Applicants with a qualification obtained outside South Africa
The Office of the Registrar receives applications from foreign-qualified candidates who wish to be registered as pharmacists or pharmacy support personnel in South Africa. Council has previously approved Guidelines for persons who hold qualifications in pharmacy obtained outside the Republic, as well as criteria to be used in the evaluation of these applications.
In July 2016, Council resolved that pharmacists with foreign qualifications be granted four attempts in each paper and a maximum of four years from the date of approval to pass the professional examinations. In July 2017, Council resolved that pharmacy support personnel with foreign qualifications, who apply to be registered, be granted two years to complete registration as pharmacist’s assistants in the category learner post-basic from the date of approval by Council.
After evaluation of the application form and all the supporting documents, applicants requiring registration as pharmacists who meet the criteria must write the professional examination; once successful in the examination, the applicant may apply to register as a pharmacist intern subject to conditions determined by Council.
Foreign qualified candidates who meet the criteria to write the professional examination but request registration in a lower category can register as pharmacist’s assistant (learner post-basic) and be required to complete a module on Pharmacy Law and Ethics with an accredited provider. These candidates must successfully complete a minimum of six (6) months in-service training at a facility approved for training under the supervision of an approved tutor and submit a 4-months’ progress report prior to registration as a pharmacist’s assistant (post-basic).
It was also added that following approval of applications by Council and successful completion of the professional examinations by applicants, employment and/or placement for internship and community service in South Africa is not guaranteed.
During its sittings in October 2019 and February 2020, Council resolved that:
- Dr SV Nair and Ms SF Dalal be registered as a pharmacist intern after successfully completing the professional examination and be required to complete a minimum of 12 months’ internship in an institutional or community pharmacy. The candidates were further required to complete the pre-registration evaluation, i.e. successfully complete the pre-registration examination, CPD requirements, and submit all progress reports, prior to registration as a pharmacist.
- Mr Makhabane be registered as pharmacist intern after successfully completing the professional examinations and be required to complete a minimum of six (6) months’ internship in an institutional or community pharmacy. Mr Makhabane was also required to complete pre-registration evaluation, i.e. successfully complete the pre-registration examination, submit six (6) CPD entries from compulsory competence standards 1 to 7 and be competent in four (4) of them; and have favourable progress reports submitted by his tutor at 12 and 24 weeks, and the summary of outcomes at 24 weeks, prior to registration as a pharmacist.
- Mr Dube be registered as a learner post-basic pharmacist’s assistant and be required to complete a module on Pharmacy Law and Ethics with an accredited provider. He is also required to complete a minimum of 6 months in-service training at a registered training facility under the supervision of an approved tutor who must submit a four (4) months’ progress report.
- Subject to qualification verification by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), Ms Sewcharan be registered as a pharmacist intern after successfully completing professional examinations and be required to complete a minimum of 12 months’ internship in an institutional or community pharmacy. Ms Sewcharan is also required to complete pre-registration evaluation, i.e. successfully complete the pre-registration examination, CPD requirements, and submit all progress reports, prior to registration as a pharmacist.
- An application by Mr Onwachei, whose previous application was declined after he was found to have contravened Section 29 of the Pharmacy Act by practicing the scope of practice of a pharmacist without registration as a pharmacist, be declined. Re-application be considered once a two-year period has lapsed as of 4 November 2019, and clearance from the South African Police Services and Department of Home Affairs has been obtained.
Accreditation/monitoring visit to University of the Witwatersrand
Council conducted a monitoring visit to the University of the Witwatersrand 15-19 July 2019 to monitor progress on shortcomings identified in 2015, as well as other new developments in the department and the university that might impact on the quality of the learning programme. In October 2019, Council resolved that the report on this monitoring visit be accepted and approved.
Monitoring visit to Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University
An accreditation/monitoring visit to Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University which was previously scheduled for October 2019 was postponed to April 2020 at the request of the university as the building occupied by the School of Pharmacy was evacuated due to safety concerns.
Accreditation/monitoring visit to Abaluleki Professional Consulting-University of Fort Hare Consortium (APC–UFH Consortium)
Council conducted the accreditation/monitoring visit to APC-UFH Consortium on 1 and 2 August 2019, the purpose of the visit was to monitor the delivery of the National Certificate: Pharmacist Assistance (Institutional Sector) courses by APC-UFH Consortium. In February 2020, Council resolved to approve the monitoring visit report.
Accreditation/monitoring visit to Nelson Mandela University
Pursuant to a May 2019 Council resolution to conduct a full accreditation/monitoring visit to Nelson Mandela University (NMU) to assess the impact of the shortage of human resources on the delivery of the pharmacy programmes, Council undertook a meeting with NMU in August 2020 and full accreditation/monitoring visit in September 2019. The monitoring visit report served before the February 2020 sitting of Council, which resolved to approve it.
Accreditation/monitoring visit to North West University
A Council delegation undertook an accreditation/monitoring visit to the North West University (NWU) in 30 August 2019. The purpose of the visit was to monitor the progress on the shortcomings identified in 2015 and examine any new developments at the pharmacy school or the university that may positively or negatively affect the quality of the programme. In February 2020, Council resolved to approve and accept the report pertaining to this visit.
Accreditation of the University of Johannesburg short course “Compounding and dispensing course for Allied Health Professionals”
Following the submission of an application for accreditation of the short course “Compounding and dispensing course for Allied Health Professionals” by the University of Johannesburg in February 2018 and the finalisation of the course evaluation process in November 2019, Council approved the application for accreditation with the condition that the university “must ensure that prospective enrolees to the course are permitted to compound and dispense as per their scope of practice”.
