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Letters to the Editor
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Pharmacy graduates
Preregistration trainees are there to learn
From Mr J. Kwan
As a recent MPharm graduate and current preregistration trainee, I disagree
with Rob Duncombe (PJ, 14 May, p584) that candidates for preregistration
places should be chosen solely on whether they would “become good
pharmacists”. Today’s UK pharmacy graduates are more academically
qualified than ever before, yet the four-year master of pharmacy course
contains relatively little practical training.This has been traditionally
tacked on as the preregistration year.
I am not surprised at Mr Duncombe’s assessment of pharmacy graduates.
After my degree, I did not think I would become a good pharmacist because
I had no experience of being one. I had a good understanding of pharmacology,
biology, chemistry and some clinical theory, but I had almost no experience
of talking to patients or other health care professionals, or solving real
problems in the real world.
At this time too, I could not “communicate clearly” my understanding
of “the modern NHS or pharmacy practice”, because my degree
had not equipped me to do so. In fact, looking back on my interview I am
surprised I ever got a job. This situation will remain until the Royal
Pharmaceutical Society requires pharmacy degrees to include practical work-based
training, in line with other health care professionals.
Now, however, I am in a different position. With the help and support of
my all my colleagues, I have learnt how to use my academic knowledge in
a practical way. Yes, I admit that in the beginning I probably did require “spoon-feeding”,
but I had been told what to learn (and when) by schools and universities
for more than nine years. The most important thing the preregistration
year has taught me so far is self-reliance.
What preregistration tutors have to remember is that their trainees are
there to learn, and to develop the qualities required to become a pharmacist.
To ask for these qualities in graduates suggests that the tutor is looking
for a cheap pair of hands, and is not committed to training them (despite
receiving a training grant). We are not simply “pharmacists in waiting”,
who must put in an honest year’s work to receive our certificates
and higher salaries.
Might I also suggest to Mr Dunscombe that the 45 students who did not reply
to his entrance test for unpaid work had probably taken up an offer from
another employer who was less reticent in giving students a chance to learn.
Jason Kwan
Preregistration trainee
Musgrove Park Hospital, Somerset |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal