetings on CPD, including ones on how
to do it and the role of the local facilitator.
I have not heard one iota of what CPD will entail for me as an overseas
pharmacist, except that I will have to do it to remain on the practising
register. When will overseas members receive such information? Will we
have facilitators? It is less than two months away. Stamps are cheap
and so are e-mails. In that regard, does the Society maintain a list
of members’ e-mail addresses?
I also noted from the letters page that some members only maintain their
membership to receive The Journal. May I ask, therefore, why members
of an external body (members of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern
Ireland) receive a discount? If the Society is so short of money, why
is this fee not going up?
Last, but not least, I note that the library has added several interesting
books. When I requested loan of such items before I was told “we
cannot loan items to overseas pharmacists”. If the overseas pharmacists
are paying the same fees, will they be treated in the same way as those
resident in the UK?
Ian Nock
Hong Kong
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PHILIP GREEN, deputy secretary and registrar, Royal Pharmaceutical Society,
replies:
Continuing professional development materials and access to online
record-keeping have been available to all pharmacists, including those
overseas, since October 2002 via the internet. CPD materials can be
downloaded from either www.rpsgb.org or www.uptodate.org.uk. A CPD pack
including
paper copies of materials will be sent to practising overseas pharmacists
on the register early next year.
ROY ALLCORN, head of information services, Royal Pharmaceutical Society,
replies:
In common with other similar libraries, we do not lend books
overseas because
of administrative difficulties. However, we do offer a range of other library
services to members overseas and members can access the online library
catalogue which gives online access to publications in our collection. |
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal