Finding an expert mentor

Find an expert mentor to support your consultant pharmacist credentialing journey and professional development.

Published: 11 January 2021

This was published when the organisation was the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Find an expert mentor to support you through the four key areas of the consultant pharmacist curriculum:

Clinical
Leadership and Management
Education
Research

Use our mentoring platform and rest assured that you’ll be matched with a verified expert mentor who has had to meet specific eligibility criteria.

What are the responsibilities of an expert mentor?

Expert mentors are expected to:

Provide support and development in one or more of the four key areas of the curriculum.
Undertake and record regular reviews with pharmacists using the expert mentor report template and review their progress in your nominated area(s) of expertise.
Identify if pharmacists are experiencing difficulties, liaising with relevant colleagues, including other expert mentor(s) and professional coach, to put in place a support programme to mitigate these.

Can I have an expert mentor in more than one area?

Yes. We have many expert mentors who are experts in more than one area. You should agree with your expert mentor which areas you would like support with at your first introductory meeting.

You can seek new or additional mentor(s) using the mentoring platform at any time.

How much time do I need to dedicate to being a mentee using the expert mentor service?

This will vary depending on your development needs.

As with any mentoring relationship, we advise that you agree on ways of working with your Expert Mentor at your first introductory meeting. This will help you determine your preferred learning style and manage any expectations (from both sides).

Can I opt out of a mentor relationship if my circumstances change?

We understand that work and personal circumstances may change from time to time.

If you have committed to regular meetings with your Expert Mentor but find that you won’t have the time, please have a conversation with them about your availability and agreed next steps.

Approval of expert mentors

Our process for approving the expertise and experience of Expert Mentors assures you as a mentee on their suitability to support in the relevant areas of the curriculum.

We use the information they provide within their profile, specifically their job description and achievements/qualifications.

If they are an RCPharm faculty member, we approve them based on their faculty levels in the four key areas.

The expert mentor’s approval status will be displayed as a blue tick within the platform. This will be visible to you as a mentee when you search for expert mentors for consultant pharmacist credentialing.

How to find your expert mentor

Firstly, if you’ve not already done so, you will need to set up a profile on the mentoring platform.

Click on ‘find a mentor’.
Select ‘consultant pharmacist credentialing/development’ from the list of ‘skills’.
Select an expert area(s) from the following:
- Leadership and management
- Education
- Research
- Clinical expert
Click ‘update search results’.
You will be displayed with expert mentors who can be uniquely identified, as they will be presented with a blue tick next to the expert skills you would have selected.
Send your chosen expert mentor a request for mentoring and begin your journey.

Find out more about the consultant pharmacist credentialing process.

You can also email the team with any questions you may have at [email protected].

