New report emphasises importance of research in pharmacy practice
Published: 1 March 2024
This news story was published when the organisation was the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society welcomes the release of NHS England’s report on the involvement of pharmacy professionals in research. The report proposes the implementation of a clinical academic training pathway for pharmacy professionals by 2030.
RPS President, Professor Claire Anderson, along with Joseph Oakley, Associate Director for Assessment and Credentialing, and Professor Parastou Donyai, RPS Chief Scientist, participated in the working group responsible for developing the report.
RPS President, Claire Anderson, said: “The RPS was delighted to contribute a co-chair and have representation on the short-life working group that produced the report. We wholeheartedly welcome its recommendations. Research is an essential pillar of professional practice, driving continued professional innovation and advancement in care for patients.
“The RPS is committed to enhancing pharmacists’ research capabilities. Research is a common domain across the RPS post-registration curricula due to its importance for professional innovation and advancing patient care. We recently worked with NIHR to create e-learning modules for pharmacists starting their research journeys, along with support services and guidance for members.
“Professional engagement with research, supported by a network of clinical academics, is vital for the profession’s growth; pharmacists are uniquely placed within the healthcare system to drive forward the evidence base on the safe and effective use of medicines. The report’s suggestion to embed RPS curricula frameworks into pharmacists’ job descriptions by 2026 aligns with our mission to integrate research activities across all pharmacy sectors. This initiative will grow a cohort of research-engaged pharmacists ready to lead the pharmacy research agenda.
“Recognising pharmacists’ challenges in balancing research amidst busy frontline roles, we advocate for protected learning time, as outlined in our policy and echoed by the report. Adequate funding is crucial to overcoming these barriers and delivering the report’s vision.”
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Our response to Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists open letter
This letter was published when the organisation was the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Following the open letter sent to us by the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists (GHP), we have responded to them and have set out our response below: Dear Rob, Thank you for your recent letter concerning our Constitution and Governance Review. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) is currently engaged in a conversation with our members and the wider profession about our proposals for change and our ambition to become a Royal College. These proposals are being set out for pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists (whether members or not) via a series of ‘roadshow’ engagement events across GB during October and November. A recurring focus of the conversations we are having at these events is our ambitions to integrate credentialing into the profession; some of the questions about credentialing are echoed in the Guild Council’s letter. We are happy to clarify the benefits we envisage will flow from the further embedding of credentialing and to address some of the other points raised by the Guild Council. The key purpose of RPS credentialing is to protect the public and the integrity of the pharmacy profession through assuring patient-focused pharmacists (i.e., roles that have a direct impact on individual patients and/or patient populations) working at advancing levels of post-registration practice. Defining and assuring post-registration professional standards is a fundamental activity for a royal college and thus fully aligned with our proposals for change. Credentialing provides considerable benefits for pharmacists and the system. For a pharmacist, credentialing can support a standard professional career structure which offers potential for advancement. Credentialing also engenders professional confidence and pride, increases professional cohesion and provides a mechanism by which the skills and capabilities of an individual are recognised. We have also heard from candidates about the benefits they have gained from successfully undertaking credentialing; including increased confidence, improved practice and greater integration within the wider multidisciplinary team. For the employer and wider system, credentialing provides an objective and validated assurance mechanism for employee capability within and across organisations which can inform fair and valid career progression and recruitment decisions, assure consistency across the system and improve workforce portability. It also provides a mechanism by which other health professionals and patients can recognise the level of practice of the pharmacy workforce. We have heard of pharmacists having to ‘re-prove’ their level of practice when they have moved employer, sector, or location, with some having to restart a training pathway from scratch to meet specific regional or national training requirements. This is not efficient or effective for the service, the employer or the pharmacist and is addressed by embedding credentialing in the profession. RPS, in collaboration with the pharmacy profession, has been developing our credentialing model over the last 4 to 5 years and we recognise there is much work ahead of us, in continued partnership