Pharmacy In Practice Podcast Pharmacy in Practice

Patient group directions have traditionally been a ‘stop gap’ option, especially in the era before pharmacist independent prescribing. This debate will explore the future of patient group directions by community pharmacists. Many have lauded patient group directions as an excellent tool to extend the scope of practice of community pharmacists. However, many would say that a tick box technical process serves to continue the de-professionalisation of the pharmacist profession. In the coming years all pharmacists will qualify as independent prescribers but will they be able to make the step away from structured tick box pharmaceutical care or will they embrace uncertainty?

Professor Harry McQuillan
Chief executive of Community Pharmacy Scotland

In addition to his role at Community Pharmacy Scotland Harry is also visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde and a RNID pension fund trustee.

Siddiqur Rahman
GP pharmacist

Siddiqur is a pharmacist who works in general practice, he is an independent prescriber, PCN clinical lead, Co-Director of the Pharmacist Co-operative and a PDA Union representative.

Professor Derek Evans
Travel health pharmacist

Derek Evans is a pharmacist who owns a private travel health consultancy. He has worked in community pharmacy in many specialist roles and senior management positions.

Farzana Haq
GP pharmacist

Practice pharmacist with experience in community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, primary care and NHS 24.

The debate based on whether or not screening for atrial fibrillation should be deployed nationally in Scotland has been progressing for some years now. There is precedent for such schemes elsewhere but so far there has been no nod to such a national service in Scotland. Does the evidence stack up in favour of such scheme? 

Should pharmacists be involved? If such a screening programme went national what precedent might it set for other clinical areas? What political lever would need to be pulled to make these things happen?

You can view all the sessions at the Future Pharmacist conference by clicking here. 

Thank you to our conference sponsors Wylie And Bisset. Find out more here.

The Aural Apothecary Podcast has captured the imagination of pharmacists across the land and has provided some light-hearted relief from what has been a tricky few years. 

The podcast is a lighthearted take on the world of medicines, pharmacy and healthcare in the UK from Jamie, Gimmo and Steve the Chemist. They have welcomed a number of guests onto their podcast and have asked each to describe their favourite song, book and drug. 

We are extremely proud to welcome them as guests at our inaugural conference. For fun, we will turn the tables and find out their favourite books, drugs and songs.

You can view all the sessions at the Future Pharmacist conference by clicking here. 

Thank you to our conference sponsors Wylie And Bisset. Find out more here.

Getting involved in research activities can feel daunting. As pharmacists, it could be argued that we don’t prioritise research in our careers enough. This session will involve a conversation between some of the top pharmacists involved in research in the UK. With decades of experience between them, we are hopeful that they might share their insights on why research matters and also some simple, manageable steps you can take to start your own research journey.

Professor Mags Watson
Professor of Health Services Research and Pharmacy Practice University of Strathclyde

Independent consultant. Watson Research & Training Limited – health services research (HSR), HSR training, mentoring & coaching. Registered pharmacist.



Professor Catriona Matheson
Professor in substance use

Professor in substance use at the University of Stirling, a freelance researcher in drug dependence and Chair of Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce.



Dr Hayley Gorton
Research and community pharmacist

Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice at the University of Huddersfield, interested in suicide research, community pharmacist and lead at RPS Greater Manchester.



You can view all the sessions at the Future Pharmacist conference by clicking here. 

Thank you to our conference sponsors Wylie And Bisset. Find out more here.

Is the rise of robotics in the sector a threat or an opportunity?


Learn about the range of robotic options available in pharmacy.
Hear first-hand feedback about the use of the various types of robots.
Understand the workflow implications.
Find out about the return on investment on the various robots on the market.
Understand some of the downsides of robots.
Learn about the long term impact of the various robots on the future of community pharmacy.

James Semple
Community pharmacy contractor

James Semple, Contractor and Vice-chairman of the Community Pharmacy Scotland Board.

Kevin Murphy
Co-founder of Medpoint

Superintendent Pharmacist at Wellbeing Pharmacies Group, Co-founder and Clinical Director at Acorn.



You can view all the sessions at the Future Pharmacist conference by clicking here. 

Thank you to our conference sponsors Wylie And Bisset. Find out more here.

For a number of years, there has been a movement towards advanced practice for pharmacists. Our panellists for this session has been right at the sharp end of developing and championing this movement.

Learning objectives from this session include:


Gain an understanding of what advanced practice is.
Take part in debate around why consultant level practice for pharmacists is something we as a profession should aspire to.
Consider whether the ‘procrastinating perfectionism’ that has been described by authors like Zubin Austin could act as a barrier to these goals.
Learn about how you might start your own journey towards advanced practice as a pharmacist.

Panellists

Gordon Rushworth
GP pharmacist and educator

Programme Director, Highland Pharmacy Education & Research Centre, NHS Highland. FRPharmS(Consultant). Advanced Pharmacist Practitioner in GP.

Paul Forsyth
Lead pharmacist clinical cardiology

Paul Forsyth currently works at the Department of Pharmacy, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. He has an interest in the education of pharmacists and in particular competency-based learning as a progression towards advanced practice.

Susan Roberts
Associate Pharmacy Postgraduate Dean

Susan is currently the Associate Pharmacy Postgraduate Dean at NHS Education for Scotland, she is a pharmacist and educator. She recently was asked by the CPhO to lead pharmacy operations at the Louisa Jordan hospital in Glasgow.

Jacqueline Sneddon
Antimicrobial pharmacist

Antimicrobial pharmacist, interested in education and QI. Programmes Manager for BSAC, member of RPS Scottish Pharmacy Board and RPS AMR EAG.

Fiona Marra
Paediatric pharmacist

MPharm (Consultant). Lead Clinician Paediatric Infection (SPAIIN). Principal Pharmacist U of Liv & PHS. PhD candidate.



You can view all the sessions at the Future Pharmacist conference by clicking here. 

Thank you to our conference sponsors Wylie And Bisset. Find out more here.