Albanian Pharmacist migrating to UK.

You are an Albanian Pharmacist migrating to the UK.

Overview

  1. The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is the regulator of pharmacists and pharmacies in the UK, this is similar to the Ministry of Health in Albania. The main difference is that in the UK the GPhC is also in control of CPD whereas in Albania it is The Order of Pharmacists.
  2. Classification – as Albania is currently outside of the European Union, you will be classified as an “overseas (non-EEA) qualified pharmacist” and will be required to take a few additional steps in comparison to an EU citizen, this is detailed below.

Steps to registering in the UK via the GPhC

  1. Check whether you are eligible to apply for the Overseas Pharmacists Assessment Programme (OSPAP) – you first need to apply to the GPhC to see if you are eligible to take the conversion course.
  2. Apply for the OSPAP – a postgraduate diploma provided by the Universities of Aston, Brighton, Hertfordshire, Kingston – London and Sunderland. As Albanian pharmacists are only granted a diploma at the conclusion of the study and need to do three years of practice before their Masters is granted it is advised to wait until then as this will increase your chance of acceptance.
  3. Undertake the Fitness to practise evaluation – this is a document submission where you need to prove to the GPhC that you are not a criminal etc.
  4. Take the Pre-registration training program – this is a 52-week in-pharmacy training programme conducted in England, Scotland or Wales. Once complete, you must be signed off as satisfactory by your pharmacist tutor-employer.
  5. Sit the GPhC registration assessment – this is a clinical knowledge exam, the failure rate is between 10-30% each year. If you would like to get a taste of what the exam entails have a look at this free online GPhC Exam questions course.
  6. Post GPhC registration – unlike Albania, where it is unrestricted to open a pharmacy, in the UK the GPhC heavily regulates the creation of new pharmacies via a system called the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment. Therefore, it is highly likely after you have received notice from the GPhC that you are now a licensed UK pharmacist, you will now need to do additional training to ensure you can carry out the duties required by your employer, these include:
    • Pharmacist flu vaccine training – 74% of all pharmacies in the UK carry out this NHS-commissioned, national service, you will need to be trained in CPR/Anaphylaxis plus vaccine administration technique.
    • Medicines Use Review – another NHS-commissioned service which is carried out in nearly all GPhC-licensed pharmacies. You will need to go to the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) and undergo online training.
    • Online Prescribing – the UK is one of the only destinations in the world where some pharmacists have the ability to prescribe. You may need to undergo postgraduate training to upskill so that you can prescribe for your employer online.