The demand for Qualified Persons (QPs) is growing. More QPs are retiring than are qualifying.
Before retiring, my colourful portfolio as a QP included assessing the quality of medicines for Atlantic salmon, sheep, goats and rabbits, and investigational medicinal products.
Specialised training, experience and accreditation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) or the Veterinary Medicines Directorate are required for those who wish to become a QP, but it can be a satisfying career.
For example, after, say, a decade’s employment, pharmacists could consider going into consultancy. They could also choose to work for the MHRA. Good quality medicines are any pharmacist’s raison d’être and a career as a QP fulfils that need.
To get into the world of QPs, I would recommend pharmacists first work in hospital production (including aseptic) or non-clinical quality control or quality assurance for, say, five years. That will boost their chances of entering the pharma industry to work as a QP.
More information on QPs is available on the Royal Pharmaceutical Society website.
Malcolm E Brown
Beccles, Suffolk
