Who is the course for?
Leading for Change is open to pharmacy professionals from all sectors of practice, including community pharmacy.
This fully funded leadership programme is open to anyone who has responsibility for leading a team or leading services within their organisation and would like to develop their skills further.
Course aims
The aim of the programme is to enable you to develop the behaviours required to become an inspiring and effective pharmacy leader, equipping you with the knowledge and skills to take on challenges effectively and lead in medicines optimisation to deliver better outcomes for your patients and service users.
Course format
The programme comprises four online modules delivered over six months:
Each module is supported by a half-day online workshop, online discussion forums and a networking Zoom event to enable you to put your learning into practice and to allow you to network with fellow course participants. At the end of the programme you are required to submit an assignment to demonstrate how you have used your leadership skills over the course of the six months.
Course dates
There is a choice of workshop dates so that you can choose a cohort that works around your other commitments. You will need to attend all four workshops on the same day of the week to enable you to complete all parts of the programme with your online tutor and fellow cohort participants.
Full details of all cohorts available for booking can be found in the Course format and dates tab below.
On completion of the programme you should be able to:
Any pharmacy professional who has responsibility for leading people or services within their organisation. The only exception is those undertaking or have previously completed one of the NHS education pathways (CPGPE, MOCH or PCPEP). This is because leadership is included in said pathways.
We expect participants to have a foundation in leadership, either through completion of a previous leadership programme or through a number of years' experience as a leader.
Suggested prior learning includes the NHS Leadership Academy’s Edward Jenner programme, CPPE programmes such as Life skills - developing your potential e-course, or equivalent in-house training.
Participants must meet the following criteria:
Apply for a cohort where you can firmly commit to attending the workshop dates detailed below. The workshops are mandatory. If you miss a workshop, you will not be able to continue with the programme.
Cohort 1
Online course begins on 30 September
Workshop dates
Tuesday mornings, 9:30am to 12:30am
Course ends on 23 February 2025
End of course submissions deadline: Monday 17 March, 2025
Cohort 2
Online course begins on 7 October
Workshop dates
Wednesday afternoons, 12:30pm to 3:30pm
Course ends on 2 March 2025
End of course submissions deadline: Monday 24 March, 2025
You will be given an opportunity to attend an Insight webinar delivered by national organisations such as NICE, NHS England, CQC, Specialist Pharmacy Service, APTUK, GPhC and RPS to understand more about the organisation.
This is an optional part of the programme and therefore places are limited. More information on the Insight webinars, including dates, times and how to book a place, will be provided when you enrol on the programme.
All Insight webinars will be delivered via Zoom.
A key part of the programme will be to build your networks in pharmacy and across the wider NHS. This will be achieved by attending the online workshops, contributing to the discussion forums and by joining Zoom chats to network with others on the cohort.
Those who are geographically close to each other may also choose to set up local learning sets to allow further networking and sharing of best practice in a region.
Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians participating in the programme will be required to find a mentor. This will be a trusted colleague who is more senior than them in their organisation who can act as a sounding board and provide support and guidance to further develop their career and networks.
The programme handbook is available here.
Please be aware that applications may take up to two weeks to be approved.
Applications will open on Monday 5 August.
