The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7488 p154
9 February 2008

Comprehensive guide on preregistration interview

‘The pre-registration interview’, by Nadia Bukhari. Pp160. Price £15.95. London: Pharmaceutical Press; 2007. ISBN 978 0 85369 698 8

Gone are the days when securing a preregistration placement was a relatively trivial affair. Pharmacy has now acquired the competitive graduate atmosphere characteristic of other professions. Securing a preregistration placement is a stressful and decisive period for pharmacy students, more so now due to the advent of new schools and increased competition for placements provided by the community, hospital and industry sectors.

Students are now expected to work in their summers, have varied experiences, be aware of issues existing within the profession, and be able to sell themselves as outstanding candidates. For students who cannot meet these expectations, securing a placement of choice is almost an impossible task.

‘The pre-registration interview’ by Nadia Bukhari sets out to provide a comprehensive guide to the “dos” and “do nots” for securing a dream placement. It contains information on everything: summer placements, the preregistration application process, writing a good curriculum vitae and covering letter, and filling out preregistration applications.

All aspects are helpfully illustrated with “good” and “bad” examples from students and clearly annotated diagrams. Importantly, the author has interviewed recruiters from all sectors and asked them to explain what they are looking for in prospective employees. The book continues with how to prepare for the interview and what to do on the big day to outshine the competition.

Finally, a large section of the book is devoted to the “question bank”. This is a list of questions which have been gathered from past preregistration interviews and collated into one long, invaluable list.

The counter-productive nature of the book should be pointed out. Having been intended to help students out, it has also managed to reveal some key secrets to success — students may well be more on a par with each other as a result. Employers will surely need to step up their game. But if Ms Bukhari teaches you anything in this book, it is to be unique and be yourself.

This book is a definite must and a good investment for the future. Co-ordinators of the MPharm course would certainly not go amiss incorporating it into their reading lists.


Leila Taheri
(preregistration trainee at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London)