The qualities of candidates I want to see elected onto the RPS national pharmacy boards

Members of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society national pharmacy boards should be capable professionals who are reputable and are willing to make changes for the benefit for the profession. We need our representatives on the boards to make a positive impact on our profession and perspective.

Community pharmacy is at an interesting juncture. Our job roles are evolving, and there are more advanced services coming out. Gone are the days of pharmacists purely dispensing. We need to utilise our resources better, such as accredited checking technicians and dispensers, who play a pivotal part of the dispensing chain. It is similar in hospital pharmacy, with massive transformations taking place in the pharmacy services.

New roles are emerging which were unheard of five years ago, such as pharmacists in GP surgeries, and we need leaders who understand the role of the pharmacist within the context of the whole healthcare system rather than being focused on one particular area.

As my degree course has moved into greater expectations of clinical care we need to see this change reflected in the profession. We need to evolve, and we need individuals who can articulate the changes needed to be the prominent leaders in the profession. As a future practitioner, I need to feel that those elected are capable and qualified to promote those changes. The days of being referred to as clinical pharmacists should be coming to an end. The Department of Health and the NHS need to stop using the term “clinical pharmacist” in job titles. All pharmacists are clinicians practising in a variety of settings. They have all gone through the same core training and are on the General Pharmaceutical Council register as pharmacists with no annotation to differentiate except as prescribers.

As a student, I want people who want the best for my future career to be the ones influencing change. I want the RPS president to engage with students, someone who I can look up to as a role model. I am looking forward to having individuals representing the profession throughout the UK who I can look up to and approach for advice and inspiration.

Junel Ahmed

Pharmacy student

Liverpool John Moores University