Requirements for expert mentors

This was published when the organisation was the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Who can be an expert mentor? CP expert mentors – eligibility criteria Approval of expert mentors Becoming an expert mentor Who can be an expert mentor? Expert mentors possess relevant experience and qualifications to be able to provide support in four key areas of the consultant pharmacist curriculum. The four key areas are: Clinical Leadership and management Education Research CP expert mentors – eligibility criteria Please note that is an example table only, with an idea of what credentials, qualifications and roles we believe would make a suitable consultant pharmacist expert mentor. We also understand that you role may span across all expert areas and we would very much welcome hearing from you at [email protected]. If your equivalence is not listed below, please do still select the expert area on the mentoring platform you wish to support in and we will use our professional judgement when deciding on suitability. Consultant pharmacist credentialing/development expert areaEquivalent faculty credentialsEquivalent qualificationsEquivalent rolesClinical expert mentorMastery in Expert Professional Practice (in relevant clinical area)Consultant pharmacist credentials- Clinical leads- Policy leads- Clinical/service specialistLeadership & management mentorMastery level in Leadership and Advanced Stage II or Mastery in Management- Management qualifications, e.g. MBA- NHS leadership academy qualification- Project lead/manager- Head of department- Superintendent/chief pharmacist- Pharmacy manager/lead pharmacist- Qualified person- Director/CEOEducation mentorAdvanced Stage II or Mastery in Education, Training & Development- HEA qualification- Masters/MSc in education- Professorship- Education and training lead- Education programme lead- Senior lecturerResearch mentorAdvanced Stage II or Mastery in Research & Evaluation- Masters/MSc qualifications- Doctorate (PhD or DPharm)- Professorship- Peer reviewer for journal/publication, conferences, funding programmes- Editor for journal/publication- Research project supervisor- Pharmacy Research UK mentor These role and qualification lists are only some examples of suitable experiences and expertise for Expert Mentors – you may be eligible even if your role or qualification is not listed (see approval of expert mentors below). You don’t have to be an existing RCPharm mentor. You can register to be an expert mentor on our platform at any time. What are the responsibilities of an expert mentor? Expert mentors are expected to: Provide support and development in one or more of the four key areas of the curriculum. Undertake and record regular reviews with pharmacists using the expert mentor report template and review their progress in your nominated area(s) of expertise. Identify if pharmacists are experiencing difficulties, liaising with relevant colleagues, including other expert mentor(s) and professional coach, to put in place a support programme to mitigate these. Find out more about the consultant pharmacy credentialing process. Can I be an expert mentor in more than one area? Yes. You can choose to provide support in as many areas as you wish. You should also agree with your mentee which areas you will support with at your first introductory meeting. Can I be an expert mentor for more than one individual? Yes, if you have the capacity to do so. There is no limit on the number of individuals you can mentor at a time. Mentees will send you an invitation to be their Expert Mentor. Simply accept their invitation to start mentoring. If you cannot support additional mentees, make yourself Unavailable on the platform. You will no longer appear as an available mentor and will not be searchable to new mentees. How much time do I need to dedicate to my role as an expert mentor? This will vary depending on the development needs of the individual. As with any mentoring relationship, we advise that you agree on ways of working with your mentee at your first introductory meeting. This will help you determine your mentees preferred learning style and manage any expectations (from both sides). It may be also helpful to complete a mentoring contract, set some ground rules, and review this regularly. Use our template for setting and agreeing ground rules for mentoring. What if I don’t want to be an expert mentor? Can I still provide general mentoring for consultant pharmacists? Yes, you can offer to support as a general mentor for consultant pharmacists as we know our mentees may require short term support or ad-hoc development support for everyday practice as they are gaining experience for the credentialing process. If you want to offer general support, do not select expert areas when prompted to do so within the mentoring platform. Can I opt out if my circumstances change? We understand that work and personal circumstances may change from time to time. If you have offered to support a pharmacist but can no longer support, please have a conversation with your mentee about your availability and agreed next steps for their development. Mentees can seek new or additional mentor(s) using the mentoring platform at any time. You will also need to update your profile to reflect your availability and preferred areas for mentoring, so this is accurately displayed for prospective mentees. Approval of expert mentors Our process for approving the expertise and experience of expert mentors assures mentees of your suitability to support in the relevant areas of the curriculum. We use the information you provide within your profile, specifically your job description and achievements/qualifications. If you are an RCPharm faculty member, we approve you based on your faculty levels in the four key areas. Your approval status will be displayed as a blue tick within the platform. This will be visible to mentees when they search for expert mentors for consultant pharmacist credentialing. If my job role and/or qualification do not appear on your eligibility criteria, can I be an expert mentor? If we are not able to ascertain your suitability to act as an expert mentor, we’ll email you to ask for further information to help us with the approval process. How will I know when the approval process is complete? You will receive an email to confirm your expert mentor status. A blue tick will appear within your profile next to your selected expert areas. If you cannot see a blue tick, despite receiving confirmation of approval, please email [email protected]. Becoming an expert mentor How do I set up or update my profile as an expert mentor? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlwKrjhCXOw Already a mentor? Go to https://rcpharm.onpld.com/ Click on your profile. Click on the 'skills' field. Select 'consultant pharmacist credentialing/development' from the list Read the information and select the areas that you’d like to support with.The options are: Leadership and management Education Research Clinical expert Verify that you are happy to proceed with the approval process. Save your profile. Wait for a mentoring request from a consultant pharmacist mentee. Start mentoring! New to mentoring? Go to https://rcpharm.onpld.com/ Accept the T&Cs and complete the declaration of suitability for mentors. Complete on your profile as prompted' Within the ‘skills’ field, select ‘consultant pharmacist credentialing/development’ from the list. Read the information and select the areas that you’d like to support with.The options are: Leadership and management Education Research Clinical expert Verify that you are happy to proceed with the approval process. Save your profile. Wait for a mentoring request from a consultant pharmacist mentee. Start mentoring! As a new mentor, you must create a profile and save it to be searchable. You can come back and edit the details at any point. Access your expert mentor profile Create or update your profile as an expert mentor. Click here

Expert mentoring service

Support your consultant pharmacist credentialing journey through expert mentoring and professional guidance.