Pre-reg pharmacists are conducting MURs on their own in some pharmacies, directly flouting service requirements and leaving the pharmaceutical student body "shocked", a C+D poll has revealed.

Nearly a third of the 243 readers responding to a C+D poll last week said they were aware of pre-reg pharmacists conducting the advanced service without having a registered pharmacist present during the consultation.

Twenty five per cent had heard of the problem and 9 per cent said they said they had direct experience of the practice, which contravenes requirements for MURs to be either conducted or supervised by a qualified pharmacist with an MUR certificate.

Almost a third of respondents reported being aware of pre-regs conducting MURs without the required supervision, C+D's poll found	More on pre-reg pharmacists BPSA hits out at registration exam Pre-reg pass rate falls as focus switches to practical skills Being a pre-reg tutor MORE NEWS
	A recently qualified pharmacist, who wished to remain anonymous, said locums had asked him to conduct MURs and NMS interventions at the pharmacy where he worked as a pre-reg.

"I said the service specifications required a registered pharmacist and I wouldn't be able to do them, and that was actually a surprise to the locum," he told C+D. He believed the requests were down to a lack of awareness of the requirements, rather than a disregard for the need to have a registered pharmacist present.

Although he refused to conduct the service, he was aware of other pre-regs feeling obliged to agree when asked by their line managers. The responsible pharmacist would sign off the interventions as their own, he reported.

"When it's your line manager who's going to be signing off your competencies, some don't have the confidence to refuse," he reported. "You could, for example, be told that you're not contributing to store performance, which is one of the main factors multiples look at when they take you on [as an employee]."

Raj Jain, pharmacist at W/R Evans (Chemist) Ltd t/a Manor Pharmacy, Burton-on-Trent, said he had heard of pre-regs being asked to conduct advanced services at other pharmacies. "It's dotted around various pharmacies," he told C+D. "All the tutors I know personally toe the line, but I know the practice does happen in some small pharmacies – I don't know about the multiples."

The British Pharmaceutical Students' Association said it was "shocked" to learn of the practice."We were not previously aware that situations such as these were occurring," said president Katy Parsons. "Although a pre-reg may feel clinically ready to conduct MURs, they are not professionally able to do so."

The GPhC confirmed that pre-registration pharmacists can conduct MURs under the supervision of a registered pharmacist as part of their training. MUR forms must be signed by the registered pharmacist, who takes overall responsibility for the intervention.

For more on MURs, visit the C+D MUR Zone, sponsored by Teva.

Have you come across pre-regs being asked to undertake duties that  contravene professional requirements? Comment below or email us at [email protected] You can also find C+D on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook