Ten Doctor of Pharmacy students from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in North Carolina, USA, recently completed placements in Central and North West London’s NHS primary care clinical services.

The visit formed part of a faculty-led elective delivered through the PharmAlliance partnership between UCL School of Pharmacy, Monash University and the University of North Carolina. CNWL played a key role in the programme by hosting students across a range of specialist clinical services and demonstrating the impact pharmacists have on patient care. 

Before arriving in London, the students completed online learning and simulation-based training, meaning they landed confident and ready to apply their knowledge to real, UK pharmacy settings.

The placements, led by CNWL Deputy Chief Pharmacist, Anshu Rayan gave the students a deeper understanding of pharmacists' role in the UK healthcare system and exposure to pharmacist-led services across mental health, addictions, ADHD prescribing, eating disorder services and community mental health teams providing valuable insight into the breadth of pharmacist-led care within the UK healthcare system.

Students also had the chance to visit community pharmacy partners, Day Lewis Pharmacy and Pearl Chemist Group providing additional perspectives on pharmacist-led care in the UK and how it compares to the United States.

Visiting CNWL care settings and community pharmacies in the UK, encouraged the students to reflect on global healthcare trends and the value of international collaboration in shaping their future professional practice. By combining academic teaching, simulation and experiential learning, the elective enabled students to develop a deeper understanding of pharmacist prescribing while strengthening their intercultural communication skills and appreciation of global healthcare systems.

Being a part of this elective highlights CNWL’s commitments to eduction, workforce development and innovation in pharmacy practice. While also supporting PharmAlliance's commitment to delivering innovative international education that prepares future pharmacists to collaborate across healthcare systems and address evolving global health challenges.