NHS Education for Scotland
A skilled and sustainable workforce for a healthier Scotland
NHS Education for Scotland
A skilled and sustainable workforce for a healthier Scotland
The pharmacist foundation training programme is a 2-year programme designed to support pharmacists early in their career. Both NES and The Royal Pharmaceutical Society provide a programme.
The NES programme is more specific to the processes and procedures within Scotland. If you have started a different foundation training programme, email the pharmacist foundation training team to enquire if you can transfer your learning as appropriate.
The programme, is delivered by the principal lead, vocational training and specific senior educators for the pharmacist foundation training programme.
To register to start the foundation training programme you need to be registered as a pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
Foundation training provides support for foundation pharmacists (FPs) early in their careers. It does this by:
How to register
Registration is online, twice a year and opens on:
If you are a provisionally registered pharmacist and wish to start training after GPhC registration assessment outcomes known please use The Pharmacist Vocational Training Programme Registration Form - Foundation and Expert Professional Practice
Why do I need to attend an induction session?
The induction ensures you are familiar with the programme, the framework, the support to help you during your training and the standard required for evidence within your online portfolio. You can attend any induction session you wish. All sessions are booked via TURAS Learn.
What do I need to complete as part of the training?
You will find a guidance document, competency framework and assessment handbook as well as all the resources you need to complete each element of the framework on TURAS Learn.
Evidence
The competency framework describes the variety of evidence types you will need to develop and templates for developing this evidence are available in the different areas of TURAS Learn.
Support
Foundation pharmacists are supported throughout their training by:
Helpful resources
There is a variety of core and optional resources that need completed via TURAS Learn.
Assessment
Assessment throughout your training is done in a variety of ways from appraisals to Work Based Place Assessment to more formal assessment at the end of the programme. Further details of the assessment processes on TURAS Learn.
If you have any other questions please contact pharmacy@nes.scot.nhs.uk
As a prospective tutor you may wish to register as a tutor for the pharmacist foundation training programme or one of the advanced expert professional practice (Adv EPP) modules.
More information about the pharmacist training programme
More information about the advanced EPP programme
Please note that the advanced GPCP programme is different to the advanced EPP programme and is specifically for pharmacists who wish to specialise in primary care, in a GP practice.
The pharmacist foundation training programme and the advanced EPP programme are delivered by the principal lead vocational training and specific senior educators.
Registration
To register as a tutor you need to be registered as a pharmacist with the GPhC and ideally you need to have completed the Pharmacist Foundation Training programme.
Criteria
Criteria for a Foundation Training programme tutor
How to register
Available support
Tutors are supported throughout by Practice Education Coordinators (NES)
Any questions contact pharmacy@nes.scot.nhs.uk
Become a foundation assessor
If you are a foundation training tutor, or are at least 2.5 years post experience of the programme, you may wish to further your development to becoming an assessor, you will need to attend one of our foundation assessors workshops.
Initially assessors are trained in conducting portfolio assessments and should assist with several diets of these before undertaking training to assess at the final face-to-face assessments.
The first workshop will inform and update you about evidence evaluation, the assessment criteria and processes applicable to Foundation pharmacists. You will assess evidence and then be expected to submit a further 2-3 pieces of evidence after the workshop. On receipt of the evidence a member of the NES Pharmacy team will wish to discuss your scores with you and to ensure that you are equipped to help with the next diet of assessments.
To book on to one of the workshops, please go to TURAS Learn and search Pharmacy Foundation Training - VT Foundation Assessors Workshop (Day 1 -Portfolio Assessment)
Assessor calibration session
Calibration sessions ensure that assessors are all assessing in the same way and interpreting the assessment information in the same way. We expect all portfolio assessors to attend at least 1 calibration session per year but ideally 2.
Book your assessor calibration session here
Any questions contact pharmacy@nes.scot.nhs.uk
The autumn assessments are underway.
Following the assessment board we will inform the foundation pharmacist which date we are inviting them to sit the final assessment. We plan to give you enough time (6 weeks) between your portfolio outcome and the face to face assessment to prepare for your final assessment.
The two following dates are schedule for final assessments, and we advise current foundation pharmacists in assessment, to note these dates and ensure you are available if invited to attend.
Due to current government restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are currently holding assessments virtually online.
The format of the assessment will be the same as normal.
Some foundation pharmacists may wish to defer their assessment to the next diet of assessments in autumn 2020 (details below).
Autumn 2020
Guidance for final assessments
Please see TURAS Learn pages and the Assessment Handbook
Paper based portfolios
After October 2020 we will be unable to accept paper based portfolios. If you need to discuss please contact a member of the team as email below. If you have questions please contact pharmacy@nes.scot.nhs.uk
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) Link to CPD recording page
Postgraduate Degree Course Funding
Last updated: Thursday, February 4, 2021