Education

‘Our daughter would still be alive’: Campaign launched over MPharm suicide after wrong exam results

 
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The mother of a pharmacy student who died by suicide after her university wrongly told her that she had failed her second year is campaigning for universities to have a statutory duty of care to prevent more student deaths.

Employers ‘forcing’ pharmacists to be DPPs amid ‘two-tier’ IP system

 
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Some pharmacies are “forcing employees to be designated prescribing practitioners (DPPs)” while DPPs at “one large multiple” are not “routinely prescribing themselves”, Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) members have warned.

Funded community pharmacy technician apprenticeship ‘oversubscribed’

 

The newly announced community pharmacy technician apprenticeship scheme is “oversubscribed”, NHS England (NHSE) has revealed.


RPS Society or College, as health professionals let's continue with the (collegiate!) cooperation

 
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In early 2025, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) will ask members and fellows whether they wish it to be renamed the Royal College of Pharmacy. Two-thirds must agree. My vote, presently, is for college status but I might change my mind.

breaking

BREAKING: Boots and PDA agree 4% pharmacist uplift in 2024 pay deal

 
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Boots pharmacists can expect a 4% uplift in pay, while pharmacist store managers and long-time pharmacist workers will see new minimum pay rates, the PDA has announced.

'Somewhat behind': NHSE reveals plans to add patient safety to pharmacy CPD

 
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NHS England (NHSE) has revealed plans to add extra patient safety training to pharmacy continued professional development (CPD) requirements.  


Aston University upgrades with new £3.3m pharmacy labs

 
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Aston University has revealed its new £3.3m pharmacy training laboratory.

AI outperforms pharmacists in clinical quiz, researchers find

 
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Dutch researchers have found that ChatGPT produces “higher accuracy and reproducibility” than pharmacists when answering clinical pharmacy questions.

Locate a Locum launches £5k final-year MPharm scholarship fund

 
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The locum booking platform has announced a new scheme offering five final-year MPharm students £1,000 “to support their education” and the opportunity to become “brand ambassadors”. 


PSNI fails to hire new chief executive amid concerns

 
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Northern Ireland’s pharmacy regulator has been “unable” to hire a new chief executive, it has revealed.

League table: Which pharmacy schools aced the June 2024 registration exam?

 
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Find out where your alma mater ranked in the June 2024 GPhC registration assessment…

DPP shortage: ‘Excess’ pharmacy trainee places ‘on the face of it’, says GPhC chief

 
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The pharmacy regulator has said that “there is an excess of places” for trainees – as long as placement providers can “actually make good and deliver on the new requirements” for DPPs. 


NHSE to fund 530 community pharmacy technician apprenticeships

 
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NHSE chief pharmacist David Webb has announced a big boost to funded training places for pharmacy technicians in community pharmacies at the APTUK annual conference.

exclusive

Contractor Special Podcast: Training, time, and pharmacy technicians

 

"I'm really, really, scared. I don't want to give the wrong information and I don't want to give the wrong product. And I don't know if I'm ever going to know enough to do it."

Proposals to make DPP 'routine' job responsibility are 'troubling', warns PDA

 
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The union has raised concerns about a report’s “suggestion” to include designated prescribing practitioner (DPP) responsibilities in pharmacists’ job descriptions. 


GPhC opens £4m tender for ‘high stakes’ registration exam provider

 
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The pharmacy regulator is “seeking experienced providers” to fulfill a four-year-long, multi-million-pound registration examination contract. 

Ten pharmacists removed from register ​at once​​ after failing to complete CPD

 
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Ten pharmacists have been removed from the register by the PSNI over "non-compliance" with CPD rules, it has announced.

Concerns over lack of pharmacy academics to teach influx of students

 
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The Pharmacy Schools Council have called for academic pharmacy to be “more attractive” so it can deal with an increase of 1500 pharmacy students by 2031.


DPP shortage: Crunch talks generate positive engagement, say RPS and NPA

 

The RPS and the NPA have joined forces to call for action over the designated prescribing practitioners (DPP) shortage, identifying pressure points including competition for DPPs between students, continuity with mentors, and consistency across placements.

Pharmacy Schools Council names new chair for 'time of flux'

 
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The University of Nottingham’s Professor Barrie Kellam has been elected as chair of the Pharmacy Schools Council (PhSC), it has announced.