A year of achievements
Annual Conference
2019 saw the welcome return of the RPS Annual Conference, on the theme of Medicines Safety.
We gave all Members free entry, and almost 600 took advantage of the offer, coming from around the world to join us for a packed Sunday of discussions, presentations, displays, networking...and a delicious free lunch!
Science & Research Summit
You would have been forgiven for being a little star-struck at the array of talent on display at February's Science & Research Summit.
Guests included Professor Dame Sally Davies, former Chief Medical Officer for England, now UK Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance; Sir Andrew Dillon - Chief Executive at National Institute for Health and Care Excellence; and Professor Sir Michael Rawlins, Chair of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
One-to-One Support
Our One-to-One Support team spent 421 hours on the phone supporting our members, as well as fielding questions via email and twitter. The most-asked questions were about legal and ethical problems, pharmacy practice and professional development.
When feedback on the service was requested one member commented: "Your professional service is one of the best in the world. Quick, effective and very pharmacist friendly!"
Revalidation
Revalidation is a concern for many pharmacists, so we spent the year updating and adding more resources to help our members revalidate.
Particularly welcome was an update to our MyCPD app and online MyCPD portfolio, allowing members to synchronise CPD added using either - and then send it straight to MyGPhC for submission!
In the Media
We’ve been vocal in the media raising your profile as frontline healthcare professionals, speaking up on all channels about medicines and patient care.
From BBC Breakfast to Radio 4’s Today programme and Panorama, in 2019 RPS members were seen, heard or read about in the national and regional media on average six times every week.
Fellows
We were very pleased to designate 37 RPS members as Fellows in 2019 - the highest honour we can bestow. Fellowship recognises individuals who have attained distinction in their pharmacy career, and because they are based on nominations from Members, they signify the esteem in which the individual is held by his or her peers.
Inclusion & Diversity
2019 was the year we launched our positive Inclusion & Diversity strategy campaign, organising events to promote inclusion, diversity and belonging.
Staff and members walked at PRIDE in London; our Women in Leadership event was packed out, and we ran a BAME celebration event, celebrating the great diversity across our profession.
Assessment & Credentialing
Over 2019, we redefined our approach to assessing and credentialing levels of post-registration practice, developing a new strategy and professional development model.
We launched the new RPS Foundation Pharmacist Framework at our Annual Conference and developed a centralised post-approval service for NHS consultant pharmacist posts in England and Wales.
A review of our Faculty service led to the establishment of a new advanced pharmacist credentialing service.
Podcasts
Podcasts are very popular with many of our members, so we set up a special page on our website, Podcast Central, to bring our regular podcasts together in one place: the PrezCast, PharmSci Today, Hospital Pharmacy Now and more.
They're soon to be available on regular podcast channels, too!
Mentoring
The RPS Mentoring platform was reviewed, rebuilt and relaunched in 2019, to help our members find a mentor or become a mentor.
Following the relaunch, almost 800 members from across the profession had signed up by the end of 2019, looking for advice, guidance and encouragement on all areas of their career.
Museum & Library
Based in our London HQ, the RPS Museum and Library are always popular with visitors. In 2019 the Museum attracted over 2,300 visitors, ran 62 tours and retained Full Accreditation from Arts Council England.
Library use continued to increase, particularly that our e-Library, which grew by an impressive 372%.
The Museum is regularly visited by the media, researchers and historians, such as Lucy Worsley and Helen Rappaport (pictured).
Pharmaceutical Press & MedicinesComplete
In 2019 we launched our Palliative Care Formulary on MedicinesComplete - the expert source of drug information in palliative and hospice care.
MedicinesComplete as a whole received an average of 1,096 enquiries per hour in 2019 - over nine and a half million throughout the year.
The BNF notched up two million queries per month on its app - not bad for a publication celebrating its 70th birthday!
The Pharmaceutical Journal
The PJ was officially the most used and valued RPS member benefit in 2019.
It was nominated for best print publication of the year at the 2019 Memcom awards, as well as winning Pharmacy Writer of the Year at the 2019 Avicenna awards - which explains the 41% increase in website users in 2019.
The PJ also merged with Clinical Pharmacist after members asked for just a single journal.