Journal of Medicines Optimisation - Mar 2022

Journal of Medicines Optimisation • Volume 8 • Issue 1 • March 2022 3 University of Bradford and Pharman collaboration Dr Gemma Quinn and Dr Liz Breen University of Bradford. Correspondence to: [email protected] Developments in Practice The University of Bradford and Pharman are known as Innovators in Pharmacy education. We at the School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences are therefore excited to be working with Pharmacy Management to develop pharmacy professionals to be key players in the NHS of the future. The University of Bradford was the first School in the UK to offer a Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) sandwich course that integrates two six-month work-based placements. In 2012 this programme was accredited to be delivered entirely using team- based learning (TBL), an active and collaborative learning pedagogy. This remains unique amongst undergraduate pharmacy programmes in the UK and we have always strived to ensure that our graduates are well prepared for their future careers. We have run innovative MSc/PG Diplomas for post- registration pharmacists for more than 30 years, and so we are excited to be able to quality assure Pharman’s shorter educational events and programmes. Pharman conduct extensive real time market research to discover exactly what support pharmacy staff need now in order to develop their skills. This will help us to continue to ensure that our credit-bearing programmes are forward looking and cutting edge. We provide high quality MSc/PG Diplomas in both Foundation Pharmacy Practice and Advanced Pharmacy Practice, and currently most of our students are based in Yorkshire and the North of England. We’d really like to be able to support pharmacy professionals across the UK, and are currently offering scholarships on both programmes to help us achieve this Different people need different approaches at different times of their careers, and MSc/PG Diplomas are not for everyone. We hope that through this partnership we will be able to help ensure that every pharmacy professional has access to high quality CPD and learning events, regardless of their sector or speciality. By working with Pharman we can ensure that our offerings complement each other, and if there are key areas that are missing we can collaboratively develop exciting new programmes or events. We are a research active School and are passionate about encouraging pharmacy staff of all levels and years of experience to undertake research and disseminate it so that the healthcare community can learn from their work. This might range from undertaking small but important research or service improvement projects at work, all the way through to completing a formal PhD whilst retaining a role in practice. Working with Pharman we’d like to create an environment that nurtures and supports people to write for publication and to review the work of others. In doing so, we would hope to enhance their knowledge and critical skills development, improving professional practice. This will help to develop individuals’ research skills and create the next generation of reviewers for a broad range of journals including the Journal of Pharmacy Management and the Journal of Medicines Optimisation. Working together with Pharman will influence the future direction of both organisations. The University has a strong ethos of diversity and inclusivity and this collaboration will help us both to reach a broader range of pharmacy professionals.