Tomorrow's Pharmacist October 1999 p6-9
Edited by Pamela Mason

The BPSA

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

By Jonathan Burton, BPharm, MRPharmS

The BPSA represents students' interests and co-ordinates a variety of social and educational events for its members. It's president describes its main activities.

Founded in 1942, the British Pharmaceutical Students' Association (BPSA) has been promoting the interests and welfare of pharmacy undergraduates and preregistration trainees for over 50 years. In 1967, the Council of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society accepted BPSA's request to become an official branch of the Society, and the association is also recognised by all other major pharmaceutical organisations as being the official student body for those training to become pharmacists.
As a branch of the Society, the BPSA has the opportunity to propose motions relating to students at the annual branch representatives' meeting held at the Society's headquarters in London. Student representatives from the BPSA also meet with members of 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.

Organisation

The representative and organisational role of the BPSA is co-ordinated by an annually elected executive committee. This executive consists of 17 members, including students, preregistration trainees and newly qualified pharmacists.
The BPSA organises its activities on a local, regional and national level. Locally, there is at least one BPSA student representative in each school of pharmacy who is responsible for co-ordinating the services of the association and promoting events within the particular university. The BPSA executive has four area co-ordinators who are responsible for organising events and overseeing the activities of the association in a particular group of schools of pharmacy.
The areas and their constituent schools are as follows:

Nationally, the BPSA organises sporting, educational and social events, which are co-ordinated by the executive with the help of the representatives from each school of pharmacy. The BPSA investigates issues of importance to the membership, partly through the formation of small working groups involving non-executive members. The executive also nominates a representative to serve as a liaison with the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists to advise on student issues relevant to pharmacy in the hospital sector.
The BPSA is jointly funded by its membership, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and various forms of sponsorship.

Services

The BPSA provides a range of free publications for its members. The Future Pharmacist magazine is published three times a year and provides undergraduate readers with information on past, present and future BPSA events, competitions, career options within the profession and various other topics of interest to pharmacy students. Regional newsletters are also distributed throughout the year to keep members in touch with local BPSA events and activities.
The Graduate Link magazine is the BPSA publication for preregistration trainees. It contains articles on issues relevant to those approaching qualification, including future career options, changes in the professional role of the pharmacist and information on educational events of interest to preregistration trainees.
The BPSA executive constantly works to provide discounts on books and journals to its members and liaises with the Pharmaceutical Press and other publishers to bring affordable texts to those studying for the MPharm degree. A recent breakthrough has been the introduction of the NatWest Bank professional trainee loan for pharmacy undergraduates - something the BPSA has advocated for many years.
Last year the BPSA launched e-BPSA, a website (http://members.aol.com/bpsauk), which provides information on all the activities of the association as well as providing links to other useful pharmacy sites on the internet. e-BPSA also has a facility for members to feed back to the executive their opinions on the services and events offered by the BPSA.

Events

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

• Regional conferences These are one day or weekend events, which combine educational presentations on professional and clinical topics of relevance to the practice of pharmacy with an evening social event. This kind of event gives students the opportunity to meet and socialise with their peers from nearby schools of pharmacy while gaining a further insight into their future role as pharmacists. Past conference themes have been sexual health, homoeopathy, drug abuse and sports medicine.
• Annual sports weekend This is the big one! Every February/March hundreds of pharmacy students from all 15 British 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 many more besides. There is a heavy emphasis on socialising over the weekend and despite the not so luxurious accommodation (the sports hall floor) a good time is had by all!
• Annual conference The BPSA annual conference attracts over 70 pharmacy undergraduates and preregistration trainees from across the country. It provides a forum for debating issues relating to the work of BPSA, student welfare and the wider profession of pharmacy. A professional pharmacy careers exhibition is held alongside the conference to give members a unique insight into what is on offer after graduation. This week long event boasts a formidable social programme, which includes various sponsored receptions, a charity fundraising pub crawl and the annual dinner dance. The week provides students with an opportunity to debate their futures, decide on BPSA policy and meet leaders of the profession in an informal atmosphere. 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 prescription medication in a role play situation. The event is held in each school of pharmacy, with cash prizes for the winners who progress through to the regional final stage to the national final held at the BPSA annual conference in April. Entrants are judged on their ability to communicate effectively rather than their clinical knowledge, thus enabling students at all stages in their undergraduate training 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 the competition finals held at the BPSA annual conference. Here they 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 Pharmaceutical Press textbooks. The winner receives an all expenses paid trip to the annual International Pharmaceutical Students' Federation (IPSF) congress, a gathering of pharmacy students from all over the world. Next year's congress will be held in El Salvador, while previous winners have travelled to Prague, Vancouver and Helsinki. This is undoubtedly a prize worth winning!
• Graduate events The BPSA organises a preregistration conference (usually held in November) which gives attendees the opportunity to hear presentations on various career options, including more unusual vocations such as pharmacy journalism and prison work. The day event also provides a useful insight into the preregistration exam and advice on how to get the most out of your preregistration placement(s). Recently, the event has been held in conjunction with the successful Pharmacy Live exhibition and last year saw record attendances of almost 200 graduates. A weeklong ski-ing trip for BPSA members is also organised each year in January and proves especially popular with preregistration trainees. This year's destination is the Italian Alps and promises good snow and plenty of aprés-ski!

