The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has asked the GPhC to fix an exact date for registration assessment to end the uncertainty over delayed assessment.
The GPhC last week rescheduled the assessment and confirmed that it will be working with Pearson VUE to hold registration assessment sittings online for the first time from 2021.
Responding to the General Pharmaceutical Council’s (GPhC) latest update on the assessment, Gail Fleming, RPS education director, said: “It’s still very disappointing that the GPhC is not able to provide trainees with a definite date for the delayed assessment. This remains a very difficult situation for those affected and RPS continues to support them.”
“Whilst we welcome this latest communication from the GPhC as a step in the right direction, we continue to push for quicker action to set an exact date to provide certainty to those who will be sitting the exam. Information about the format of the assessment including resources and the arrangements for reasonable adjustments is needed now to alleviate the ongoing concerns of many trainees.”
The registration assessment provides assurance to the public that the pharmacy professionals on the GPhC register can practice safely and effectively.
The pre-registration trainee pharmacists must pass the high-stakes assessment to be eligible to join the register as a pharmacist.
The assessment sittings usually take place twice a year in June and September, but sittings in 2020 were postponed as a result of Covid-19 pandemic.
Mark Voce, GPhC director of education and standards, said: “…We have identified Pearson VUE as our preferred supplier through a thorough tender process which assessed bids against our rigorous requirements for quality, security and accessibility of the registration assessment.
“We are confident that together we can hold online assessment sittings which give candidates a robust and fair test opportunity to demonstrate their ability to apply their skills and knowledge.”
Pearson VUE provides a full suite of services from test development to online proctoring for IT, academic, government, and professional testing programs around the world.
