It has been a month since you received your General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) registration exam results, and perhaps they weren’t what you were expecting or hoping for. For provisionally registered pharmacists, this may have come as a bitter blow, as the provisional register will close on January 31. From then on, trainees must join the main register to continue to practise as a pharmacist.

Some of the main issues to consider are:

• Loss of confidence and emotional turmoil

• Possible loss of employment, resultant loss of income and financial problems

• Preparations for resitting the exams

• Visa and immigration problems 

 

Settle your emotions

 

Failing the registration exam can be disappointing for a trainee pharmacist. This is particularly true if you have been provisionally registered since the summer of 2020 and you have already been working in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Receiving a ‘FAIL’ result is understandably physically and mentally challenging and it is important that you deal with this in positive manner, so that you can continue to function and move forward.

Perhaps you took the festive period to take a breather and reflect. Whatever emotions you experienced having received your results, it is important to acknowledge them and understand why you felt/feel that way. If these feelings are persistent or affecting your day-to-day function, you may need to speak to your GP or seek help from your current employer and other organisations. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Pharmacist Support and the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (among others) all provide advice and support for trainees.

The subtext of how you handle failure may be the feeling that you have let people down. This is a dangerous downward spiral that you could easily get sucked into, especially if it leads you to feeling and believing that you are not good enough.

This is particularly false knowing that against all the challenges, you qualified to study pharmacy and successfully completed a gruelling four-year master of pharmacy degree, let alone worked tirelessly during a global pandemic. It is this kind of counter-narrative that will hopefully help you to put things into perspective. This can only come about if, after allowing yourself time to grieve, you find time to discuss your predicament with someone you can trust.

Once this emotional phase is under control, you should start looking at your options. Failure is part of life and positively facing it can be a useful learning and growing experience. Stamina and resilience are borne out of adversity. It is a well-documented fact that most successful people have faced failure at some point. If you still want to be a pharmacist, you will need to resit the exam. 

 

Preparing for your resit

 

The GPhC recently announced that the next registration exam will be in June, so there's plenty of time to start preparing for your resit. Preparations should include:

• Focusing on factors within your control. It is imperative that you identify any deficiencies in planning, preparation and execution that may have hindered your previous assessment sitting.

• Reframing the failure as a single event. Your life need not be defined by a single event. Listing circumstances that are likely to be different next time round will help you highlight many hidden positives. This might be factors related to other people and even your own personal circumstances. 

 

Do you require reasonable adjustments at your next resit?

 

The GPhC allows candidates to request reasonable adjustments on the basis of health issues, disabilities, specific learning needs or other specific needs. The adjustments can range from a 25% extension of exam time or use of special equipment to permission to have water to drink on your desk. You should review the GPhC guidance to assess if you qualify for reasonable adjustments and apply if applicable. 

 

Consider your visa implications and take a pharmacy support role

 

Provisional registration was offered to first-time GPhC exam candidates, so you have two more attempts. It should be relatively straightforward if you are a UK resident, but it gets more complicated for those requiring work permits. If you require a visa as a condition for your stay, failing the registration exam may affect your status if you suddenly become unemployed.

If your stay requires a visa, you should contact your sponsoring employer. Further immigration advice can be sought from Citizens Advice (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales) or an immigration advisor. All immigration advisors must be registered with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) or be a member of an approved professional body, for example, The Law Society.

If you are a UK resident and you can sustain yourself financially without working, you can focus on preparing for the next exam. Alternatively, you could negotiate with your current employer or a different employer and work as a dispenser or pharmacy assistant, meaning you can earn an income and be up to date with pharmacy practice too.

Trainees requiring a visa including Overseas Pharmacy Assessment Programme (OSPAP) route trainees, should consider securing alternative employment with their current employer or a different employer as they prepare for their resit. The employer can assist with the application for a visa to allow you to stay until you can sit the exam again. 

 

Take an alternative career path if being a pharmacist is not for you

 

If being registered as a pharmacist is not one of your plans after failing, your pharmacy degree opens up a lot of future career options, for example, working in the pharmaceutical industry, studying for a PhD or physician associate training. Pharmacist Support provides advice and links to career options for trainees who have failed the GPhC exam three times, or for those who seek alternative career paths. The UK Black Pharmacist Association offers support, mentorship and networking for trainee pharmacist members who identify as Black. 

 

The decision is yours…

 

The final decision of what you will do next rests with you and your circumstances and ambitions. Looking after your mental and physical wellbeing should take priority over everything else, as you will be more likely to make wise decisions and choices if you’re fit and well.

Good luck in your next steps!

Authors:

Luso Kumwenda: MSc Community Pharmacy (Cardiff), B Pharm Hons (Zimbabwe), Independent Prescriber, MRPharms, Mentor at UKBPA & RPS

Emmanuel Chisadza: MBA (London), Practice Certificate In Pharmacy Management (Kent/Greenwich), B Comm. (UNISA), B. Pharm Hons (Zimbabwe), MRPharmS