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Letters to the Editor
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Education
BPSA backs a pharmacy school charter
From Mr G. C. Paul, MRPharmS
The Institute of Pharmacy Management International believes that pharmacy
students should be registered
with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in
order to introduce to them the concept of professionalism at a degree
level (PJ, 13 May, p555).
Over the past year, the British Pharmaceutical Students Association executive
has considered the concept of a pharmacy school charter. This was as
a direct result of discussions with the Society regarding the Medical
School Charter — a charter that details the standards and expectations
of both the medical student and the medical school. The Medical School
Charter is agreed by both the British Medical Association’s Medical
Students Committee and the Council of Heads of Medical Schools.
The BPSA executive was of the opinion that the Medical School Charter
was clear in the reciprocal responsibilities between medical students
and medical schools and this type of document could be beneficial within
pharmacy education. The BPSA has considered the responsibilities of pharmacy
undergraduates in relation to the MPharm degree. The clinical component
of pharmacy education is continually growing and developing. This has
led to pharmacy students having increased contact with patients, and
patient records, before becoming a registered pharmacist. As a consequence,
an increased responsibility is placed on students to behave in a manner
consistent with the profession to whose membership they aspire. This
highlights the need for a pharmacy school charter.
BPSA members present at the 64th BPSA annual conference in Bradford believed
that since pharmacy is a highly respected profession, there should be
clear written professional guidance regarding the responsibilities and
behaviour of students during their undergraduate years. A debate on the
topic resulted in a clear mandate from members asking that “pharmacy
students should have a comprehensive pharmacy charter to adhere to as
undergraduates, modelled on charters of other healthcare professions”.
A pharmacy school charter that mirrors the pharmacists’ Code of
Ethics and practice guidance may potentially be a way of achieving this.
Such a charter is a means of standardising the ideals of professionalism
already taught within the MPharm course.
This issue of registration of students with the Society was not considered
as part of this motion. However, the BPSA executive believes that this
is an important topic and will endeavour to seek the opinions of its
members on this matter. The BPSA looks forward to continuing to work
with the Society by submitting views on a pharmacy school charter to
the Society’s Education Committee.
Gautam Paul
President, British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association
Facing challenges all the time
From Ms C. Wilson
It was with some irritation that I read David
Thomas’s letter
(PJ, 27 May, p623), which questioned newly qualified community pharmacists’ abilities.
Comments like his I find counterproductive: they serve not only to deter
young pharmacists and undergraduates from staying in the profession,
but prevent unity among members of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
Specifically, Mr Thomas’s viewpoint is too narrow. Is a pharmacist
worth his or her salt purely by their range of over-the-counter experience?
Are we deemed incompetent if a customer requests Oil of Wintergreen BP
and we stare back at them? As a hospital-based preregistration trainee,
my answer is “no”.
Perhaps there is some validity to his argument in questioning the amount
of OTC training that pharmacy schools provide, in that the degrees, although
audited by the Society, are not standardised. However, the Boots teacher
practitioners at the Queen’s University of Belfast ensure thousands
of graduates are in a position to benefit from their investment in education.
So much for Mr Thomas’s notion that newly qualified pharmacists
in multiples serve merely as dispensary fodder.
I find myself facing challenges all the time: under-representation in
the media, explaining my role to patients who still hold the antiquated
view of pharmacists as the “man in the chemist shop”, and
proving my worth to members of the multidisciplinary team. As I now embark
on taking my registration examination and look forward to entering the
profession, I now find that I am compared to a shrinking violet and that
I am less competent than counter assistants.
If Mr Thomas holds genuine reserves of doubt about young pharmacists’ capabilities,
he should either report such individuals to the Society (as indeed he
should be doing under the Code of Ethics, section A.2) or take remedial
action to train such pharmacists to his desired level of competence,
while in the meantime allowing the competent majority to meet their own
continuing professional development needs and play their part in moving
the profession forwards.
Christina Wilson
Preregistration Trainee,
Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal