Contractor Al Patel says the overnight change from pre-reg to fully qualified pharmacist was quite stark but he learned more in his first two weeks than he did in his pre-reg year
James Davies welcomed the opportunity during his MPharm to go out on placements and praises the movement towards a better practice/science mix
Lotte Bain finished her MPharm three weeks ago (congratulation). Says patient-based approach was much more prevalent than a modular approach – patient care was central to her learning
GP Petre Jones says medical school is also integrating clinical, vocational and consultational skills much more and much earlier than it was in the past.
GPhC's Damian Day says schools must show they are integrated, clinical and working with other professionals
Sue Ambler says employers want to know that pharmacists can do clinical calculations in practice, not just in a controlled exam environment
Petre Jones talks about the need for proof that healthcare professionals can work "in the heat of battle" beyond the exam hall
Tim Rendall is lamenting the amount of time in the final year that is taken up preparing for exams
Lotte Bain says, across UK universities, there is a lot of variation in the amount of placement experience available to students
Are SOPs and bureaucratic procedures standing in the way of more fulfilling placements?
Damian Day spent the morning with Boots trainees – they said there should be a national training standard beyond the pre-reg exam
Sid Dajani says the pre-reg exam tests your knowledge not competency. It's just another exam. A year-long exam would expose weaknesses. Competency involves skills, behaviour and values.
Placements are done in a gentlemen's agreement basis. We need more robust structures to ensure trainees get adequate training, says Susan Sanders
In their last month, Al Patel lets his pre-reg take over the pharmacy and pretend he's not there. He also lets them come along to GP meetings
GP Petre Jones says his registrars to the pharmacist and the pharmacist sends their pre-reg to the GPs as early as possible to avoid growing "in silos" and integrating as soon as possible
Petre Jones says meeting the pre-reg ASAP builds a strong relationship from the get go
Petre Jones says, in big generalisation, medical registrars have better communication skills while pre-regs have more science-based knowledge but less idea of how they can put them into practice
Petre Jones says an assessment has to be fit for purpose and within a professional context. GPs do a three-hour mock surgery with patients as actors. Is this transferable to pharmacy?
Working towards a test that is based in practice will force a pre-reg to train to be a good practising pharmacist
Petre Jones words get strong nods of approval from Sid Dajani
GPhC's Damian Day doesn't think the exam will always look as it does now
Recruitment to pharmacy schools has changed so much over the years. Difficult to judge applicants' professional acumen
Susan Sanders says a lot of people have poor work placement experiences
Lotte Bain says BPSA there is a lack of assessment for pre-reg tutors and thus students are having very mixed experiences on their year
Sid Dajani has been a contractor for nine years and has never found the time to have a pre-reg.
We should have prescribing in the degree at undergrad level, ability to change a prescription, all pharmacists should become prescribers at graduate level, says Sid Dajani.
Ability to change a 1 to a 100 on a script when a GP has made a mistake would be useful, says Sid Dajani
Damian Day says GPhC thought about every pharmacist being a prescriber. Said the money wasn't there
Sue Ambler says HEE, like GPhC, considered prescribing but also stepped back from it. If we could prescribe, we would be doctors
Day Lewis trying to build strong relationships with unis, Tim Rendell says. They are very careful about selecting pre-reg tutors.
Susan Sanders would ensure that the people training pre-regs had the ability to provide a worthwhile eyar
Al Patel would add a business element to the pharmacy degree
James Davies wants a clinical academic workforce to support students moving from the academic realm into practice
Petre Jones would change the final assessment to look at the competencies you would want from a qaulified pharmacist: consultation, business, endorsing scripts, patient care, etc. Everything you'd want from a pharmacist looking after your grandma
Lotte Bain wants practical skill-based learning from the first day of the degree
Damian Day wants structures that would help academia and practice work more closely together
Sally-Louise Jones think its important for pharmacists to work more closely with GPs and other professionals
Sid Dajani wants more integration, common sense and not to over-complicate prescribing
End of first debate. Life after the pre-reg year is to follow...
First debate roundup: Appears to be near consensus that degree assessment needs to be much more focused on practice-based skills. Sid Dajani's claim that prescribing should be compulsory at undergrad level has split opinion. What do you think?
#CDsenate: "Is the MPharm fit for purpose?" I have to say, yes... and no. I have blogged about & presented on this ryanhamilton.org.uk/common-opinion…by RyanPharmilton via twitter 5/16/2013 12:49:27 PM
"Science into practise & practise into science; it's about the two things being contextualised together" James Davies #cdsenateby Ray Scullard via twitter 5/16/2013 12:53:18 PM
RT @Gordon1000 : #cdsenate Must get pharmacists prescribing & diagnosing to relieve pressure on A&E, could US style physician assistant cour…by Pharmacy Training Co via twitter 5/16/2013 12:59:37 PM
#cdsenate Must get pharmacists prescribing & diagnosing to relieve pressure on A&E, could US style physician assistant courses be answer?by Gordon Mackenzie via twitter 5/16/2013 12:59:40 PM
Interesting first half of the debate at #cdsenateby Gemma Collins via twitter 5/16/2013 1:39:54 PM
@pharmtraining Think it'd be good to train those taking students on for placements, lots of varied experiences with those too. #CDsenateby alexxbamsey via twitter 5/16/2013 1:46:04 PM
RT @pharmtraining : #CDsenate Lotte Bain 'there is a lack of assessment for pre-reg tutors and thus students are having very mixed experienc…by Matthew via twitter 5/16/2013 1:51:43 PM
