Vigorous education vs training debate expected
Robust discussion of the relationship between education and training has been forecast by the heads of schools of pharmacy.
Responding to a Royal
Pharmaceutical Society consultation paper setting
out draft principles
for pharmacy education and training (PJ, 27 May,
p639), the Council of University Heads of Pharmacy Schools says: “Some
of our hospital colleagues believe that the pharmacy degree should be
about training, rather than education.”
Overall, the response sees no major problems with the Society’s
draft principles, although it warns that proposals about equal opportunities
and widening access to pharmacy training might come into conflict with
ensuring the academic ability of course applicants and their suitability
for entering the profession.
However, warning that principles for choosing only the best and most
suitable students for training might become irrelevant, one CUHOPS member
comments: “With the large growth in pharmacy undergraduate numbers
of the last years, it is possible that in future recruitment onto MPharm
programmes, rather than selection, will be the norm.”
The response calls on the Society to issue guidance on circumstances
or conditions that could be a barrier to professional registration, such
as criminal convictions or medical conditions. CUHOPS says that this
would be unnecessary if student registration was introduced, but the
council only wants to see this happen as part of an integrated package
of developments.
The Society has received a total of 82 written submissions in response
to the consultation. After analysis by an external consultant a series
of discussion workshops will be held early in 2007 to consider the results
and next steps with stakeholders. The final version of the draft principles
will be considered by the Society’s Council in April 2007. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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