with many others in the pharmacy ecosystem, to ensure the full value of credentialing can be realised to the benefit of pharmacists, patients and the public. The changes and opportunities that lie ahead for the pharmacy profession act as a call for action for this change. Medicines, and therefore pharmacy practice, are advancing and becoming more complex; this is mirrored by patients’ healthcare needs. In tandem, the role of the pharmacist in delivering healthcare services within the wider multidisciplinary team is evolving rapidly across community, primary, and secondary care settings, including the prescribing of medicines from point of registration from 2026. We recognise that collaboration is vital in order to enable the integration of credentialing, and we are committed to continued engagement with employers across GB during 2025 and beyond to highlight the value of credentialing for them and their employed pharmacists. We will continue working closely with the Chief Pharmaceutical Officers, Pharmacy Deans and other NHS leaders, and will collaborate with professional representative bodies and other stakeholders, to demonstrate the value credentialing brings to the profession, patients and the wider healthcare system. Introducing a formal progression model into the post-registration space will involve additional effort and cost but we believe that these will be proportionate to the benefit (to patients, pharmacists and the profession) they will bring. NHS education commissioners have already supported pharmacists to engage with credentialing by, for example, providing access to the RPS post-registration foundation e-Portfolio, supporting post-registration foundation candidates through credentialing via national training programmes and funding candidates through core advanced credentialing. We will continue to advocate for employer and system support for the further rollout of credentialing. Credentialing has already been integrated into NHS policy as a requirement to progress to consultant pharmacist roles, in all sectors, including the NHS managed sector, as articulated in the NHS Consultant Pharmacist Guidance. Integrating all levels of credentialing meaningfully into the profession will require collective action and support and achieving this will not be achieved by the RPS or any future royal college in isolation. To be fully woven into the profession, credentialing needs to be integrated into job descriptions, job plans and career progression (including remuneration). We continue to drive for this through our advocacy work. And of course, pharmacists need to be supported. We agree that ensuring pharmacists have the time, space and support to develop professional practice portfolios is essential to integrating credentialing meaningfully in the profession. We have advocated for this through our Protected Learning Time policy and we recognise the need for more effective job planning. RPS curricula describe the recommended level of commitment from employers required to support a pharmacist undergoing a credentialing pathway. We’d like to emphasise that RPS credentialing is not a micro credential in a specific area of clinical practice but the assurance of a level of practice. When credentialing at core advanced level, we are assuring clinical and non-clinical capabilities (for example leadership) which align to the multiprofessional definitions of advanced practice in other professions. Where there is a patient and system need for specific clinical definition and assurance, we will continue to collaboratively develop specialist curricula, as we have done recently in critical care with the UK Clinical Pharmacy Association (UKCPA) and mental health in collaboration with the College of Mental Health Pharmacy (CMHP). The requirements of the specialist curricula can be demonstrated at the same time as the core advanced credentialing process or separately, depending on the pharmacist’s career preferences. Moving away from the question of credentialing and considering the wider ambitions of our proposal for change, we must consider governance. Governance mechanisms exist to ensure appropriate decisions are made in line with the organisation’s ambitions. Our rigorous governance review aims to embed transparency in the way we work and ensure that the future Royal College remains led by the profession. Our intent to register as a charity further ensures that there are appropriate external frameworks and scrutiny in place so that we meet our intended objective of advancing the science and practice of pharmacy, with patient and public benefit at the forefront of our work. We look forward to constructive dialogue with the Guild Council over the coming months as we refine our proposals for change and prepare to set the final proposition before our membership for a vote in early 2025. Meanwhile we invite Guild members together with all pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists to attend one of our roadshow events and/or to find out more about the proposals for change. Yours sincerely, Paul Bennett FRPharmS, Chief Executive, Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Royal College of Pharmacy renews focus on education for pharmacists across all sectors
