Your Society needs you!
It may seem premature to start thinking about the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Council election for 2008 but those pharmacists and technicians who are considering putting their names forward should start planning in earnest now. Potential candidates need to discuss their plans with employers, particularly if they need to negotiate Council commitments around their work schedule.
There will be seven pharmacist vacancies on the Council and one pharmacy
technician vacancy. Six of the retiring pharmacists are eligible to stand
for election again. The seventh, Hemant Patel, who is currently President,
will have been a member of the Council for nine years in 2008 and therefore
may not be re-elected without a break in service. The retiring pharmacy
technician is eligible for re-election.
The academic representative, although he need not retire from the Council,
must have his position reconfirmed by the heads of the schools of pharmacy
if he wishes to continue to serve.
So who should be considering a future on the Council? The Journal believes
that the 2008 Council election is more important than many in recent
years, not least because there were not enough candidates for a ballot
to be held this year. The successful candidates will be taking the Society
forward into an, as yet unknown, future.
They will be helping to ensure
that the General Pharmaceutical Council is established securely and
that patient safety is protected during the transition. They will also
be
part of the Council that will determine the future of the Society and
the development of the professional body.
Although current members of the Council who are likely to stand again
have a great deal still to offer the profession, it is important that
all those who stand for election reflect a wide range of interests,
experience and skills.
Pharmacists who have expressed interest in the development of a royal
college should be well represented: all those organisations that supported
the Waterloo Agreement should seek candidates sympathetic to its aims.
And all those pharmacists who have complained about the rise in retention
fees could view the next election as an opportunity to influence future
Council policy.
Three of the pharmacist vacancies are allocated to
the home countries, so here is another opportunity for this next
election to appeal to a broad church.
And so The Journal is issuing a call to arms: the Society needs to
have as much support as possible from the profession to give its
Council the
mandate to develop the professional body that the membership wants.
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