A Royal College of Pharmacy marks a historic point in the development of our profession. It is a sobering and exciting moment that all pharmacy professionals should engage with and help shape. It offers the opportunity to build an inclusive professional home that reflects the breadth and diversity of pharmacy practice.
The UK Commission on Pharmacy Professional Leadership in 2023 identified the challenges of a fragmented leadership in pharmacy. It recommended stronger leadership and collaboration, leading to the creation of the UK Pharmacy Professional Leadership Advisory Board, to support the transition to a sustainable leadership structure. The Royal College of Pharmacy is the next and necessary step in that journey.
What does the royal college mean for the pharmacy community?
The Royal College of Pharmacy will be our shared professional home, reflect our collective values, support excellence in practice, and provide a strong, credible voice for pharmacy. At the heart of Royal College of Pharmacy, its councils across the nations will play a central role in shaping and implementing strategies, providing professional leadership, supporting standards, education and guiding relationships across healthcare.
Experiences through my leadership journey have shown me that fragmentation limits impact, while constructive collaboration strengthens it. The councils must have a responsibility to ensure that voices from across sectors, professional-groups and career-stages meaningfully inform strategic priorities.
Each sector of pharmacy practice brings unique experience essential to the credibility and relevance of the college. To succeed, the Royal College of Pharmacy must be shaped through creating space early on for open dialogue and shared understanding with its members, to build trust and long-term engagement.
The councils must work collaboratively beyond the profession, alongside other royal colleges, educators and healthcare bodies. With this collective professional leadership, the college can become a trusted and influential voice across the healthcare system.
Once established, the Royal College of Pharmacy has the potential to become the natural first point of reference for clear and professionally grounded commentary, through a more consistent and structured approach. This will strengthen public understanding and build trust in the profession.
Ultimately, my vision is for a confident, collaborative and inclusive profession, supported by a royal college that acts as the central architecture and unifying force for our professional identity, and enhance pharmacy’s contribution to patient care for years to come.
I would be honoured to be a part of the leadership, building that future together.
Mildred Johnson
Candidate for the National Pharmacy Advisory Council for England
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