Seeking innovative GPs and PCNs to partner with community pharmacies in NEL to offer cross-sector placements for Foundation Trainee Pharmacists (FTPs)

We are seeking innovative GPs and PCNs to partner with community pharmacies in NEL to offer cross-sector placements for Foundation Trainee Pharmacists (FTPs). As part of this novel initiative, GPs and PCNs are being asked to support prescribing training for FTPs during the foundation training year. This requires supervision from a Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP).

Funding:

A £1500 contribution towards training and supervision is available for providing a placement to deliver the minimum 90h of supervised prescribing practice. How this is delivered can be negotiated with the partner community pharmacy e.g. 2 week placement block, 1 day a week over 12 weeks

Benefits:

  1. Staff retention and growth – Cultivate a pipeline of skilled professionals who are familiar with your organisation’s culture and processes
  2. Strengthen cross-sector relationships – Opportunity to work with colleagues across the ICS and integrate knowledge from both sectors to streamline service delivery
  3. Team flexibility and workforce support – FTPs can support across a range of services where trained, freeing up other health professionals to focus on more complex tasks
  4. Mentorship and Leadership Development – provides senior pharmacists and team members,  the opportunity to develop their leadership, mentoring, and teaching skills

DPP Requirements:

  • Registered healthcare professional (e.g. Doctor, Pharmacist, Nurse).
  • Independent Prescribing Qualification with active prescribing experience (no minimum years as a prescribing practitioner required, though a level of prescribing competence recommended based on frequency of activity)

DPP Key Responsibilities:

  • Provide clinical oversight and mentorship, ensuring safe and effective prescribing practices.
  • Conduct regular reviews and assessments of trainees’ prescribing competence
  • Supervise and support FTPs in their prescribing activities to total a minimum of 90 hours supervised practice. NB some of the supervised activities can be delegated to other prescribers, with oversight from the DPP
  • Summary of prescribing activities and supervised learning events (SLEs), note required SLE forms linked:
Observed Clinical Activities Permitted Supervised Learning Events (SLEs)
Mini-clinical evaluation exercise (Mini-CEX) Direct Observation of Practical Skills (DOPS) Case Based Discussion (CBD) Medicines Related Consultation Framework (MRCF)
History taking O O    
Physical and Clinical Examination Skills   O    
Prescribing Consultation O     O
Prescription Writing   O O  
Log of 90h Each Observed Clinical Activity must be assessed a minimum of three times using a SLE and contributes to the log of 90h, for more info see: NHS E Foundation Trainee Pharmacist Programme: Practice-based Assessment Strategy​.

To learn more about the different SLEs see: E-portfolio and Downloadable resources

 

Interesting in being involved? 

To express interest in offering a minimum 90h prescribing placement for FTPs or to find out more information, please contactnelondonicb.prescribingqueries@nhs.net.

GPs and PCNs also have the opportunity to engage as direct employers of funded FTPs or as a rotation provider (13 weeks or longer), please ask for further details.

Resources:

To find out more about Foundation Pharmacist Training including workforce benefits to practices, PCNs and the ICS, please: