Training & Education

Introduction to Reforms to initial education and training

During the last decade pharmacists’ roles have evolved quickly in response to rapid changes in healthcare and pharmacy practice and there is a significant and growing demand across the UK for clinical, patient-facing pharmacist practitioners. It is vital that the pharmacy workforce is equipped to work flexibly alongside other health and care professionals, using their specific skills to help meet the changing demands in service provision and patient care. As a result, we need to ensure that the early stages of education and training of pharmacists are reformed to reflect the changing nature of practice, including the importance of assuring patient safety.

The Pharmaceutical Society NI and the GPhC undertook extensive joint consultation and engagement with stakeholders, including a public consultation in 2019, outlining the proposals to reform initial education and training. Reforms to the pharmacy undergraduate programme are also being progressed and will be implemented starting in autumn 2021 and completed within the next number of years.

Following approval by the Councils of both Pharmacy Regulators, the GPhC convened a working group, which includes the Pharmaceutical Society NI, to inform the final set of revised standards for the initial education and training of pharmacists and to drive the implementation of the standards.

In Northern Ireland, a parallel implementation group (the Education Reform Group) has been set up to complete the reforms here.

Following the finalisation of the standards, there will be a phased approach to implementation. Reforms will start in July 2021 for those finishing their MPharm degree and beginning their fifth year of education and training.

KEY EVENTS AND STATEMENTS

28 July 2020 An update from the Chief Pharmaceutical Officers and UK Pharmacy Regulators

12 November 2020 – Stakeholder Engagement Event

On behalf of the NI Education Reform Group, the Pharmaceutical Society NI hosted an online meeting on 12 November 2020, to outline, and gain feedback on, initial thinking regarding the reforms.

The meeting was attended by over 70 people from across the pharmacy sector in Northern Ireland and was addressed by the following speakers, whose video presentations are available below.

The Implementation Group’s response to questions raised at the event is available here.

26 January 2021 New standards for the initial education and training of pharmacists

4 February 2021 Press Statement – The Pharmaceutical Society NI Council adopts new standards for the initial education and training of pharmacists

17 February 2021 Letter from Cathy Harrison, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, to registrants of the Pharmaceutical Society NI

Cathy Harrison, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, in a letter to registrants of the Pharmaceutical Society NI has welcomed a new era for pharmacist education and training following the approval by the Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland of new initial education and training standards for pharmacists which marks a fundamental and exciting shift towards clinical practice for pharmacists.

The letter can be accessed here.

Introducing reforms to the initial education and training of pharmacists – what to expect in 2021/22

18 March 2021 – Letter to 4th year MPharm students from the NI Centre for Pharmacy Development and Learning and the Pharmaceutical Society NI

18 March 2021 – Letter to Tutors/Educational Supervisors from the NI Centre for Pharmacy Development and Learning and the Pharmaceutical Society NI

22 April 2021 – Update letter to 4th year MPharm students from the NI Centre for Pharmacy Development and Learning.

1 October 2021 – Update to Section 2 of the Standards for Foundation Training

Pharmacist Education

Pharmacy in Northern Ireland is a regulated healthcare profession. To practise as a pharmacist, individuals must be registered with the Pharmaceutical Society NI. To gain registration, applicants must meet the following requirements:

Successful completion of a Master of Pharmacy degree (MPharm) at an accredited UK university.

Successful completion of a one-year Foundation Training Year, overseen by NICPLD. Further information is available on our Foundation Training Year page.

Successful completion of the Common Registration Assessment.

Meeting the fitness to practise requirements for pharmacist registration.

As part of the registration process, applicants must make a health self-declaration, and character checks are carried out.

Further information on routes to pharmacist registration is available here, and additional guidance on how to become a pharmacist is available here.

Foundation Training Year

The primary aim of the Foundation Training Year experience in Northern Ireland is to reinforce among the trainees an awareness that they are to become members of a healthcare profession and to develop a professional attitude and a sense of responsibility, embracing the requirements of The Code of Conduct, Ethics and Performance for Pharmacists in Northern Ireland (2026) and its associated Standards and Guidance.

The Foundation Training Year takes place after students graduate with their MPharm degree. It consolidates their initial learning and education and offers workplace-based, practical training in a clinical setting or settings. The training enables trainees to build upon their pharmacy knowledge, understanding, skills and behaviours, and previous experience and to apply them to enhance their knowledge and skills in preparation for registration. NICPLD is the organisation responsible for the operation and delivery of the Foundation Training Year programme.

The Standards for Foundation Training Year set out the requirements for training and apply to trainees, prospective trainees, Educational Supervisors and employing organisations. The primary purpose of these Standards is to ensure that trainees receive appropriate training, supervision and support during the Foundation Training Year so that they are well prepared to sit the Common Registration Assessment and, thereafter, practise as independent practitioners.

