The preregistration tutor has a crucial role in helping the preregistration trainee to develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that they will need as a practising pharmacist. The preregistration tutor also has to assess the trainee's performance during the training period at 13-week intervals and - at the end of the year - decide whether the trainee is competent and ready to apply for registration. Being a preregistration tutor can be hard work, but it is usually very rewarding. Most tutors also find that they learn a lot from their trainees.
The criteria for being approved as a preregistration tutor include being on the practising part of the Register, to have practised in the relevant sector for three or more years and to be actively engaged in the Society’s CPD scheme.
Tutors are expected to ensure that they themselves have the necessary skills to fulfil the role and to undertake whatever development they need. A set of tutor competencies has been produced by the Society, which tutors should use to identify their strengths and development needs. These can be found in the Tutor Workbook and on the CPD website (www.uptodate.org.uk).
Tutors have to sign "an agreement to tutor" to declare to the Society that they are willing to be a tutor and to meet all the Society's requirements. With each trainee that they train, they also have to sign a learning contract at the start of the training period to commit to meeting their responsibilities as a tutor. The trainee also has to sign the learning contract to commit to meeting their responsibilities as a trainee.
Tutors are provided with a Tutor Information Book and a Tutor Workbook containing information and activities that they can undertake to prepare for the training year and to help them train effectively. The Tutor Information Book and Tutor Workbook for 2008-09 are available here as PDF files.
Click on the links below:
For guidelines about preregistration recruitment in 2009 (for 2010-11 cohort of trainees), please click here
The Society would like to offer greater support to preregistration tutors, and is going to pilot a free one-day training course in workplace assessment skills. Some of the topics to be covered are:
This training will take place later in 2007 and information will be placed on this website and in The Pharmaceutical Journal. Prior to this, a survey was distributed to preregistration tutors and preregistration training leads in order to discover what training tutors have had, and what they would like to complete in gaining workplace assessment skills. The closing date for the survey was 31 May 2007. The letters below were sent together with the survey to explain the process:
Letter to preregistration tutor
Letter to preregistration training lead
The Society is keen to ensure that the registration examination is relevant to your students. Are you? If the answer is yes, then take this opportunity to play a part in the production of the examination. We need questions that reflect everyday practice, and are conscious that as a preregistration tutor you are familiar with the day-to-day issues that newly qualified pharmacists face. These issues would make excellent questions for the examination.
Maybe you are interested in writing questions on a regular basis? If so, the Society will pay you £7 per usable question.
For the question writing form, please click on the link below: