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.
In July 2018 Council resolved that-
- Ms HT Adeniyi (Asekun) be registered as a pharmacist intern after successfully completing the professional examinations and be required to complete a minimum of six months internship in an institutional or community pharmacy. The candidate is further required to complete the pre-registration evaluation, i.e. successfully complete the pre-registration examination, submit six continuing professional development (CPD) entries from compulsory competence standards 1 to 7 and be found competent in four of them, and have favourable progress reports submitted by the tutor at 12 and 24 weeks, and the summary of outcomes at 24 weeks, prior to registration as pharmacist;
- Mesdames N Ncube, A Mullapudi and Mr MPY Malik be registered as pharmacist interns after successfully completing the professional examinations and be required to complete a minimum of 12 months internship in an institutional or community pharmacy. The candidates are further required to complete pre-registration evaluation i.e. successfully complete the pre-registration examination, CPD requirements, or provide documentary evidence of compliance to the CPD requirements in their country of origin and submit all progress reports, prior to registration as pharmacists.
In May 2019 Council resolved that, and subject to favourable SAQA verification reports-
- Ms MF Lawal be registered as a pharmacist intern after successfully completing the professional examinations and be required to complete a minimum of six months internship in an institutional or community pharmacy. The candidate is further required to complete the pre-registration evaluation i.e. successfully complete the pre-registration examination, submit six CPD entries from compulsory competence standards 1 to 7 and be found competent in four of them, and have favourable progress reports submitted by the tutor at 12 and 24 weeks, and the summary of outcomes at 24 weeks, prior to registration as pharmacist;
- Mesdames HP Vadlakonda, FN Kaduji and Messrs Q Lentsa, FM Patel, P Boppana, VSPS Ananthaneni and AM Panwala be registered as pharmacist interns after successfully completing the professional examinations and be required to complete a minimum of 12 months internship in an institutional or community pharmacy. The candidates are further required to complete pre-registration evaluations i.e. successfully complete the pre-registration examination, CPD requirements, and submit all progress reports, prior to registration as pharmacists.
- Messrs J Pofa, J Mubhambati and M Chiwariro 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. The candidates also be required to complete a minimum of six months in-service training at a registered training facility under the supervision of approved tutors who must submit a four months’ progress report.
Request for registration as a pharmacist in South Africa for foreign nationals who obtained the BPharm qualification in the Republic
Some persons who obtained BPharm qualifications in South Africa, but did not perform an internship in South Africa, have enquired about a process for them to register as pharmacists as they would have performed an internship and/or practised in another country.
According to Regulation 14(1)(c)(ii) of the Regulations relating to registration of persons and maintenance of registers, a person may be registered as a pharmacist if they have “completed his or her internship: provided that the council may exempt him or her partially or in full from this requirement on submission of documentary evidence to the satisfaction of council that he or she has undertaken practical training as part of his or her undergraduate studies under the supervision of a provider of a qualification in pharmacy”.
Council in July 2018 resolved that any person who has obtained a BPharm qualification in an institution accredited by Council for the BPharm programme, but performed their internship in another country, be required to produce evidence of completion of internship and a letter of good standing from the statutory body in the country where the internship was completed, complete a minimum of 6 months’ internship, and complete pre-registration evaluations i.e. successfully complete the pre-registration examination, submit six CPD entries from compulsory competence standards 1 to 7 and be competent in 4 of them; and have favourable progress reports submitted by the tutor at 12 and 24 weeks, and the summary of outcomes at 24 weeks, prior to registration as a pharmacist.
However, Council in October 2018 amended this requirement to include completion of a minimum of six months’ internship in a community or institutional pharmacy approved for training of pharmacist interns or for any person performing an internship in a manufacturing pharmacy or in academia, 400 hours be completed in a community or institutional pharmacy as part of the approved 6 months period of internship.
Pre-registration examination blueprint
In October 2018, Council approved the pre-registration examination blueprint and resolved that three examinations be conducted in March, July and October as only two examinations will disadvantage the progress of interns. The examination duration will initially be capped at four hours, subject to review by Council based on feedback from invigilators and assessment of the first examination. Candidates would have to achieve an overall minimum mark of 50% and a subminimum of 60% for calculations in order to pass the examination. Council also resolved that the current format of the pre-registration examination be retained for the March 2019 examination and the new format be implemented from June/July 2019.
Accreditation/monitoring visit to the University of KwaZulu-Natal
A Council delegation visited the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in May 2018 in terms of the Pharmacy Act, 53 of 1974, to monitor progress on shortcomings identified in the 2014 visit, in addition to identifying any new developments in the discipline and the university that may impact the quality of the Bachelor of Pharmacy programme. In October 2018, Council then accepted and approved the report on the visit to the university together with deadlines for response set therein.
Good pharmacy education standards for qualifications on the occupational qualification sub-framework
In October 2017, Council approved the accreditation/monitoring visit instrument for skills development providers. This document was used as a guide in the development of Good Pharmacy Education (GPE) standards for the Occupational Qualifications Sub-Framework (OQSF). In October 2018, Council approved the GPE standards for the OQSF for publication for comment for a period 60 days.
Accreditation of Pharmacy Education International as a provider of the dispensing course
In May 2018, the Office of the Registrar received an application for approval/accreditation of Pharmacy Education International (PEI) as a provider of a short course: Supplementary course in dispensing and rational medicine use. In October 2018, Council approved PEI as a provider of a course: Supplementary course in dispensing and rational medicine use.
Good pharmacy education standards for higher education institutions
The instrument was piloted at four institutions that had accreditation/monitoring visits in 2017 and was amended taking into consideration the comments received. It was then aligned to the Good Pharmacy Education (GPE) standards. In July 2018, Council resolved that the amended GPE be published for comment as the whole document was amended to clarify aspects of the minimum standards, ensure relevancy, remove duplication and add definitions. In October 2018, Council resolved that the Board Notice for GPE standards for higher education institutions be approved and published for noting; and the amended standards be approved for implementation.
Guideline and criteria for evaluation of an application for a permit issued in terms of section 29 (4) of the Pharmacy Act, 53 of 1974
In October 2018, Council approved the Guideline and criteria for evaluation of an application for a permit issued in terms of section 29(4) of the Pharmacy Act, 53 of 1974. In terms of section 29(4) of the Act, the Minister may in consultation with the Council grant any person not registered in terms of this Act authority to perform a service specifically pertaining to the scope of practice of a pharmacist, or in writing exempt any person from the provision of this Act, on such conditions as he or she may determine.
Council evaluates requests from companies applying for or requesting an extension of permission to perform services especially pertaining to the scope of practice of a pharmacist whilst not being registered as a pharmacist under the Pharmacy Act at no fee. Section 4 of the Pharmacy Act, 53 of 1974, empowers Council to determine the fees payable to the Council for services performed by the Council in terms of this Act or for any other reason the Council may decide on. The fee is to be paid to Council to support its operations.
Review of the Diploma in Pharmacy Technical Support to include the requirements of work-based learning
Council discussed the Nelson Mandela University’s (NMU) response to its October 2017 accreditation/monitoring visit report for the Higher Certificate: Pharmacy Support and Advanced Certificate: Pharmacy Technical Support. In the report, Council had raised a concern after establishing that undergraduate (Higher Certificate: Pharmacy Support) students did not undertake Work-Based Learning (WBL) as part of their studies. WBL was only undertaken by Advanced Certificate students. In its response, the NMU indicated that Higher Certificate students did not undergo as it was neither a requirement of the qualification nor the Good Pharmacy Education (GPE) standards, citing section 3.1.3.1 of the GPE to support their submission – this section reads thus: ‘3.1.2.1: WBL for PTs (Pharmacy Technicians) must be in line with the requirements stipulated in the qualification’.
