EXCLUSIVE

Pharmacy schools must be transparent about how they decide which students to accept, the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists (GHP) has said.

David Miller, former GHP president and coordinator of the guild’s inquiry into entry standards, said students need to be “in possession of all the information” about how universities make their decisions.

His comments followed the GHP’s criticism of universities last week that they are producing a “conveyor belt of students” and prioritising quantity over quality. Pharmacy schools hit back by stressing that they try to maintain consistent entry standards and admit applicants as “individuals”.

Mr Miller said the investigation by the GHP – part of trade union Unite – into data from 22 universities in England and Wales showed that those with “lower entry tariffs seem to have a [lower pre-registration exam] pass rate”. “Some universities stand out from the trend but there is an association,” he told C+D on Wednesday (August 19). 

He expressed concerns that "better students" may be "discouraged" from applying to study pharmacy because of the low pass rate, which saw a quarter of students fail June’s registration exam.

It is “the whole profession’s responsibility” to ensure universities have a “more rigorous selection process”, Mr Miller said. But he conceded that it should not just be based on academic achievement, also taking into account “caring skills and values”.

Reader response

Pharmacist Scott Nicholls agreed that prospective students should not only be measured on academic merit. “Not all high achievers make the best professionals,” he posted on the C+D website.

Most C+D readers felt that universities should scrutinise their standards in some form. “Universities should not let the revenue they generate be a factor," said community pharmacist Mumtaz Jivraj. "Let’s get quality rather than quantity in the graduates,” he added.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) will consider its approach to universities’ entry standards as part of its ongoing education review, and community pharmacist M Yang said the regulator should “give strong consideration” to making entry standards “more stringent".

“The public needs to be reassured that tomorrow's pharmacists aren't any Tom, Dick and Harry but were admitted onto the degree based on strict entry requirements. If the GPhC doesn't care about student numbers, then at least care about the image of the profession,” they added.

Watch C+D reporter Annabelle Collins discuss the GHP's response.

How should pharmacy schools select their students?

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