The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 274 No 7348 p565
7 May 2005

Society summary

Bursary scheme amended to attract more new practice researchers in community pharmacy

Bursaries to help community pharmacists enter the field of pharmacy practice research are being offered by the Pharmacy Practice Research Trust, an independent research charity established by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in 1999.

Under its research training bursary scheme, the trust (see Panel), with funding from the Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust, has £50,000 to fund a number of awards for community pharmacists with an interest in developing their skills in conducting research relating to everyday practice.

Three levels of funding are available:

· Level 1 bursaries provide funding to undertake research modules and a small scale project supported by a research organisation such as a higher education institution, a primary care research network or a research and development unit.

· Level 2 bursaries provide funding to upgrade a diploma in clinical pharmacy or community pharmacy to an MSc degree, which usually involves undertaking a further two modules (one on research methods) and undertaking a project.

· Level 3 bursaries provide funding to undertake a non-pharmacy MSc.

The trust launched the bursary scheme in 2002 and so far has helped four community pharmacists to develop their skills.

Levels 1 and 2 are new funding approaches intended to give community pharmacists an opportunity to take the first crucial steps in developing research expertise and experience. The trust also intends that these new levels will facilitate the integration of community pharmacy with wider primary care research networks and pump prime funding to support the development of research in community pharmacy.

The bursaries include the following items of funding:

· Salary (pro rata for part time)/locum costs

· Course fees

· Research costs (up to a maximum of £250, to include printing, postage and travel)

· Supervision costs (from either a higher education institution or a local research and development unit/network)

· Conference attendance (up to a maximum of £200 towards attendance and presentation of work at UK conferences)

The first pharmacist to receive a research training bursary from the trust in 2002 was Susan Hind, a community pharmacist from Leicester. She used the funding to support her in gaining an MSc in enhancement of pharmacy practice at Nottingham University. As part of her final year she conducted a research project looking at the contribution pharmacists can make to medicines management, working with GPs.

Ms Hind said: “This bursary has allowed me to develop my skills and offers me the opportunity to work outside the dispensary and to work more closely with general practitioners and other health care practitioners. I think it is important for pharmacists to develop these skills and to get recognition for work outside the dispensary.”

Based on community pharmacists’ experiences of receiving other forms of research support, the trustees have expanded the bursary scheme to include targeted funding for research training.

For example, the Hull and East Riding Pharmacy Research Network has supported research projects that could be eligible for Level 1 funding. David Craddock, a community pharmacist in Stamford Bridge, York, conducted a one-year study into parental beliefs about headlice and its management. Getting involved in practice research enabled him to keep abreast of current trends and changes in pharmacy practice. It involved him meeting like-minded pharmacists in order to discuss topics of interest and helped him learn new skills such as internet/computer skills, literature searches, using evidence-based practice and time management processes. Mr Craddock remarked: “I have felt more fulfilled in my role as a pharmacist since.”

Similarly, David Miller, a community pharmacist and professional executive committee member for East Yorkshire Primary Care Trust, saw involvement in the Hull and East Riding Pharmacy Research Network as an opportunity to develop a specific interest area and quickly become involved in the local scene. Mr Miller’s study looked at issues surrounding continuing professional development for locum community pharmacists.

Mr Miller says that his research involvement has helped him in his career by helping him become known and respected in the local health care community. “This has made my role more prominent and rewarding and has also played a major part in my subsequent appointment as PEC member for the local PCT. Another aspect of involvement in research is that the staff in my pharmacy feel involved in a broader network of pharmacy staff involved in research, rather than being isolated,” he said.

Sue Ambler, trust director, said: “These bursaries offer community pharmacists an opportunity to take the first crucial steps in developing research expertise and experience.”

She added: “At a time when participation in research is developing rapidly among other professional groups it is crucial that pharmacists have similar opportunities. The trust’s research training bursaries are essential for developing research workforce capacity in pharmacy and make a significant contribution to achieving the trust’s ‘Medicines and people’ programme objectives.”

Applications for bursaries are invited from community pharmacists who demonstrate a real need for external support to develop their skills and careers in research. (Funding for the bursaries has come from the Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust and therefore has conditions attached related to its objects.)

Pharmacists who currently work in community pharmacy and are self-employed locums, independent community pharmacists or employees of small pharmacy chains (up to 60 pharmacies) can apply for these bursaries.

Further details, application forms and guidance notes are available by contacting Beth Allen, research administrator, at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, 1 Lambeth High Street, London SE1 7JN (tel 020 7572 2466; e-mail beth.allen@rpsgb.org).

The deadline for completed applications is 24 June and interviews will be held on 17 August at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s London headquarters.