Pre-registration Manual

6. After the registration assessment

6.1  Finding out if you have passed the assessment

After the registration assessment, we will email you or send you a letter to tell you your result.

If you want to receive your result by email, make sure you have signed up to myGPhC and indicated email in your communication preferences. If you do not want to receive your results by email, we will post them to you first class to the address you have given us.

You will receive information about what to do after you get your assessment result as part of the candidate information we send you. Make sure you read this carefully and get in touch with the contact centre if there’s anything you don’t understand. 

Important: remember that we do not give results over the phone as we cannot verify a caller’s identity.

6.2 Applying to register as a pharmacist

You are eligible to register as a pharmacist once you meet the registration criteria, including:

  • having completed pre-registration training, shown by a week-52 declaration signed by your tutor, and
  • having passed the registration assessment

Remember that you cannot practise as a pharmacist until your registration is complete and your name appears on the register.

See section 7 for more information on applying to the register.

Check the key dates page to see when you will need to submit your application form to join the register at the date you plan to.

You can submit an application to register as a pharmacist any time after week 49 of your training. We will put your application ‘on hold’ until your registration assessment result and any other information we need about your training is confirmed.

6.3  If you do not pass the registration assessment

If you are unsuccessful at a registration assessment sitting, we will send you guidance with your results. This explains the appeals system, and preparing to sit the assessment again. If you have any further questions on your next steps after reading the guidance, please get in touch with the contact centre. 

We understand that the assessment period can be stressful. You can get free confidential wellbeing support from the profession’s charity Pharmacist Support.

Please visit their website pharmacistsupport.org for online resources and further details on their services.

Sitting another assessment

You can find future assessment dates and entry deadlines on the key dates page.

You do not need to meet any extra requirements to sit the registration assessment again.

But you should reflect on whether you were ready to sit the assessment, and if there were any other factors that affected your performance on the day. 

You may find it helpful to develop a SMART action plan to help you identify what you need to do to be ready to sit the assessment again, and to manage any factors that affected your performance. See section 3.5 for more information about setting SMART objectives.  

The actions you need to take, and the resources you will need to help you will depend on the issues and objectives you identify.

They could include:

  • reviewing the registration assessment framework to make sure you cover all the topics in your preparation
  • using the resources in section 5.3 to familiarise yourself with the format of the different question styles using the example question templates, attempting the example questions, and writing your answer on the example answer sheet 
  • reviewing the feedback from previous assessment sittings and considering whether you need to do more preparation in areas where candidates have performed less well in the past, to avoid common mistakes
  • using resources to build your knowledge in specific areas of the registration assessment framework (NES, CPPE or HEIW all provide study resources) 
  • setting up or taking part in a peer study group
  • becoming more familiar with the layout of common resources such as a summary of product characteristics
  • checking for any changes in legislation or treatment guidelines 
  • practising a range of different calculations
  • considering any reasonable adjustments, coping strategies or lifestyle interventions you may need before or during the assessment 
  • working alongside pharmacy professionals who are able to provide advice and guidance (including in managing your health and wellbeing to make sure you are prepared to sit the assessment)

6.4  Appeals

If you fail the assessment, you can appeal. You have to tell us about:

  • new information or circumstances that have come to light since you sat the assessment, and that you were not aware of at the time
  • a registration assessment procedure that you feel was not correctly applied by the GPhC  

which would have affected your performance on the day. This is set out in the registration assessment regulations.

If your appeal is upheld, the Registrar may nullify your assessment result, and that assessment will not count as one of your available attempts.

If your appeal is about circumstances you could have used to request a nullification, or any circumstances that you knew about before you sat the assessment, your appeal will not be considered. By sitting the assessment you declared yourself 'fit to sit'.