The British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (BPSA) and Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) have announced a joint project to develop a new pre-foundation programme for pharmacy students and pre-registration trainees.

It will provide access to guidance and tools to support students from day one of their MPharm degree, “making the transition into pre-registration training and foundation practice seamless,” the organisations say.

The programme will be developed during 2016 with principles closely aligned to existing development programmes such as the RPS Foundation Programme and RPS Faculty. At its core will be a pre-foundation framework that will complement undergraduate programmes and enable students to develop key knowledge, skills and behaviours that they can apply to course assignments, practical assessments, projects, and prepare them for workplace-based placements and pharmacy practice.

Lottie Bain, BPSA president, said: “We are really excited to further develop this joint venture with the RPS. Building a sustainable reflective resource optimised for our members will undoubtedly accelerate the professional development of tomorrow's pharmacists.”

Ash Soni, RPS President, added: “It is an exciting development in seeing the students of today as trainee professionals on the start of a lifelong learning journey. This new pre-foundation framework reinforces that journey, and that the RPS is working with BPSA to establish this ethos of life-long development in continuous quality improvement to deliver the best patient outcomes at all times.”