New pharmacists joining the multiple can enrol on a one-year development programme that will start next month, Lloydspharmacy’s parent company McKesson UK announced yesterday (September 25).

Around 90 pharmacists are expected to join the programme this year, which includes a “combination of workplace assessments and portfolio building alongside directed learning”, McKesson UK said.

Pharmacists will also attend a series of “development days” as part of the foundation programme, where they will work on skills including “leadership, decision making and professionalism”.

The newly qualified pharmacists can also decide to complete a postgraduate course as part of Lloydspharmacy’s programme, which is provided by Keele University and can be completed remotely, McKesson UK told C+D.

The aim of the postgraduate course is to expand pharmacists’ knowledge of “public health and monitoring therapy, as well as key therapeutic areas such as cardiovascular, respiratory and mental health”. Pharmacists will be awarded a postgraduate clinical certificate upon completion of their studies, the company explained.

“An extra helping hand”

McKesson UK clinical standards director and superintendent pharmacist Steve Howard said: “It can be a daunting experience walking into a pharmacy for the first time. We are hoping that through this foundational programme, we can give that extra helping hand that will set our young pharmacists up for success.

“We’ve listened to the feedback from our colleagues and have put this programme in place to help improve their experience working with us,” he added.