The British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (BPSA) and Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) have announced a joint project to develop a new Pre-Foundation Programme for pharmacy students and pre-registration trainees.
The Pre-Foundation Programme will provide access to guidance and tools to support students from day one of their MPharm degree and beyond, making the transition into pre-registration training and foundation practice seamless.
The Pre-Foundation Programme will additionally give RPS members the opportunity to market themselves to future employers as unique individuals who are committed to their professional and personal development; something which is becoming increasingly important as competition for jobs and training places intensifies.
The programme will be developed during 2016; the principles of the programme will be closely aligned to existing development programmes – the RPS Foundation Programme and the RPS Faculty.
At its core will be the Pre-Foundation framework – this will complement undergraduate programmes and enable students to develop key knowledge, skills and behaviours that they can apply to course assignments, practical assessments, projects, and most importantly prepare them for workplace based placements and pharmacy practice.
Student members and key pharmacy stakeholders will be involved to ensure that the programme achieves its aim of being the gold standard development programme for students and pre-registration trainees. BPSA and RPS will publish regular updates to keep members informed of current developments.
The Pre-Foundation Programme strengthens the existing relationship between the organisations, establishing a clear link between their shared strategic goal to transform the pharmacy workforce.
Lottie Bain, President of the BPSA, said, ‘The BPSA Executive are really excited to further develop this joint venture with the RPS. Building a sustainable reflective resource optimised for our members will undoubtedly accelerate the professional development of tomorrow’s pharmacists.’
