Discordance with current practice, a high level of specialist clinical knowledge required for some questions and time pressures that in real life could impact upon patient safety are among the concerns raised by candidates who sat last month’s pre-registration exam.

The British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association has collated feedback from over 470 emails it received after last month’s registration assessment – the majority from pre-registration trainees, but some from tutors – and compiled a report that includes 18 recommendations, which it has submitted to the General Pharmaceutical Council.

These include:

• Clear and unambiguous communication of any errors contained in the paper(s) prior to the start of the assessment at all centres
• Ensuring papers feature an appropriate balance of questions from different areas of the syllabus
• The removal of double negatives from exam questions
• Involving recently qualified pharmacists in the preparation of assessment papers as a way of ensuring everyday practice is better reflected
• Re-evaluating the amount of time provided for open book assessments, or the length and number of questions included
• Development of a clearer registration exam syllabus.

Many trainees also highlighted issues with the pre-registration training they received, particularly a lack of clinical exposure, which the BPSA says is “particularly worrying” ahead of the move to a more clinically focused assessment next year.

The student body has called for the GPhC to work more closely with training providers and pre-registration tutors in order that they fully understand the standards trainees will be expected to meet, and to consider whether regulation would be appropriate.

This is the third time the BPSA has presented feedback to the GPhC’s board of assessers. The BPSA says that recommendations made in the past have been accepted and led to improvements in the assessment experience.

The full BPSA report can be accessed here.