I got in contact with the PDA as I was referred to to the GPhC’s Fitness to Practice process because of my recent placement at university. The PDA assigned me a person to work with on my case that was specific to the area of my issue. Thanks to this person’s help, I received only a warning at the university level.
The person the PDA gave me to work with on my case was very knowledgeable on the matter. They contacted me very quickly once they were assigned to me. We discussed the issues leading to the Fitness to Practice referral and they gave great advice. They helped me to see how these issues occurred, discussed what I can do to prevent them occurring next time, and came up with many things to put into place.
They made many suggestions, which I acted on, and referred me to further support that I can get from another organisation. They also made suggestions for other things I can do to help me with my pre-registration year, including things I was not aware of, to prevent the issues occurring again. They also told me more about the foundation exam at the end of the pre-registration year and gave me advice on getting extenuating circumstances in place for this.
Thanks to their help, I was able to explain my circumstances to the Fitness to Practice panel more clearly. I was also able to explain how the issues occurred, and display my remorse for the issues. I explained to the panel all the things I would do to improve my future placements, including steps I was putting in place now to better manage my circumstances so they would not affect my future placements.
They organised several meetings with me, including one just before my Fitness to Practice meeting, which helped me to get more support from them. They also accompanied me to the Fitness to Practice meeting to help me be less nervous. They would always reply to my emails quickly and gave me a lot of useful advice and help.
Thanks to this person’s help I was able to communicate everything very well to the panel and the issue was not escalated. Their support meant that I only received a warning at the university level. I am very grateful to the person assigned to me for all their help, as they made the situation much easier to deal with and provided me with so much advice to prepare me for the meeting.
I am glad that I got in contact with the PDA and would recommend them to anyone else who needs any professional help or support.
Learn more
- Am I fit to be a pharmacist? The online pharmacy model and fitness to practise
- Fitness to practise: FAQs
- What the Fitness to Practise Committee does
Not yet a PDA member?
If you have not yet joined the PDA, we encourage you to join today and ask your colleagues to do the same.
Membership is FREE to pharmacy students, trainee pharmacists and for the first three months of being newly qualified.
Read about our key member benefits here.