Educational Supervisor accreditation

From 01 July 2021, some Tutors who have up to date accreditation with the Pharmaceutical Society NI will automatically become Educational Supervisors.

Any Tutor, who trained before the Initial Education of Trainee Pharmacist Standards were implemented, is no longer qualified to be an Educational Supervisor until they undertake the Educational Supervisor Accreditation Programme, which is managed by The Northern Ireland Centre for Pharmacy Learning and Development (NICPLD).

For any enquiries please contact nicpld-fty@qub.ac.uk.

The term “Educational Supervisor” will be adopted nationally within the pharmacy profession and is used across the healthcare profession to refer to someone with mentoring responsibility.

Accredited MPharm Degrees

The Pharmaceutical Society NI, in conjunction with the GPhC, accredits pharmacy courses offered at the two Northern Ireland universities, and accepts GPhC accreditation of universities in Great Britain.

A full list of accredited universities is available here.

Accreditation Process

Accreditation is the process through which the Pharmaceutical Society NI approves courses of education and training for registrants or prospective registrants.

The Standards for the Initial Education and Training of Pharmacists (Jan 2021) outline the requirements for pharmacist training in Great Britain. These standards have been adopted for use in Northern Ireland.

The Methodology for the Accreditation of Independent Prescribing Programmes (GPhC, 2025) sets out the criteria and standards applied to providers seeking to offer an accredited course or qualification. These standards have also been adopted in Northern Ireland.

The accreditation process involves peer review, site visits, provider self-assessment and publicly available reports. Course providers must submit for reaccreditation periodically.

Accreditation Procedure

The GPhC and Pharmaceutical Society NI jointly accredit courses leading to registration and annotation in Northern Ireland.
The GPhC accredits and recognises courses leading to registration and annotation in England, Scotland and Wales.

Accreditation Teams

Joint Pharmaceutical Society NI/GPhC accreditation teams conduct accreditation assessments in Northern Ireland and make recommendations to Council.
In Great Britain, accreditation teams conduct assessments on behalf of the GPhC.
A Pharmaceutical Society NI observer may attend accreditation visits in Great Britain and make recommendations on accreditation matters.

See the list of accreditation panel members here.

Accreditation Reports

Accreditation reports for the local pharmacy education providers can be viewed below:

MPharm degree

Approval status

Currently approved

Accreditation period

2022/23 – 2030/31

Provider

Queen’s University Belfast’s website

Queen’s University MPharm reaccreditation part 2 report, 2024-25

Queen’s University MPharm reaccreditation part 1 report, 2022-23 

Ulster University (Coleraine)

MPharm degree

Approval status

Currently approved

Accreditation period

2022/23 - 2030/31

Provider

Ulster University’s website 

Ulster MPharm and MPharm with preparatory year reaccreditation part 2 report, 2024-25 

Ulster MPharm and MPharm with preparatory year reaccreditation part 1 report, 2022-23 v2 

MPharm degree with preparatory year

Approval status

Currently approved

Accreditation period

2022/23 - 2030/31

Provider

Ulster University’s website 

Ulster MPharm and MPharm with preparatory year reaccreditation part 2 report, 2024-25 

Ulster MPharm and MPharm with preparatory year reaccreditation part 1 report, 2022-23 v2

Northern Ireland Centre for Pharmacy Learning and Development (NICPLD)

Foundation training year programme

Approval status

Currently approved

Accreditation period

2025/26 – 2030/31

Provider

Northern Ireland Centre for Pharmacy Learning and Development’s website 

NICPLD Foundation Training Year step 3a accreditation report, 2024-25 

Queen’s University Belfast

Independent prescribing course

Approval status

Currently approved

Accreditation period

Aug 2022 - Aug 2026* (*twelve months extension issued from Aug 2025)

Provider

Queen’s University Belfast’s website

Queen’s IP change request approval, April 2024 

Queen’s IP approval to use revised entry requirements, April 2023

Queen’s IP reaccreditation report, June 2022 

Northern Ireland Centre for Pharmacy Learning and Development (NICPLD)

Independent prescribing course

Approval status

Currently approved

Accreditation period

Aug 2022 – Aug 2026* (*twelve months extension issued from Aug 2025)

Provider

Northern Ireland Centre for Pharmacy Learning and Development’s website 

NICPLD IP change request approval, July 2023

NICPLD IP reaccreditation report, May 2022

NICPLD IP approval to use revised entry requirements, December 2022 

Post-Registration Continuing Professional Development

To remain on the Register of Pharmaceutical Chemists (the Register), pharmacists must complete annual Continuing Professional Development (CPD). This process is overseen and assessed by the Pharmaceutical Society NI CPD team. Details of the requirements can be found here.