Reflecting on WCP2026: our week in Melbourne

Earlier this month the BPS Assessment team touched down in Melbourne for the 20th World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. A huge thank you to ASCEPT and IUPHAR, for putting together such a brilliant congress and bringing the global pharmacology community together under one roof.

 

BPS CEO and BPSA Managing Director, Neha Issar-Brown, summed up the week for us in a LinkedIn post saying saying: 

“BPS Assessment (BPSA) had an excellent time at #WCP2026, with several insightful meetings, networking and discussions engaging with long-standing, new and potential partners.

We topped it off by hosting a knowledge exchange session towards the end where UK, Australia, New Zealand and Japanese colleagues shared their reasons and experiences of using and adapting the BPSA platform for their respective national prescribing safety assessments.

BPS Assessment Team also updated audience on the new e-simulator function and many of the fantastic and free educational modules available on the BPSA website”

 

Meeting the wider prescribing community

One of the highlights of the week was meeting with prescribers and educators from across Australia and New Zealand at our ANZ User Group Meeting, catching up with existing partners and hearing first hand how the platform is being used to support prescribing training across the region.

We also spent time talking to the technical and program lead for Australia’s National Prescribing Curriculum (NPC) Dr. Ivan Bindoff and Ass. Prof. Bridin Murnion, discussing how prescribing education is evolving and where our work overlaps.  

 

Highlights from the talks

Professor Simon Maxwell delivered the BPS Lecture as one of the keynote presentations. His session showcased just how much of an impact the Prescribing Safety Assessment has had on strengthening safe and effective prescribing across the UK, with some really compelling examples of how assessment translates into better patient care and stronger clinical competence in practice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alongside that, Peter Wright led a well received session at the Innovation Theatre, bringing together international colleagues including Simon Maxwell, Professor Shinichiro Ueda, Professor Sarah Hilmer, Professor Kellie Charles and Dr Paul Chin to talk through how the Prescribing Safety Assessment has been implemented across medical schools and postgraduate programmes in the UK and beyond. It was a great chance to dig into the practical side of large scale prescribing competency assessment and what’s working well in different corners of the world.

 

Thank you

Thanks to everyone who took the time to meet with us, take part in our sessions or stop by for a chat. 

Thank you also to Simon Maxwell, Lynne Bollington, Sarah Hilmer, Kellie Charles,  Shinichiro Ueda and Natalie Blanchard for supporting and collaborating with BPS Assessment and to Neha Issar-Brown, Peter Wright and Marcus Hughes for representing us throughout the conference.

We’re already looking forward to the next one!

BPS Assessment are heading to Melbourne for WCP2026

Next month, The British Pharmacological Society (BPS) and BPS Assessment will be attending the 20th World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (WCP2026) in Melbourne, Australia. The congress takes place from 12-17 July at the Melbourne Convention Centre.

 

About WCP2026

 

Hosted by the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists (ASCEPT) in partnership with the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR), the congress brings together the global pharmacology and therapeutics community. The event welcomes students, early career researchers, clinical pharmacology leaders and those working in drug discovery and development.

The scientific programme features plenary and keynote speakers, symposia, workshops and debates covering advances in pharmacology and therapeutics. 

The congress includes a social programme alongside the scientific sessions. There’s a welcome reception on Monday 13 July, a student and early career researcher function on Tuesday 14 July at The Boatbuilders Yard on the Yarra River, and a congress dinner on Thursday 16 July at the Plaza Ballroom with a Great Gatsby theme.

Registration for WCP2026 is open with standard registration closing on 1 July 2026. For more information, visit the WCP2026 website.

 

Our talks

The making of a safe and effective prescriber: Rethinking prescribing education for a changing world

On Wednesday 15 July at 4.45pm, Professor Simon Maxwell will deliver the British Pharmacological Society (BPS) Lecture as one of the keynote presentations.

