The BPSA

The British Pharmaceutical Student Association — The official organisation for pharmacy students in the UK…

By Noel J Wicks, BPharm, MRPharmS

The BPSA represents students' interests, co-ordinates a variety of social and educational events as well as obtaining special deals and services for its members. Its president describes its main activities.

BPSA students Founded in 1942, the British Pharmaceutical Students' Association (BPSA) is the only national body to represent pharmacy undergraduates and preregistration trainees. The BPSA is recognised as the official body for those studying to become pharmacists, and in 1967 the council of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society accepted a request by the organisation to become an official branch of the Society. The branch status of the BPSA means it has the opportunity to propose motions relating to students at the annual branch representatives' meeting held at Lambeth each year. Student representatives of the BPSA also meet each year with members of the Council and the education division to discuss matters of interest and concern to students and preregistration trainees. The BPSA also has a representative who serves as a member of the Society's education committee. This allows student input into important decisions which are made regarding undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacy education and assessment.

The BPSA has long been concerned with education, training, opportunities (social, national and international) and anything else related to pharmacy that affects members. To help provide and co-ordinate all of these the organisation is geared around services and the provision of information as well as being a political representative for pharmacy students.

Organisation

In every school of pharmacy there is a BPSA representative whose role it is to keep the members informed of all our activities, and he or she also serves as your first point of contact for the BPSA. In each of the four segments we divide Great Britain into there is an area co-ordinator whose job it is to organise events and distribute information to the reps. The areas and their constituent schools are as follows:

Northern: Aberdeen, Strathclyde, Sunderland.
Eastern: Brighton, London School of Pharmacy, Portsmouth.
Western: Aston, Bath, Cardiff, Leicester.
Pennine: Bradford, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham.

The rest of the executive consists of 13 members including students, preregistration trainees and newly qualified pharmacists. These executive members are responsible for the running of the BPSA and all it offers.

Services

Publications The BPSA provides a range of free publications for its members. The Future Pharmacist magazine is published three times a year and provides undergraduates with information on past, present and future events, competitions, career options within the profession and various other topics of interest to students.

The Graduate link magazine is the BPSA publication for preregistration trainees. It contains articles on issues relevant to those approaching qualification, including what career options you have after the examination, changes in the professional role of the pharmacist and information on educational events of interest to preregistration trainees.

The professional development certificate (PDC) scheme This comes as a result of requests from members (ie, you!). The BPSA was asked to provide accredited academic events that were similar to those involved in the continuing professional development process which all pharmacists must take part in once qualified. The PDC is accredited by one of the profession's leading providers of continuing professional development, the College of Pharmacy Practice. The scheme works on a simple points system; a point is collected from each of the following and once five points in one year are achieved you are eligible for your PDC. The points come from:

Area conferences
The annual conference
Credit for learning in the Pharmaceutical Journal
Attending local branch meetings
BPSA competitions

The PDC will make an important addition to any student's portfolio when it comes time to get that all important first job.

Insurance for members during their preregistration year. In this increasingly litigious world it is important that students and preregistration trainees understand the responsibilities they take on whenever they deal with the public. The BPSA will not only provide you with the facts but has also negotiated with the Pharmacy Insurance Agency (PIA) to provide all preregistration members with legal defence costs insurance during their training year. Alongside this we have also secured a discount on your first year qualified insurance should you wish to take out your own cover.

Events

The cornerstone of the activities of the BPSA are the educational and social events it provides for its members. The main events are as follows:

Regional conferences These are one or two day events which combine educational presentations of a professional or clinical nature relevant to the practice of pharmacy with an evening social event. This type of conference gives students the opportunity to meet and socialise with their peers from their closest school of pharmacy while also gaining a greater insight into their future role as pharmacists. There are seven conferences throughout the country to which all members are welcome. Previous topics have included careers, alternative medicine, sports medicine, substances of misuse and sexual health.

Annual sports weekend This is the big one, sponsored by Lloydspharmacy. Every February hundreds of pharmacy students from all 15 schools of pharmacy meet in a sports centre to compete against each other in a range of sports activities including, football, netball, badminton, volleyball and even a national man-o-man competition. It may not be a five star hotel but when there is so much socialising to be done nobody seems to mind sleeping on the sports hall floor.

Annual conference The BPSA annual conference attracts over 90 pharmacy undergraduates, preregistration trainees and pharmacists in their first year after qualification from all across the land. It provides a forum for debating issues relating to the work of the BPSA, student welfare and the wider profession of pharmacy. A pharmacy careers exhibition is held alongside the conference to give members a unique insight into what is on offer after graduation (and the chance to attend for a single day). This week long event boasts a formidable social programme, which includes various sponsored receptions, a charity fundraising pub crawl and the annual ball. The week provides students with the chance to debate their futures, decide on BPSA policy and meet the leaders of the profession in a relaxed environment. The next year's executive committee is elected at the end of the conference.