Subsequent to this submission, in May 2018, Council resolved that the Diploma: Pharmacy Technical Support should be reviewed to make WBL a requirement. Following a Council resolution in October 2018, WBL was made a requirement of the Diploma through the insertion of the following paragraph under ‘Notes’: ‘The respective assessment criteria aim to test the achievement of the specific learning outcomes, as many of these criteria are practice-based, providers are required to include structured work-based learning periods in their curricula and should clearly identify such periods; and it is anticipated that they will aggregate at least 200 hours in the overall learning programme’.
Services for which a pharmacist may levy a fee
The fees published in terms of the Rules relating to the services for which a pharmacist may levy a fee and guidelines for levying such fee or fees (Board Notice 432 of 2017) was last reviewed in 2017. In February 2019, Council resolved that the fees be increased by 6% and the revised board notice for the Rules relating to the services for which a pharmacist may levy a fee and guidelines for levying such fee or fees be accepted, approved and published for implementation.
Accreditation/monitoring visit to Tshwane University of Technology
In November 2014, Council provisionally accredited Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) as a provider of the Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) programme and resolved that the provider be monitored annually until the first graduates are produced. Council has been conducting annual accreditation/monitoring visits to the institution since the first intake of BPharm students in January 2015.
In September 2018, Council conducted an accreditation/monitoring visit to TUT to monitor and evaluate the delivery of the BPharm programme at first-, second- and third-year levels, evaluate the fourth-year level of the BPharm programme, and monitor progress on the shortcomings highlighted in the 2017 accreditation/monitoring visit report. In February 2019, Council then resolved that the report on the visit to the university conducted in September 2018 be accepted and approved.
Monitoring visit to University of the Western Cape
In October 2018, Council conducted a monitoring visit to the University of the Western Cape (UWC) to monitor and evaluate the delivery of the BPharm programme at all levels of study and to confirm progress on the shortcomings highlighted in the 2014 visit report. This report was then accepted and approved by Council in February 2019.
Monitoring visit to Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University
In October 2018, Council conducted a monitoring visit to Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) to monitor progress on shortcomings identified in the 2017 visit in addition to identifying any new developments in the discipline and the university that may impact the quality of the Bachelor of Pharmacy programme. In May 2019, Council resolved that the report on the accreditation/monitoring visit to the university be accepted and approved, and that another accreditation visit be conducted in 2019 to assess progress made on the shortcomings identified.
Entrance requirements for the pharmacist intern’s pre-registration examination
In October 2014, Council resolved that the following should be requirements for entrance to the pre-registration examination: registration as a pharmacist intern for a minimum period of six months by the examination date, the submission of continuing profession development (CPD) entries in four competencies on the online CPD platform, and submission of at least one progress report, i.e. the 12-week progress report. However, Council was concerned by a tendency by interns to only focus on the pre-registration examination, thus rushing other pre-registration evaluation requirements at the last minute in December of each year.
In response to this situation, and in the interest of pharmacist interns, in May 2019 Council resolved that, as a minimum requirement for entrance to the pre-registration examination for 2019 exams, interns must be in their sixth month of internship, have submitted CPD entries for six competencies on the online CPD platform; and their tutor must have submitted the 12-weeks progress report. Council also resolved that the tutor be required to submit the 24-weeks progress report before the examination results are released. All interns registered from 1 January 2020, are required to be successful in a minimum of three (3) of the six competencies submitted on the online CPD platform before they can sit for their first pre-registration examination and be competent in all six competencies in their second attempt to the exam.
Accreditation/monitoring visit to Pharmacy Healthcare Academy
In August 2018, Council undertook an accreditation/monitoring visit to Pharmacy Healthcare Academy’s (PHA) facilities in Cape Town and Johannesburg. The academy has been accredited by Council to offer the National Certificate: Pharmacist Assistance (Community sector) and Further Education and Training Certificate: Pharmacist Assistance (Community sector). In May 2019, Council resolved that the reports on the visit to PHA be accepted.
