Indian pharmacy students who wishes to become a pharmacist in the UK are required to go through certain assessment process. In the UK, prior to obtaining license to practice as a pharmacist, candidates need to do OSPAP course.

• Pharmacist profession is the third largest healthcare profession in the UK. There is an ever increasing demand for qualified pharmacist in the Great Britain; which provides and immense opportunity for the students to work as a pharmacist in the UK. Pharmacist are paid above average salary depending upon the experience. Pharmacist in the UK can work as a:
• Hospital pharmacist
• Community Pharmacist
• Pharmacy Technicians

How to apply for OSPAP:

Before applying for OSPAP course, you need to apply for eligibility to GPhC (General Pharmaceutical Council).

GPhC is a pharmacy regulatory body that creates standard criteria for pharmacists to practice in Great Britain. The GPhC ensures that pharmacists continue to meet those standards and provide effective services to the citizens of the UK.

To get admission for OSPAP course in OSPAP providing university, approval letter for GPhC is mandatory. To get approval letter candidate needs to follow steps given ahead.

Step-1: Getting GPhC approval letter

To apply for eligibility assessment, you need to complete application process. You need to gather all required documents mentioned below. Once you will fill application form you need to send it to GPhC via post for the assessment.

• Original degree certificate: Applicant need to send original degree certificate, and no copies or provisional is accepted. GPhC will return the original certificate after verifying and copying it.
• ENIC statement of comparability: Statement of comparability is a document comparing your qualification to UK qualification evaluated by ENIC (European Network Information Centre).

For this statement, you need to apply to ENIC by registering on its website. Documents required for obtaining statement of comparability are: scanned copy of degree certificates, academic transcript. Additional charges are there for this process.

• Certified copy of current valid passport
• Certified copy of your birth certificate
• Two countersigned passport photos

           Certified copies must be signed and stamped by a legal solicitor.

• IELTS pass result: For OSPAP, IELTS requirements is atleast 7 (or more) bands in EACH module.
• Documents to be sent directly to GPhC: Following documents need to be sent by organisation from where you issue them.

• Academic transcript: Your academic transcript must be sent directly by university. through email address with official domain name and not with sender’s personal mail address
• Letter of Good Standing: This should include your details such as: name, DOB, registered address, name of university, date of obtaining pharmacy qualification, confirmation that you are a registered pharmacists or eligible to be registered as pharmacists.
• Two references: One reference must be academic and the other must be from your employer
• Application form: Should be filled in capital letters. You also need to select preference for OSPAP providing university in application form.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• All the documents should be in English
• There should be no error in spelling of your name, and it should be similar in all your documents
• All the original document you provide will be returned by GPhC after assessment
• You need to send all required documents at once as no additional document will be accepted

After filling application form along with all documents, you need to post with the application processing fees of £687.

There is no deadline for the application process, but it is advisable to complete application process before the month of May or June.

Once application processed is done, GPhC will contact you to inform you about your approval. If you are eligible, GPhC will sent your details directly to the university you have mentioned and will confirm your eligibility to apply for OSPAP course. You can start studying OSPAP within two years after getting GPhC approval letter; if you apply in 2022 you can either start in September 2022 or 2023. The universities you have selected will ask for additional required documents.

Step-2: Completing the OSPAP course

Once you receive GPhC approval letter, GPhC will send your details to the universities that you have selected in your application form. GPhC will confirm with the universities that you are eligible and then further process will be continued by the universities. They will contact you for additional documents if necessary.

Universities providing OSPAP courses:

• Aston University
• University of Brighton
• University of Hertfordshire
• University of Sunderland

OSPAP course is Postgraduate Diploma (9 months)/MSc (1 year) full time course. This course comprises of specific modules you need to study to acquire the required knowledge to practice as a pharmacist in the UK.

Step-3: Pre-registration Training

After successfully completing OSPAP course, candidates need to undergo pre-registration training of 52 weeks. Training sites are GPhC approved and candidate will be supervised by the tutor. Trainees have to find their own placement and a tutor and will have to inform GPhC. GPhC will approve of the training site and tutor and will let you know to start the training.  Training placement period is paid and full time.

How to find a training placement:

To start your training immediately after finishing OSPAP course, you need to apply to the Oriel, an online application portal, before you join university for OSPAP course. To apply for oriel, you will need: your GPhC approval letter and university offer letter. (NOTE: To get earliest placement through Oriel, it is advisable to complete your application process before the deadline by the month of June).

Step-4: Registration Assessment

After completing pre-registration training of 52 weeks, candidates need to sit a registration assessment test. Registration assessment takes places twice a year, in June and September. The test consists of 2 question papers and you need to pass both the papers, but in case you fail you will have 3 attempts to pass the test.

Test format and preparation:

It is highly advisable to follow proper studying plan to pass the registration exam.

Test format is explained below:

Single best answer– From 5 options you have to choose the best correct answer

Extended-matching- Options from list can be used once or more.

After the test you will receive your results via post or email (if you have registered on myGPhC website.)

Step-5: Registering as a Pharmacist

To get register you need to have:

• OSPAP qualification
• 52 weeks of training
• Registration assessment test with pass result

After passing the assessment test, you are eligible to apply for register as a pharmacist to GPhC via my GPhC online system (within 4 years of completing OSPAP course). Only after you receive registration number and name on online register, you are able to practice as a pharmacist in the UK.

For registration you will require to:

• Legally certify the copies of supporting documents
• Create an account on myGPhC website
• Submit online application and upload necessary documents
• Countersign the application by a pharmacist through the myGPhC system
• Post hard copies to GPhC
• Pay application fee of £106.