General Pharmaceutical Council Approves OET Pharmacy In UK
There was some good news recently for pharmacists looking to work in the United Kingdom. According to a recent announcement from the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), candidates looking to register with this organisation will now be able to show their English skills by sitting the Occupational English Test (OET).
Read on to find out more.
An Exciting Announcement
In order to work in the United Kingdom, healthcare professionals must register with the appropriate council or organisation and this requires proof of English-language proficiency. For pharmacists, this means registering with GPhC.
Until recently, they were required to show their English abilities in one of three ways:
- Getting at least band 7 in all sections of the IELTS academic test
- Studying pharmacy in an English-speaking country
- Working as a pharmacist in an English-speaking country for two years
However, with the addition of OET as an accepted method of showing English skills, there is now a much better option on the table.
OET Pharmacy
The OET is an English test designed for healthcare professionals looking to work in English-speaking countries. It is arranged into different categories so that candidates can sit an exam that is specific to their field. One of those sections is devoted to pharmacy, meaning that pharmacists who take this can have their English skills tested not in a general sense but through work-related contexts.
People who sit this exam must score at least grade B in each of the four sub-tests in order to be eligible for registration through GPhC. This is approximately the same as getting a band 7 in IELTS but in fact it may be easier for pharmacists due to the career-specific nature of the material involved. It is designed to reflect real-life situations and thus trained pharmacists will find the material familiar. Some people have commented that it provides a fairer judgement of a person’s English skills than IELTS.
What Does This Mean?
The take-away from all of this is that it should be a big benefit for the pharmacy sector in the UK and pharmacists around the world. Given that OET is preferable to IELTS for most pharmacists, it will give them a better chance of being successful in their attempt to move to the UK.
This, in turn, will also provide more pharmacists for the UK, which is currently going through a difficult period as there is a shortage of this type of worker. Indeed, the experts have claimed that it is important for the country to welcome more pharmacists from abroad in order to fill these gaps.
It is also good news for people working in the pharmacy sector of the UK because OET provides assurance that the pharmacists moving there have the requisite skills to do their job properly. At present, IELTS is unable to test that area, meaning it is not quite such a good predictor of ability.