Prescriber prepared skills for foundation pharmacists in training as NHSScotland remobilises
General Pharmaceutical Council (GMC) regulations stipulate that pharmacists must have worked in a relevant, patient-facing area for two years before applying to train as an independent prescriber.
Historically, training pharmacists to become a prescriber started after the completion of the two-year foundation training programme, to comply with the regulations.
However, as the value of pharmacists as prescribers becomes increasingly clear, there is a need to develop the confidence and competence of our foundation pharmacists in skills such as:
- clinical assessment
- decision making
- consultation
For this reason, in August 2020 at the NHS Louisa Jordan Hospital, the pharmacy team piloted two face-to-face training sessions with a cohort of 30 of our current foundation pharmacists from across Scotland.
The session was developed by Rachel Bruce, principal lead for prescribing and clinical skills, and run with clinical educators from pharmacy, medicine and nursing professions. And will be evaluated and reviewed, and a plan will be developed to roll out further training across NHSScotland.
September, 02 2020