The Royal College of Pharmacy (RCPharm) is launching a range of education, credentialing and professional support initiatives designed to support and strengthen its education offer for pharmacists at every career stage and in every setting. As the role of pharmacy professionals continues to expand across health systems – including advances in medicines, technology and increased pharmacist prescribing – education, credentialing and professional development remain essential to advancing pharmacy practice and assuring patient safety. Ongoing learning and professional development helps pharmacists strengthen their clinical capability, respond effectively to change and flourish in their practice and career. Louise Goldring, Director of Education at RCPharm comments: “We know that pharmacists will increasingly have a career that spans multiple sectors and settings of practice and we are committed to developing the support, learning and assurance mechanisms that respond to the realities of modern pharmacy practice and enable pharmacists to flourish whatever their chosen career path. “The College is building on the foundations already in place and embarking on an ambitious educational future, working with pharmacy and education stakeholders and listening to the needs of our members and the wider pharmacy community to ensure our education and learning supports pharmacists across their whole professional journey: setting standards, supporting learning and professional development, assuring and recognising advancement and helping pharmacists practice with confidence. “We will continue to introduce education and professional support that helps pharmacists develop, thrive and deliver excellence for patients.” Newly qualified pharmacists support hub for College members: Launching today (Friday 24 July 2026), From Qualified to Confident is a uniquely cross-sector combination of support and learning designed to help newly qualified pharmacists continue to develop as pharmacists while building confidence, capability and judgement in safe and effective practice. Developed in collaboration with experts and leaders across pharmacy and across GB, From Qualified to Confident is designed to complement employer-led training and NHS provision in England, Scotland and Wales. It provides consistent, cross-sector support for pharmacists in every practice setting, helping them develop the capability and judgement needed to practice safely, recognising the responsibility every prescribing decision carries and providing both real time support and reflective education to meet those needs. Enhanced curriculum and credentialing pathway: Launching in September 2026, the enhanced curriculum and credentialing pathway is the Royal College of Pharmacy’s national pathway for supporting newly qualified pharmacist prescribers from newly registered to confident prescribers. Registration is the beginning of a professional journey. Safe and confident prescribing develops through experience, high-quality support and supervision, feedback and reflection – not through registration alone. The pathway will provide the structure pharmacists need to build their clinical skills, professional judgement and confidence through real-world practice. It will also support pharmacists to become well-rounded professionals who can lead improvements, educate others and use evidence to deliver better patient care. Designed for patient-focused practice, it can be used across community pharmacy, primary care, secondary care and other settings. Built for the profession, by the profession, the pathway has been shaped by pharmacists, employers, educators, patients and healthcare partners across every sector and all four UK nations with patient and multidisciplinary voices embedded from the outset. A new e-portfolio will help pharmacists capture evidence of their learning, feedback and practice. RCPharm credentialing will recognise those who demonstrate the enhanced standard, giving pharmacists confidence and recognition, employers and other professions assurance, and patients trust in the care they receive. The enhanced curriculum and credentialing pathway are distinct from the accompanying member support package, and RCPharm membership will not be required to access them. Support and learning for community pharmacists: The College has developed clinical and practical learning that will help community pharmacists prepare for the expanding role of pharmacy services across Great Britain. Content on the College's flagship education and learning platform RCPharm Learn will support pharmacists delivering Pharmacy First services in England and Scotland, and the Pharmacy Independent Prescribing Service in Wales. The resources include clinical learning in key conditions and a focus on practice skills including consultation skills, clinical assessments and remote consultations. RCPharm Learn resources are offered in multiple formats to support different learning styles and preferences. The College is committed to the continued development of education in response to changes in pharmacy practice and informed by member feedback. President of the Royal College of Pharmacy, Tase Oputu said: “The announcement of these ambitious plans to support newly qualified pharmacists, including the forthcoming launch of our enhanced curriculum and credentialing pathway, and our continued work to support pharmacists in community settings, really sets the pace for the College over the coming months as we move towards our goal of providing lifelong learning that prepares, supports and enables pharmacists achieve to excellence in practice and success in any role. “As we develop our long-term strategy, our focus on education, credentialing and enabling excellence in practice will continue to provide career-defining education that enables pharmacists, particularly our members, to excel in practice, grow their skills and deliver for patients and the public wherever they choose to practice.” Explore the newly qualified pharmacists support hub: From Qualified to Confident. Read more news stories.