Pharmacy Grades OET

Pharmacy OET Grades Required for GPhC Register

The General Pharmaceutical Council of the United Kingdom (GPhC) recently announced that it would accept the results of the Pharmacy Occupational English Test (OET) as proof of English proficiency. Read on to find out what grades are required and if this is the right option for you.

GPhC and OET

The GPhC is the organisation responsible for setting the standards on what counts as proof of competency for pharmacists moving to the United Kingdom to work. Previously, in terms of English proficiency, they accepted the results of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), with a minimum of band 7 required for each of the four sections. Alternatively, people who had studied or worked in English-speaking countries could also register using their experience as proof of their English ability.

However, recently they announced that they would accept OET grades as proof of English proficiency, which is an exciting development for people wanting to move to the UK. As the OET is conducted according to different professions, the GPhC is thus open to candidates who have sat the OET Pharmacy test. This is a specialised part of OET that includes two sub-tests dedicated to using English in situations specific to the pharmaceutical profession.

This decision was made as a result of an internal inquiry into the expansion of English proficiency testing. According to a document released by the GPhC, four out of five members agreed that OET Pharmacy was a reasonable judge of English competency in an appropriate context, and thus it should be added as an alternative to IELTS. In fact, the GPhC inquiry acknowledged that “IELTS is less appropriate” than OET due to its more general subject matter.

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They also pointed out that IELTS offered some unfair barriers, with its writing test being one specific hindrance. The OET was considered a better and fairer judge of English ability due to its more profession-specific content.

What OET Scores are Required?

It was decided that the GPhC would recognise candidates with at least a B in each of the four OET sub-tests (reading, listening, writing, and speaking). This is approximately equivalent to a band 7 in IELTS. It is important to note that these OET scores must all be achieved within one sitting of the exam, and so you cannot do it several times and combine your scores. Although there is still some discussion about allowing 2 Pharmacy OET sitting results as is the norm in case of doctors and nurses in some countries.

A grade B was described by the GPhC report as being “realistic and attainable” whilst at the same time setting a high enough standard to maintain integrity within the pharmacy industry.

Thus, for pharmacists looking to go to the UK to work, the OET Pharmacy test is a great option that should provide reasonable proof of English competency.

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