G. General competences for pharmacists

Proportion of pharmacists reporting high stress levels doubles in 2021, finds survey

Exclusive: Out of 1,020 respondents to the The Pharmaceutical Journal salary and job satisfaction survey, 25% said they felt 'very stressed' at work, citing demand for services and staff absence as the most influential reasons for their stress.…

Pharmacists advised to use social media ‘responsibly’ in updated good practice guidance

New guidance in the 44th edition of Medicines, Ethics and Practice focuses on managing the crossover between personal and professional life.…

Foundation training programme could replace preregistration year from the summer of 2021

A year of foundation training could replace the pharmacist preregistration year across the UK from summer 2021, Health Education England and NHS England have suggested.…

Empirical antibiotic treatment of sepsis: impact of specialist pharmacist review

Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommend that empirical antibiotic courses initiated in hospital inpatients should be reviewed within 72 hours[1] ; a revised decision for ongoing therapy should be made in light of culture results, investigations and cl…

Technicians may be unwilling to supervise pharmacies under current circumstances

A small survey suggests a majority of pharmacy technicians would not feel comfortable supervising medicines sales in the absence of a pharmacist under current circumstances.…

Standards must be aligned for high-tech health aids to succeed, NICE conference told

Standards for apps and wearable technologies, agreed by bodies such as NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care, should be aligned to maximise their health improvement potential, delegates at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence annual conference were told on 26…

Pharmacy technicians to be consulted on supervision

Pharmacy technicians are to be consulted on their views on the supervision of the preparation, sale and supply of medicines in the autumn of 2018.…

Calls to Pharmacist Support rise by more than a third in one year

A helpline for struggling pharmacists has reported a huge rise in calls of more than a third over the past year, with many linked to workplace stress.…

Stoptober campaign backs e-cigarettes for the first time

The annual Stoptober campaign is for the first time highlighting e-cigarettes as aids to quitting smoking, stating that e-cigarettes are a “great way to combat nicotine cravings and carry a fraction of the risk of cigarettes”.…

Community Pharmacy Scotland calls for more flexibility in supervision arrangements

Community Pharmacy Scotland has said there should be greater “flexibility in supervision arrangements” of community pharmacies.…