Simon is Professor of Student Learning/Clinical Pharmacology and Prescribing at the University of Edinburgh, where he has led the development of e-learning strategies to support education in clinical pharmacology and therapeutics. He is also Director of the University’s Masters in Internal Medicine programme, with NHS clinical responsibilities including supervision of acute medical admissions and management of outpatients at increased cardiovascular risk.

He is Medical Director of the Prescribing Safety Assessment, a joint initiative by the BPS and Medical Schools Council delivering a national assessment of prescribing for all UK medical students. This process has now been adopted in several other countries. Simon is also co-lead for the Pharmacology Education Project (PEP), an IUPHAR initiative providing freely accessible learning materials for students of the pharmacological sciences in resource-poor countries.

Simon was recently appointed as the new President-Elect of the British Pharmacological Society. He will serve a two-year term as President-Elect from 1 January 2026.

 

BPS Assessment Innovation Session

On Thursday 16 July from 2:30–4:30pm, Peter Wright, Head of Commercial Operations at BPS Assessment, will lead an Innovation Theatre session in Exhibition Bay 14–16.

The session is an open forum for all congress registrants and will explore the design and implementation of large-scale prescribing competency assessments for students and early practitioners. Peter will be joined by Professor Simon Maxwell and international colleagues from Japan and Australia, Professor Shinichiro Ueda from the University of the Ryukyus and Professor Sarah Hilmer from Royal North Shore Hospital and the University of Sydney.

Together, they will showcase how the Prescribing Safety Assessment has been implemented across medical schools and postgraduate early years programmes in the UK and beyond. The session will also highlight new features of the assessment platform and how these could be applied in different prescribing education contexts around the world.

 

Meet BPS Assessment at WCP2026

As well as our talks, the BPS Assessment team will be at the main BPS stand throughout the congress, where you can find out more about our assessment and learning services and how we’re working to improve prescribing standards globally. 

Along with BPS we will also be hosting a number of additional events during the week, including a social for BPS members, an international PSA meeting, and an Australia and New Zealand PSA user group session to offer the opportunity to connect with the team and colleagues from around the world. 

Feel free to get in touch with us if you’d like to book a one to one meeting with our team whilst we are there https://www.bpsassessment.com/contact/ 

We hope to see you in Melbourne!

Supporting Prescribing Education in the Middle East: RCSI Bahrain and the University of Sharjah

Prescribing errors are one of the most significant and preventable causes of patient harm in healthcare systems around the world. Tackling that problem starts in medical education, which is why we are seeing more and more institutions turn to structured, evidence based tools to sharpen how their students learn to prescribe.

 

RCSI Bahrain and the University of Sharjah are two institutions doing exactly that, and both have chosen BPS Assessment’s platform to help give their students a stronger foundation in prescribing education. This builds on an already established and growing presence in the region. We have been working with institutions across the Middle East for a number of years, including Gulf Medical University, and it is encouraging to see that momentum continue.

 

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI Bahrain)

The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI Bahrain) is a medical university in the Gulf region. A constituent university of RCSI Dublin, which was founded in 1784, the Bahrain campus has been training healthcare professionals since it opened in 2004. There are students across its Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Midwifery and Postgraduate Studies and Research, and its graduates hold internationally recognised qualifications from both RCSI and the National University of Ireland.

 

RCSI Bahrain has embedded BPS Assessment’s platform into their programmes to support prescribing education for its students, with access to the ready made assessments and eLearning content that sit at the heart of what BPS Assessment offers. These resources complement the institution’s own teaching materials and curriculum, giving students the opportunity to develop and test their prescribing skills alongside their wider clinical studies.

 

University of Sharjah

The University of Sharjah, founded in 1997, is a multi-disciplinary university in the UAE. Its Medical and Health Sciences cluster brings together the Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Health Sciences on a single dedicated campus, serving students from across the world.

 

The University’s College of Pharmacy holds an international Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and its College of Medicine runs an MBBS programme. Students here can also benefit from our ready made assessments and eLearning content, which can be used alongside their own teaching materials to reinforce prescribing knowledge and help identify areas for development.