International activities

Members of 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. The next IPSF congress will be held in August 2000 in El Salvador, and the next EPSA congress is to be held in April 2000 in Uppsala, Sweden.
The BPSA sends representatives to most international events and is strongly involved in several international student led projects. Recently the BPSA has focused on an IPSF project to raise awareness of the dangers of smoking among schoolchildren. The BPSA has also raised a considerable amount of money to aid a multidisciplinary project in Tanzania to help build a healthcare centre in a rural village that currently has no such facilities.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of BPSA's international ties is the fact that it allows BPSA members to participate in a global student exchange programme which provides opportunities to work in pharmacies abroad in over 30 different countries.

How to join

If you are not already a BPSA member and would like to join, please contact this year's membership secretary, Gill Campbell, via the contact details given below. Membership costs £20 for five years (including your preregistration year), or £8 for one year.
BPSA student representatives in each school of pharmacy will be able to help you with any enquiries you may have about the various activities and aims of the association. The BPSA website also provides a wealth of information on our activities as well as the opportunity to feed back any comments you may have. You can also contact any member of the executive via our e-mail address.
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 for your exams and the future.

e-BPSA

e-BPSA is the official internet site for the British Pharmaceutical Students' Association. The website contains background information on the history and organisation of the association and how to become an active member. Also available is up to date information on the wide ranging activities of the BPSA including educational conferences, sports events, pharmacy competitions as well as international, fundraising and political activities.
e-BPSA is a useful route to finding out about other websites of potential interest to future pharmacists, and BPSA members are also able to feed back their opinions on the association via an e-mail link accessible through the website. A special feature of the site is a guide to international pharmacy student exchange, which BPSA participates in, with reports from undergraduates who have been placed all over the world.
e-BPSA is a newly introduced service for pharmacy students and preregistration trainees, so please help us to make it as useful as possible by logging on to http://members.aol.com/bpsauk and letting us know what you think!

Pharmacy student diary dates for 1999/2000

November 28-29 1999: Pharmacy Live! & Pharmacy Careers Fair, Business Design Centre, London
January 1 5-22 2000: BPSA Skiing Trip, Italy
March 2000: BPSA Annual Sports Weekend
April 16-23 2000: BPSA Annual Conference, Bradford
April 24-30 2000: European Pharmaceutical Students' Association (EPSA) Congress, Uppsala, Sweden
August 2000: International Pharmaceutical Students' Federation Congress, El Salvador

BPSA/IPSF student exchange programme

In conjunction with the International Pharmaceutical Students' Federation, the British Pharmaceutical Students' Association has, for many years now, helped to organise a student exchange programme for its members.
Pharmacy students from around the world are given the opportunity to gain experiences in a country other than their own. The placements are based around a pharmaceutical setting, yet are arranged so that the student gains more than just pharmaceutical knowledge. The student is encouraged to experience the exchange as a whole, learning about a different lifestyle and culture.
Placements available on the programme are well sought after and, unfortunately, the demand for placements always exceeds the number available. However, the programme continues to expand year by year.
Each year the countries taking part alter slightly according to circumstances. Currently the programme involves approximately 40 countries, ranging from Canada and the USA to South Africa, El Salvador and, recently new to the programme, the Philippines, as well as most European countries.
The placements are varied around the world and can combine many aspects of pharmacy. Most placements are based in a community pharmacy, hospital or industry setting. There are, however, some specialised placements that exist which involve other sides of pharmacy such as wholesale and consultant pharmacy or a combination of these branches of the profession.
Placements are usually for between one and three months. However, some students may wish to stay longer. The people who offer these placements also want to learn how pharmacy works in other countries and culture. Students on the exchange are, therefore, expected to share their knowledge and experiences with the hosts.
Of course, as with everything, there are some costs involved in the exchange programme. Initially there is an application fee, the cost of flights, insurance, visas etc. However, most placements provide accommodation and board.
For more information on the exchange programme you can contact the current student exchange officer via the BPSA web site http://members.aol.com/bpsauk or e-mail (bpsauk@aol.com or seogreatbritain@hotmail.com). The web site also contains excerpts of reports from past successful applicants. You can find out how their exchanges went and what they got up to!

Contact details

BPSA
c/o The Education Division, RPSGB
1 Lambeth High Street London SE1 7JN
e-mail: bpsauk@aol.com
website: http://members.aol.com/bpsauk

President: Jonathan Burton MRPharmS
Vice President: Lindsay McClure MRPharmS
Secretary General: Amy Billingham MRPharmS
Treasurer: Jo Hallatt MRPharmS
Public Relations Officer: Noel Wicks
Membership Secretary: Gill Campbell
Student Exchange Officer: Mary Jobling

Mr Burton is President of the BPSA and works as a locum in community pharmacy

Tomorrow's Pharmacist is an annual publication produced within the editorial department of The Pharmaceutical Journal