Registering as a pharmacist
Are you ready to join the GPhC register as a pharmacist? We have lots of advice about registering for the first time and beginning to work as a pharmacist.
The assessment period can be a very stressful time. This is especially true of the final days leading up to results day. So, no matter what your results, we’ve gathered some useful information on your options.
Congratulations to those who passed the June assessment. If you will be joining the register for the first time take a look at our Registering as a pharmacist webpage. This contains information about registration and looking for work.
We have plenty of available resources to help you look for work as a pharmacist, including our Looking for work: job vacancy sites webpage. This provides information on where you can find advertised jobs online. A lot of newly registered pharmacists will take on the role of a locum. Look at our Locum webpage for further information about locum work.
If you fail the assessment, it is only natural that you will feel disappointed. Feelings of anger and disappointment are common. Take some time out to relax with friends and loved ones, and don’t be embarrassed about feeling upset. You can find further information about managing negative thinking on our CBT webpage. You can also read our story from Adam, from a former trainee, who speaks about sitting the assessment three times.
If you have failed your assessment three times, rest assured that there are a number of alternative career options available to you. Remember that you do have a good science degree as well as your own skills, knowledge and experience and many graduate vacancies do not specify particular degree disciplines.
Pharmacist Support’s Careers advice and options for pharmacy graduates webpage has information on getting careers advice and on career options. This includes alternative career suggestions such as teaching, further research, and medical/scientific proof-reading.
You can also still submit an appeal. See above under appeals for further information.
If you would like some peer support to help with how you’re feeling, get in touch and we can arrange for you to speak to one of our Listening Friends.
Find out more about our Listening Friends service
The GPhC has confirmed that if you withdrew on the day of the exam owing to procedural difficulties such as delayed starts (of 30 minutes or more) or IT issues, you will be able to join the provisional register. If you are unsure as to whether or not you fit these criteria you should contact the GPhC on 020 3713 8000 for further help.
The GPhC has already confirmed that the severe delays (of 30 minutes or more) experienced by some candidates will automatically be accepted as grounds for appeal if they do not pass. If you have already been contacted by the GPhC you will not need to fill in an appeals form. If you are unsure as to whether or not you will need to fill in an appeals form you should contact the GPhC on 020 3713 8000 for further help.
If your appeal is related to exam processes going wrong on the day, this could include but is not limited to the following:
You can apply on the grounds that the correct procedure has not been applied/followed.
Please note, you should not rely on generic evidence when submitting an appeal form. Your appeal should be based on your personal experience on the day.
The deadline for submitting an appeal is Friday 22 August 2022. Appeals must be submitted to regexam@pharmacyregulation.org
For full details about appeals, see the GPhC guidance.
PDA membership is FREE to students, trainee pharmacists and for the first three months of being newly qualified and they can help with submitting an appeal to the GPhC. Further details can be found on the PDA website.
If you have found out that you had a medical condition at the time of the exam that you did not know about on the day you sat the exam you might be able to submit an appeal. You will need to provide supporting documents from health care professionals to substantiate a claim for an appeal on medical grounds.
The deadline for submitting an appeal is still to be confirmed by the GPhC. Even if you are waiting for the outcome of an appeal, it is advisable that you begin to prepare for the Autumn 2022 assessment in case your appeal is not successful.
The GPhC has announced that candidates who failed the June sit owing to difficulties including delayed starts (of more than 30 minutes) and IT failures will be able to join the provisional register. If you fall into this category, you will also receive a refund of your exam registration fee, and this exam will not count as one of your three attempts at the exam.
The GPhC has contacted all candidates who had a delayed start of more than 30 minutes. If you are not sure you fit into this category or have not heard from the GPhC yet you should contact them right away on 020 3713 8000. The provisional register opens on 1 August 2022 and closes on 1 February 2023. This will give all candidates time to sit the exam again in November.
If you sat the June assessment you will already have been awarded an MPharm degree or an Overseas Pharmacists’ Assessment Programme (OSPAP). In addition, to be eligible for provisional registration you must:
In addition, the GPhC will provisionally register candidates whose appeal is upheld due to other issues that would constitute procedural error in the conduct of the assessment.
The assessment period can be a very stressful time. This is especially true of the final days leading up to results day. So, no matter what your results, we’ve gathered some useful information on your options.
If you have failed your first or second attempt at the assessment and are planning to register to sit the Autumn 2022 assessment and you need adjustments, such as extra time, you will have to put in a fresh application to the GPhC. You cannot carry over any adjustments agreed for the previous exam.
For further information about applying to sit the registration assessment, see the GPhC website
You may have felt that your foundation training left you with little time to study. If this is the case then once your placement is complete, you will have more time to organise a sensible revision timetable.
Our assessment webpage has more information about preparing for the exam
There are several revision sites that can help trainees to prepare. Many of these sites offer free trials which can help you to decide which best fits your revision needs. Here are some suggestions to get you started:-
Exam stress can affect trainees in varying ways. If you think that exam stress may negatively impact your performance, you could consider learning a coping technique, for example, mindfulness.
According to the NHS, studies have found that mindfulness programmes, can bring about reductions in stress and improvements in mood.
For further information on mindfulness, see our Mindfulness webpage.
To learn more about coping with stress, see our Help with Stress webpage.
Learn how to cope with anxiety, at our Help with Anxiety webpage.
Find out more about coping with exam stress
In order to undertake a third attempt at the assessment, previously trainees were required to undertake a further six-month placement. The GPhC has now removed this requirement from the regulations, so if you are sitting for a third time in 2022/23 you will not be required to complete an additional placement.
For further information see the GPhC trainee manual
If you have any feedback about the exam, in the first instance you should contact the GPhC at regexam@pharmacyregulation.org
Are you ready to join the GPhC register as a pharmacist? We have lots of advice about registering for the first time and beginning to work as a pharmacist.
On this page, you will find everything you need to do when you receive your registration assessment results and details about support available from us and other organisations.
This page provides useful information and support from other organisations in regards to your assessment results.