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In a scoping review of the readiness of community pharmacy prescribing at scale, pharmacy leaders have recommended that the MPharm becomes a vocational programme.
In the review, published in The Pharmaceutical Journal on 15 May 2026, the leaders called for the MPharm to be reclassified as vocational “to enable year-round placements”.
It identified three priority areas and a series of actions to progress these to support the national rollout of pharmacist independent prescribing from September 2026.
The review was authored by pharmacy professors and leaders, including Claire Anderson, professor of social pharmacy at the University of Nottingham and past president of the then Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), and Tony Avery, national clinical director for prescribing at NHS England.
The priority areas outlined in the review include facilitating immediate prescribing post-qualification; providing structured ongoing support; and developing embedded experiential learning.
The authors also listed actions to support these areas, such as enabling newly qualified pharmacists to write prescriptions, with support, immediately after qualifying, as well as building ongoing support between prescribers, employers and commissioners into commissioning frameworks.
They also recommended that the MPharm should be classified as vocational to support experiential learning.
The review also called for Pharmacy First and patient group directions to be “used as stepping stones” to a national pharmacist independent prescribing service in England, “as has happened in Scotland”, peer support groups to be created and “spiral curricula”, where concepts are revisited at increasing levels of complexity over time.
The review authors conducted 22 interviews with stakeholders, including the RPS (now Royal College of Pharmacy), Company Chemists’ Association (CCA), National Pharmacy Association and higher education institutions.
In a statement to The Pharmaceutical Journal, a spokesperson from the Pharmacy Schools Council (PhSC) said that it “supports the reclassification of the MPharm degree as vocational”.
“The PhSC strongly supports expanding experiential learning within MPharm programmes. While the appetite for increased placement activity is evident, meaningful expansion would require appropriate incentives,” they added.
“Current barriers include limited system capacity and the uncompetitive clinical tariff rates for pharmacists in England. In primary care settings, particularly, providers receive higher remuneration for hosting medical students than pharmacy students. Whilst there are different funding structures in place in the devolved nations, capacity remains a UK-wide challenge, including a difficult funding landscape in Scotland.
“The PhSC also supports the reclassification of the MPharm degree as vocational, including alignment to high-cost funding (price group A) in England or expensive subjects premium in Wales. The post‑2021 MPharm standard reforms provide a strong basis for such a change.
“In relation to curriculum design, the PhSC strongly support spiral curricula. This approach is regarded as a core element of modern curriculum design. Spiral curriculum principles are embedded in most, if not all, MPharm programmes.”
Tase Oputu, president of the Royal College of Pharmacy (RCPharm), commented: “The report rightly highlights the importance of a structured support pathway for newly qualified pharmacist prescribers to help them develop their practice and confidence during the early stages of their professional careers.”
She added that the RCPharm’s enhanced curriculum and credentialing pathway, which is currently open for consultation, is designed to support prescribing practice from the first day of registration for newly qualified pharmacist prescribers.
“As prescribing services continue to embed and evolve across the profession, access to supervision, experiential learning, observation and feedback, and protected learning time will be essential to ensuring we maximise the potential of pharmacist prescribing in a safe and sustainable way,” Oputu said.
Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the CCA, said: “This report rightly highlights several challenges that the CCA has been raising for some time. At the centre of these issues is the absence of a nationally commissioned NHS independent prescribing service in England. Without this, the full benefits of pharmacist prescribing cannot be fully realised for patients or the wider NHS.
“We strongly support independent prescribing in community pharmacy. This journey is best started by adding prescribing to the Pharmacy First service, as recommended by this report.
“However, these ambitions cannot be delivered unless the underlying foundations of community pharmacy are fixed.
“The sector continues to face significant financial and operational pressures after years of underinvestment. Pharmacies cannot continue to take on new clinical roles without sustainable funding. If policymakers want to harness the skills of community pharmacy in delivering NHS care, they must invest properly in the network to support it.”
The Department of Health and Social Care did not respond to requests for comment.
