The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 277 No 7424 p529
28 October 2006

Society summary

Branch meeting attendances can be boosted by CPD-related topics

Choosing topics with pharmacists' continuing professional development needs in mind can result in good attendances at branch meetings, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's annual branch and regional secretaries' meeting heard on 18 October.

Speaking about the success his branch had had in holding meetings designed to support members’ CPD needs, Mark Burdon (Sunderland branch) said that, because the topics impacted on pharmacists’ day-to-day working lives, the meetings had been attracting as many as 100 branch members.

Mr Burdon was one of three branch secretaries invited to share their experiences at a “best practice” session. Another speaker, Arlene Osman (Mid Glamorgan East branch), described the realities of branch life from the perspective of a new branch secretary. She discussed how to find the support of local colleagues and offered advice on holding joint events. Jim Bannerman (Northern Scottish branch) shared his experiences as secretary of a branch that had been part of the Society’s “future branch” pilot project and discussed the challenges associated with maintaining members’ enthusiasm and interest in branch activities.

Representatives of more than 50 branches and regions took part in the meeting, which was chaired by the Society’s Secretary and Registrar (Ann Lewis) and also attended by the President (Hemant Patel), the Vice-President (Gerald Alexander) and Treasurer (John Jolley).

Reflecting on the meeting, John Gentle, member of Council and a sponsor of the branch and regional network, said: “The branches and regions are the local face of the Society and this annual meeting is important in helping to build members’ understanding about the work of the organisation across England, Scotland and Wales. The meeting also provides the secretaries with the opportunity to feed back their thoughts directly to the Society and, with this in mind, I was delighted that the President, Vice-President and Treasurer were all able to be present on the day.”