BPA responds to GPhC consultation on initial education and training standards for pharmacists

The BPA has responded to the current consultation on the initial education of pharmacists. We had a good response from members to our survey monkey on some of the key questions and the views of the members were clear and consistent. For example, 84% of those that responded felt the current 4 year degree plus a pre-registration year should be combined into an integrated 5 year programme with a mixture of academic and practical learning. In addition, 76% of the members that completed the survey felt that schools of pharmacy should not give unconditional offers and 87% felt that only students that achieved the required grades for entry should be accepted into MRPharm degree courses. Finally 92% of BPA members who completed the survey felt that pharmacy students should undertake learning with other healthcare professions during their degree course. These views were incorporated into the BPA response to the consultation that was submitted at the end of March.