The first time colleagues turn to you and asks, “What should we do now?” is both exciting and unsettling. It is one of many unique moments we all face in our first year of practice. After the structure of undergraduate education and the support of the foundation training year, suddenly you feel like you are on your own. In the space of a single day the questions feel more direct, the decisions feel more immediate and the responsibility feels very real. I have spoken with many colleagues who remember this transition vividly.
For many newly registered pharmacists, this is an exciting moment. It is also a moment that can feel lonely. You are the pharmacist that colleagues look to for an answer. You are the person making decisions in a busy community pharmacy, on a ward, in general practice or any other area of patient-facing care. And this year, with new registrants joining the register as independent prescribers, that sense of responsibility may feel even sharper.
At CPPE, we have supported newly qualified pharmacists for many years. This year marks a change as we launch the Pharmacist Enhanced Practice Pathway pilot, developed and delivered collaboratively with our NHS England and Royal College of Pharmacy colleagues to support newly qualified pharmacists as they begin their careers as independent prescribers.
The crucial part is that you won’t need to go through the pathway – or your first year as a newly qualified pharmacist prescriber – alone. Educational supervision is an integral part of the pathway. Throughout, you’ll have someone to talk to while you are building confidence, testing your clinical reasoning or working out how to apply your learning in real-world situations – a space away from the immediate pressures of the workplace where you can pause, reflect and think through your development as a practitioner with someone who understands.
If you are the only pharmacist in your setting, or perhaps you are locuming to get your career off the ground, this type of support is particularly valuable. In situations like these, it’s natural that you may feel isolated from the support needed to grow your practice and make best use of your prescribing skills. This is where the educational supervision on offer on the Pharmacist Enhanced Practice Pathway can have a transformative effect on your career progression. Sometimes, the most valuable support is not someone giving you the answer, but someone helping you ask better questions about your practice.
In reality, true development is about more than completing a programme. It is about developing the habits of a safe, reflective and confident pharmacist. It is about recognising when to seek support, how to use evidence well, how to communicate decisions clearly, and how to keep patients at the centre of every consultation. These are not abstract professional ideals; they are the everyday behaviours that shape the quality of care patients receive. They take time to develop.
So, if you are in your first year of practice, please do not wait until things feel difficult before reaching out. Sign up now for the Pharmacist Enhanced Practice Pathway. Equally, if you line manage or support newly registered pharmacists, encourage them to take up this offer. The transition into practice is too important to leave to chance, and no one should feel they have to navigate it alone.
