Pharmacy Foundation Training Year (FTY) – Scotland recruitment

About

Our Foundation Training Year gives trainee pharmacists the opportunity to develop knowledge, skills and experience in real-life hospital and community placements, under the guidance and supervision of a GPhC approved designated supervisor and a designated prescribing practitioner (from 2025-26 FTY year).

Benefits

We provide Foundation trainee pharmacists excellent benefits, including a salary of approx. £30k in line with NHS Agenda for Change rates, 27 days annual leave and 8 public holidays. In addition to the superb lifestyle opportunities Scotland has to offer, with world-class outdoor activities and culturally vibrant cities, our Pharmacy Foundation training is of the highest quality and includes:

• higher than UK average common registration assessment pass rates
• quality assured training sites
• all sectors of pharmacy practice covered
• guidance on required prescribing activities and assessment formats for 2025-26
• modular programme allowing work experience in up to three sectors of practice
• NES core curriculum covering key clinical/professional topics
• designated supervisors trained and supported by NES
• access to NHS Scotland’s Turas online digital platform
• electronic portfolio
• access to NES Pharmacy CPD resources
• full-length mock registration assessment with two supportive revision sessions on assessment questions and calculations
• protected study time

Learn more

You can learn more about Pharmacy Foundation training in Scotland by joining our information webinar, where you can hear from experts or watching the videos below which feature recent trainees talking about their experiences.

Webinar

We recently held a NES FTY Recruitment Webinar on the 30th May 2024. This drop-in webinar gave applicants an opportunity to hear from representatives from NES, Hospital, Modular and Community programmes with a Q&A session at the end. 

This webinar was recorded and the different sections of the webinar are displayed below:

NES Presentation and Q&A:

Hospital Presentation and Q&A:

Modular Presentation and Q&A:

Community Presentation and Q&A:

RPS Webinars

In order to support candidates who are applying in 2024, a webinar was held with colleagues from RPS, NHS England, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) and British Pharmaceutical Student Association (BPSA). This webinar focused on key aspects of the National Recruitment Scheme and gave the opportunity to answer applicant questions.

Please click on this link to watch the recording - https://www.rpharms.com/resources/webinars/national-foundation-trainee-pharmacist-recruitment-oriel-2024#

Another webinar was held, which focused on a deeper understanding of the Oriel recruitment process and gave the opportunity to hear first-hand experiences and top tips from students who had recently undergone the process.

Please click on this link to watch the recording - https://www.rpharms.com/resources/webinars/preferencing-and-student-experiences-of-the-oriel-process-oriel-2024#

Testimonials

Hear first-hand accounts of training in Scotland from recent NES Foundation Pharmacy trainees and designated supervisors

Pharmacy Foundation trainee Cara

Pharmacy Foundation trainee Emma

Pharmacy Foundation trainee John

Pharmacy Foundation trainee Erin

Pharmacy Foundation trainee Kenneth talks about his experience of Community and Hospital placements

Pharmacy Foundation trainee Sara talks about her experiences on the modular programme

Hear from Foundation Pharmacy trainees and NES FTY support team

 

In early 2024 NES undertook an evaluation of the FTY Recruitment Scheme in Scotland to determine the fairness and effectiveness of the selection methods used. We are delighted to publish the final outcome report, which provides data on training places, applicants & the outcomes of FTY recruitment in Scotland in 2023.

NES Foundation Training Year Recruitment – Outcome Report 2023

Contact us 

For any queries regarding the Foundation Training Year Recruitment process, please contact the Pharmacy Recruitment Team by going to the Service Desk here and submitting a support request. 

For general pharmacy queries relating to training premises approval or any queries not related to the recruitment process, please email the Pharmacy Team - nes.ftypharmacy@nhs.scot

Mailing list

If you want to keep in touch with updates on the Foundation Trainee Pharmacist recruitment process you can join our mailing list NHS Education for Scotland (list-manage.com)