The first sitting of the General Pharmaceutical Council's (GPhC) new-look registration exam met with a mixed reaction from students.

The regulator announced in 2014 that it would be unveiling a revamped version of the exam – which students sat for the first time yesterday (June 30) – to better reflect "current best practice" in pharmacy education.

All open book sources for the exam – including the British National Formulary (BNF) – have been replaced with materials that pharmacists regularly come into contact with, such as patient information leaflets. Students were also permitted to use a calculator in a separate paper, with the number of calculation questions doubled from 20 to 40.

"Completely different"

One pre-registration student, who did not wish to be named, told C+D they found the calculations exam "good". However, the second paper was "completely different to what we thought it would be", because it was less focused on clinical issues than they were expecting.

"I’m really unhappy, and I know loads of other people are unhappy as well," they said.

Pre-registration tutor Altaf Vaiya told C+D the reaction to the exam had been "mixed". While "one or two" students he had spoken to had expected the questions to be more clinical, others had found the exam "fair" with "realistic questions".

Students who sat last year's exam – which had the lowest pass rate for six years – found the exam "much better" in comparison, which showed the GPhC had "listened to feedback", Mr Vaiya added.

"Tough but fair"

Some pre-registration students took to Twitter to share their experiences of the exam with C+D.

@CandDJamesW @Babir1981 I much prefer the new style. The critical thinking element prepares you better for your future as a pharmacist.

— Sara Dhanji (@SaraDhanji) July 1, 2016

 

@CandDJamesW was tough but fair. Felt quite practical & problem based. Having artefacts also good e.g. Pic of rash to help with diagnosis

— Michael Smith (@PreRegStudent93) July 1, 2016

 

@CandDJamesW it was tough! :(

— Emily JY (@joon_emily) July 1, 2016

 

Difficult papers but #PreRegExam done! God's grace will make the impossible possible! #PreReg16

— Dimble (@dimble_m) 30 June 2016

 

Early feedback coming from @TheGPhC #prereg exam is of candidates feeling positive of the new papers

— Mohammed Hussain (@EPSPharmacist) June 30, 2016

 

C+D has produced podcasts to help students prepare for the exam, and make the most of their first role as a qualified pharmacist.