National recruitment system for pre-registration pharmacist trainees in England and Wales: context, process and outcomes.

In England and Wales, a new National Recruitment Scheme (NRS) for pre-registration pharmacists was introduced in 2017. The NRS replaced the traditional method of employer-led recruitment or the national recruitment system previously limited to some hospital training programmes. NRS uses assessment methodology involving Multiple-Mini Interviews, Situational Judgement Tests and numeracy skills in ranking and appointing candidates to their preferred training providers through a centralised procedure. This commentary will describe the background, assessment methodology, outcomes of preliminary evaluations and priority research areas for the future in the context of the NRS.