Supplementary Prescribing: Early Experiences of Pharmacists in Great Britain

Background:Pharmacists in Great Britain can undertake supplementary prescribing (SP) after training at a higher education institution and completing a “period of learning in practice” in accordance with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) curriculum.Objective:To explore SP pharmacists' early experiences of prescribing and their perceptions of the prescribing course.Methods:A questionnaire was mailed to all RPSGB prescribers (N = 518, on June 1, 2005; 30 used in pilot questionnaire). Predictors of pharmacists starting to practice SP were identified in univariate analysis, and significant variables were further tested in multivariate analysis.Results:The respondents (n = 401; 82.2%) were mainly female (270; 67.3%), had more than 20 years' experience as a pharmacist (123; 30.7%), worked in hospital settings (160; 39.9%), and focused on cardiovascular conditions (143; 35.7%) during their period of learning in practice. The median course satisfaction score, on a scale of 3 to 15 (lowest t...