Fitness to Practise
Our MPharm programmes are accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) as professional programmes. This means that the School has Fitness to Practise procedures for MPharm students. You will be given more information about these when you join the course.
If you do not abide by the GPhC's Standards for Pharmacy Professionals, or if we have concerns about your health or behaviour, you may be subject to Fitness to Practise procedures.
Other courses which host practice placements are also subject to the universities Fitness to Practice procedures. This is to ensure anyone attending a placement is safe and acts responsibly when off-campus.
Standards and Conduct
Your pharmacy course is preparing you to enter a profession. Pharmacy is one of the registered healthcare professions and carries both privileges and responsibilities. As a pharmacy student you must demonstrate that you are able to exercise those privileges and bear those responsibilities. This means you must conduct yourself professionally at all times.
Pharmacists in Great Britain must register with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and must abide by its ‘Standards for pharmacy professionals’. These standards also apply to pharmacy students and trainees as they prepare for registration and practice. The standards explain the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours that are expected of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, students and trainees. There are nine standards which describe what is expected of pharmacy professionals. They are designed to explain what being a professional is, in addition to providing the safe and effective care expected by the public and are central to maintaining trust and confidence in pharmacy. Applying these standards is central to the way you conduct yourself and is what being a professional is about. All the standards are equally important.
Pharmacy professionals must:
- provide person-centred care
- work in partnership with others
- communicate effectively
- maintain, develop and use their professional knowledge and skills
- use professional judgement
- behave in a professional manner
- respect and maintain the person’s confidentiality and privacy
- speak up when they have concerns or when things go wrong
- demonstrate leadership
We will explain what means for you, as a pharmacy student, during lectures and workshops in the first couple of weeks of your course. These standards apply from the first day of your course, during your foundation training and when you qualify as a pharmacist. The standards apply both on and off campus and at all times.
A breach of any of these standards can result in fitness to practise concerns being raised with the university as a student, and with the GPhC as a pharmacy professional. We will explain this in the lectures and workshops about Standards.Remember that wherever you are, you are representing the profession of pharmacy and your university. If you are unsure about how standards apply to you as a pharmacy student, contact a member of staff.
Pharmacy is one of the registered healthcare professions and carries both privileges and responsibilities. Students are expected to conduct themselves professionally at all times. The Standards for Pharmacy Professionals apply to all Pharmacy students from the first day of the course to the day of graduation, and applies both on and off campus.
Recommended reading
Health Questionnaire and Character Checks
Whilst studying on an MPharm course you will come into close contact with potentially vulnerable people or at least learn about their personal circumstances, so the University have to ensure that their students have a proven record of good conduct and character before undertaking these types of activities.
There will be a link to a Health Questionnaire sent to you from the Occupational Health Team before the start of term. You do not need to do anything else regarding health checks before this time.
UK-based students will be also asked to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service online application form before the start of term.
Non-UK based students will be required to provide us with a Certificate of Good Conduct and Character before the start of term. It will need to be requested from a formal authority in your home country, like the Police or the Foreign Affairs Department, or equivalent. It should include any information on any criminal convictions that you have, or simply confirm that you don’t have any. When you have this form you will need to bring it to the University Park East Service Centre.
We encourage students to discuss any problems or concerns with us as soon as possible, so that we can support and advise you appropriately. If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of the above, then please contact studentservices@nottingham.ac.uk
General Pharmaceutical Council
The Standards for Pharmacy Professionals and the requirement for Fitness to Practise procedures are issued by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). However, you should note that the GPhC is not an adjudicator or appeal body, and is not be able to offer prospective registration advice.
The Council is the final arbiter in relation to an individual's eligibility to:
- enter pharmacist pre-registration training; and
- register as a pharmacist
The Council reserves the right to set aside a School's fitness to practise decision, if there are grounds for doing so, when making either of these decisions.
The GPhC has its own requirements for registration as a pharmacist, including making its own health and good character checks. It also has its own fitness to practise procedures for registered pharmacists. Applicants can appeal against a registration refusal by the GPhC. Appeals are made to the Appeals Committee.
More information is available from the General Pharmaceutical Council.