The BPSA/Johnson & Johnson MSD patient counselling competition Each year the BPSA organises a nationwide competition that gives undergraduates the opportunity to develop their communication skills in the form of counselling a patient on the use of a prescription medicine in a role play scenario. The event is held in each school of pharmacy, with cash prizes for the winners who progress through to the regional and then on to the final held at the annual conference. Entrants are judged by their ability to communicate effectively rather than their clinical knowledge, thus enabling students from all years to participate fully.

The BPSA/Reckitt & Colman pharmacy student of the year competition This annual competition involves participants completing a multiple choice question paper, which consists of questions set by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the National Pharmaceutical Association and also by the sponsors Reckitt & Colman Products Ltd. This is not an examination and entrants are encouraged to use their initiative as to how they acquire the answers. A tiebreaker is included and the six most successful applicants are invited to attend an informal interview in front of a panel of four representatives from the Society, the NPA, BPSA and Reckitt & Colman. All finalists receive a certificate and a Pharmaceutical Press textbook. The winner receives an all expenses paid trip to the International Pharmaceutical Students' Federation annual congress — a gathering of pharmacy students from all over the world. Congresses have been held in El Salvador, Helsinki and Vancouver.

PPLS travel competition This competition organised in conjunction with Provincial Pharmacy Locum Services is all about travel, freedom and independence. To enter members are asked to send in a proposal of a once in a life time trip that involves a pharmacy aspect. Entrants can be from groups or individuals, and the top three sets of winners receive prizes of £1000, £600 or £400 towards the trip, and they will be loaned a camcorder with which to make a diary of their adventures. A great competition to enter if you want to see the highest pharmacy in Tibet or explore how pharmacy is taught in deepest Peru!

Graduate events The BPSA organises a preregistration conference which discusses the exam, careers, working abroad and also what it's like to sit the exam! In previous years the conference has been held in conjunction with the exhibition Pharmacy Live and also the annual general meeting of the Young Pharmacists Group (YPG).

International

Members if the BPSA automatically become members of the two bodies representing pharmacy students on an international level, the IPSF and the European Pharmaceutical Students' Association (EPSA). The aim of both organisations is to promote co-operation between students from different countries, cultures and backgrounds. IPSF and EPSA both hold annual conferences, which are attended by over 200 students. Recent conferences have been held in Sweden. Malta, El Salvador and many other far away places, with Egypt and Portugal as this year's congress hosts of IPSF and EPSA respectively.

The BPSA sends representatives to most international events and is strongly involved in several international projects. The biggest advantage of this is that members get to participate in the global student exchange programme which provides opportunities to work in over 30 different countries.

e-BPSA

In a major new development the BPSA has teamed up with Pharmalife (a pharmacy internet portal provider) to bring you the latest in internet and electronic communications. This new site is in its infancy at the moment but I guarantee that you will hear much more about this new and developing project over the coming 12 months. To check it out and keep an eye on what's new go to www.bpsa.com

The site will contain all the latest on events, international activities as well as chat rooms, discussion forums, the latest news and a chance to learn more about the executive and of course email us all!

How to join

If you are not already a BPSA member and would like to join, please contact our membership secretary, Rebecca Clark, via the contact details given below. Membership costs £20 for five years (including your preregistration year), or £8 for one year.

BPSA representatives in each school of pharmacy will be able to help you with any enquiries you may have about the various activities and the aims of the association. If you would like to contact any of the executive direct or find out more about a certain topic, go to www.bpsa.com. The BPSA is here to represent student views and provide future pharmacists with an opportunity to develop a clearer view of their chosen profession. Good luck in all your pharmacy related adventures and I hope to see you all at a BPSA event near you!

Pharmacy student diary dates for 2000/01

2000
October	Area conferences happening in seven schools of pharmacy across the UK
November	BPSA competitions start, keep an eye on the notice board for more details
2001
February	The big one! Annual sports weekend
April	Annual conference, Portsmouth 2001. EPSA congress, Portugal.
August	IPSF congress, Egypt

Contact details

BPSA
C/o The Education Division, RPSGB
1 Lambeth High Street, London SE1 7JN
Website: http://www.bpsa.com

President — Catherine Walker
Vice President — Andy Christopherson
Secretary General — Gavin Miller MRPharmS
Treasurer —
Public Relations Officer — Mary Jobling MRPharmS
Membership Secretary — Rebecca Clark MRPharmS
Student Exchange Officer —

Mr Wicks is former president (1999/2000) of the BPSA and a community pharmacist at the Campus Pharmacy, University of Sterling

Tomorrow's Pharmacist October 2000 p6-8 Edited by Pamela Mason