Inside Tomorrow's Pharmacist (2001)

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Pharmacy is fun - a guide to pharmacy organisations

Pharmacy is fun - a guide to pharmacy organisations
by Douglas Hancox BPharm, MRPharmS

These are exciting times. Never has there been such a diversity of practice opportunities for pharmacists. In addition to the traditional openings in community and hospital practice there are many new opportunities in primary care. Many pharmacists are now also engaged in more than one area of practice. A pharmacy career is interesting, challenging and professionally rewarding. What is often not emphasised is that a career in pharmacy is also highly enjoyable. Yes, it is great fun.

Within your undergraduate course or preregistration year you are almost certainly enjoying learning with your peers and having an active social life. Have no fear, this enjoyment and fun will continue. In the first place learning will continue throughout your career and much of this learning will be in the company of others. Furthermore, your career will bring you face to face with members of the general public and with a wide variety of health care professionals and this will produce many lighthearted moments.

In addition, you will be delivering pharmacy services alongside other pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy assistants. Apart from enjoying your work as a member of such a team you will also have many opportunities to socialise together. Finally, you will get considerable enjoyment and fun from your active participation as a member of one or more of the various professional bodies in pharmacy.

Of prime importance will be the local branch of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the UK Clinical Pharmacists' Association, the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists and the College of Pharmacy Practice.

Of course, the meetings and conferences of the professional bodies have their serious side. As a participant you will focus on the content of lectures and workshops and of oral and poster presentations. You will reflect on the delivered material and you will question the presenters. However, meetings and conferences provide many opportunities for socialising, for maintaining and extending friendships and for partying. The combination of professional content and social activity is a potent mix that will give considerable support to your career and professional development.

Your local branch

Your participation in the local branch of the Society will be of particular benefit. The branch network was established in 1922 and is a cornerstone of the Society. Meetings are not always held in the most luxurious of rooms, are generally not advertised in the most upbeat manner and in some cases are poorly attended. However the local branch meeting can, and should, play a key role in every pharmacist's professional life.

Every local pharmacist can attend, from the newly qualified to the retired, from community and hospital practice, as well as industry and academia depending on the location of the branch. It does not matter whether you are an owner, a manager, a locum, or whether you work in the community, hospital, academia or industry. Everyone is welcome and it will cost you nothing apart from your time.

The local branch meeting provides an excellent forum in which members can meet, listen to lectures of professional or general interest, share ideas, learn from each other, sort out any local difficulties and set up local initiatives and projects. The branch will also organise social occasions and every meeting allows members to meet over a light meal, coffee or drinks, to relax in each other's company, enjoy a few laughs together and set the world to rights.

Every year the branch will have the opportunity to put motions to the branch representative's meeting. Such political activity is important. It allows branch members the opportunity of advancing their own ideas and providing feedback to the Society's Council on actions the Council has taken or proposes to take. The branch meeting provides many opportunities to establish new friendships, maintain and renew old friendships and to counter the isolation in which some pharmacists work. You will gain much from regular attendance at branch meetings and, through your support, you will help to ensure that the branch network continues to give considerable support to the development of the profession.

UKCPA

The UK Clinical Pharmacists' Association (UKCPA) was established in 1980 with a declared aim of promoting and developing patient centred pharmacy practice. It has members from all parts of the profession and is widely consulted by other professional bodies.

The highlights of the UKCPA year are the autumn and spring residential symposia. These long established meetings are fun from beginning to end. Held in quality venues they bring together 250 or so pharmacists intent on having a great time and, at the same time, learning from the invited speakers and from each other.

Keynote lectures, workshop sessions and poster presentations feature within the symposia, which always have much to offer both community and hospital pharmacists. The association has a number of special interest groups. These include those devoted to care of the elderly, critical care, education and training and primary care development. These groups provide ongoing support for their members, hold their own fringe meetings at the symposia and hold other meetings during each year. Education and training figures highly on the agenda of the association and it has published a series of practice and resource guides.

The association has a number of awards available to members. These awards have enabled recipients to undertake research and present and publish their findings at relevant meetings. A weekend clinical skills course for preregistration pharmacists has been a valuable feature of the association's programme for the past 10 years.

The Guild

The Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists, with a continuous link stretching back to the Public Dispensers' Association founded in 1897, addresses the professional needs of hospital pharmacists, and also those pharmacists providing specialist services beyond hospital boundaries or working as advisers to health authorities.

As an independent body, it also negotiates pay and conditions for NHS hospital pharmacists. Its input into pharmacy practice, nationally and internationally, is immense.

Its major conference, the guild weekend school, has a long tradition of excellence. No-one who has attended a guild weekend can have come away from the meeting without having deepened their friendship with fellow participants, enjoyed the social activities and gained considerably from the lectures, workshops, medical exhibition and contributed papers and posters. The exchange of ideas and the motivation gained from the work of leading edge practitioners is invaluable to personal and service development.

The Guild has a number of awards available to its members that support practice research activity and contribute to both personal and service development. In addition to the weekend school, the Guild also holds other national meetings, has its own publication and meetings are also organised by its local groups.

At local group meetings members hear of the work of their colleagues and debate issues currently facing the profession. Local groups bring motions forward to the annual GHP group delegates meeting where members have a further opportunity to contribute to the development of the profession and gain personal development in a friendly, supportive and enjoyable environment.

College of Pharmacy Practice

The College of Pharmacy Practice was established in 1981 by the Society to enhance and promote high standards of pharmacy practice. It became independent of the Society in 1986. Members accept a requirement to undertake a minimum level of accredited continuing education each year and have access to a continuing professional development portfolio. The portfolio supports self appraisal and reflective practice and is a valuable tool for professional development.

Associate membership of the College is open to any pharmacist and full membership is attained either by examination or by practice. The assessment is rigorous and membership of the College is equivalent to gaining a postgraduate diploma from any of the schools of pharmacy. Membership by examination is achieved through independent study of selected practice based examination modules, while membership by practice is through submission of a personal portfolio that demonstrates that the candidate has met the required practice criteria.

The College system fits in well with work and family commitments and allows members to select examination modules relevant to their practice or to submit a portfolio attesting to their high level of practice. If you choose to seek membership by examination, you can work towards this by working independently or as a member of an informal study group.

Those who seek membership through the submission of a portfolio have access to a mentor to guide them in their submission.

Beyond the initial membership of the College further opportunities exist for members to achieve the College's practice award, advanced award (by practice or examination) or fellowship. Through these awards, and the fellowship, the College provides career long support and recognition.

In addition to its assessment and examination focus, the College also runs a series of study days, the valuable "Credit for learning" series within the Pharmaceutical Journal and Hospital Pharmacist, all of which make an important contribution to the continuing development of the profession.

Continuing education

Mention must be made of the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE), the Scottish Centre for Post Qualification Pharmaceutical Education (SCPPE) and the Welsh Centre for Postgraduate Pharmaceutical Education (WCPPE). These are the major pharmacy continuing education providers in England, Scotland and Wales respectively. One does not become a member of these organisations but their programme of workshops provides further opportunities for pharmacists to meet together, to socialise and, simultaneously, to enhance their understanding and professional skills.

Others

The Primary Care Pharmacists' Association caters for primary care pharmacists, the UK Drug Information Pharmacists' Group for NHS drug information pharmacists and the UK Psychiatric Pharmacists' Group for psychiatric pharmacists. Then there are the Young Pharmacists Group and the Institute of Pharmacy Management International.

International

At an international level there is the International Pharmacy Federation (FIP) and the Commonwealth Pharmacists' Association. Both play a key role in the continued development of the profession and enable pharmacists to meet with, and learn from the experience of, pharmacists from other countries.

NAWP

Special mention must be made of the National Association of Women Pharmacists (NAWP). NAWP dates back to 1905 and has played a key role in supporting women pharmacists in the development of their careers. Membership is open to all pharmacists, male and female, and the association holds an annual conference and supports a network of local groups.

Conclusion

There are many other professional groups and bodies in which you may participate. Some would argue that there are too many such groups and bodies. However, all have their devotees, all play a useful role and there is significant cross membership. The Society has membership groups for veterinary, community, hospital and industrial pharmacists, a special interest group for academic pharmacists and an academy of pharmaceutical scientists.

As an undergraduate student or preregistration trainee you will have high hopes for your future career. You will have identified ways in which you wish to practice and changes you wish to see in pharmacy practice and in the profession. You owe it to yourself and to the profession to join with your colleagues to develop your own career and to further develop the profession.

Few of you will choose, or have the time, to participate in all of the organisations open to you. However, participation in the activities of your local branch of the Society and one or more of the other professional bodies will be a sound investment that will enable you to meet both of these obligations. Furthermore, you can rest assured that you will have considerable enjoyment and fun from such participation throughout your career.

Mr Hancox is a retired pharmacist now living in Auckland, New Zealand. Previously, he was education and training pharmacist, South Thames NHSE