 

What this means for Prescribing Education

For both institutions, the platform provides a practical, evidence based resource that works in step with their existing programmes. Our assessments and eLearning content are built around real prescribing scenarios, covering drug selection, dose calculation, prescription writing and review that students need to master before they reach practice. Because the platform is fully cloud-based and accessible from any device, it fits naturally into busy teaching schedules without adding administrative burden for staff.

 

If you would like to find out more about how BPS Assessment could support your institution, we would love to hear from you. Get in touch with the team for more information or to arrange a demonstration.

Shaping the Future of Prescribing Education: Insights from the Tenth International Clinical Skills Conference

In May, the team travelled to the scenic city of Prato, Tuscany, for the Tenth International Clinical Skills Conference, a renowned global event focused on advancing healthcare education. It was a privilege to join forces with our partners at the University of Manchester to showcase the latest developments in prescribing education and to engage with educators from around the world.

 

Introducing the ePrescribing Simulator

At the heart of our presentations was the launch of the new ePrescribing Simulator. This innovative tool has been designed to replicate the functionality of a hospital or primary care electronic prescribing system, allowing educators to present authentic, complex prescribing scenarios in a safe and accessible online environment.

 

The ePrescribing Simulator makes it possible to:

 

  • Deliver realistic case-based learning at scale,
  • Mirror the pressures and decision-making processes of clinical practice while maintaining a formative learning environment
  • Provide immediate feedback on student performance
  • Support curricula focused on medication safety and prescribing competence.

 

Importantly, it’s built to be flexible and user-friendly, meaning institutions can integrate it seamlessly into existing courses, whether for undergraduate medical students, pharmacy trainees, or postgraduate learners.

 

A Shared Commitment to Innovation

The response at the conference was overwhelmingly positive. Educators and clinical leads expressed a growing need for tools that can better prepare students for the digital systems they will encounter in practice. Our partnership with the University of Manchester has helped shape this simulator to meet that need, informed by clinical reality.

 

This shared development reflects a broader commitment for BPS Assessment to support institutions in delivering high-quality, practical prescribing education that meets today’s healthcare demands.

 

Looking Ahead

We’re excited to work with more universities and teaching hospitals in the months ahead. The simulator is delivered through the BPS Assessment platform, allowing it to integrate seamlessly with your existing account and workflows. 

 

Whether you’re aiming to enhance your current prescribing curriculum or introduce new tools to build digital prescribing skills and promote safe practice, we’d love to start a conversation.

 

To find out more about the ePrescribing Simulator or to arrange a demo for your institution, please get in touch. 

Empowering Future Healthcare Professionals: Prescribing Resources for Medical and Foundation Schools

At BPS Assessment, we are committed to enriching the education and practical capabilities of future healthcare professionals through our advanced suite of eLearning and assessment tools. Medical and Foundation schools all over the world are using our high-quality, accessible learning and assessment resources to ensure that their students can prescribe safely and effectively.


 

Extensive eLearning Resources

Our eLearning courses feature a broad range of modules, carefully developed by prescribing experts and peer-reviewed to ensure the highest quality. These modules are designed to blend seamlessly with traditional classroom learning, offering students the convenience of studying at their own pace, from anywhere, at any time. The content spans essential topics such as drug administration techniques, clinical pharmacology, and medication management, providing a comprehensive education in prescribing practices.


 

Prescribing Skills Assessment

The Prescribing Skills Assessment is a pioneering online tool designed to assist educational bodies and healthcare organisations in assessing and enhancing prescribing competencies. Based on the UK PSA blueprint, it has been adapted for global use and can be tailored to different regional medical databases. The Prescribing Skills Assessment evaluates essential prescribing competencies and provides immediate, detailed feedback, crucial for learners to identify both their strengths and areas for improvement.


 

Platform Licensing

BPS Assessment’s cloud-based platform enables educators to design and deliver customised assessments directly to students. Our platform offers an array of question templates with detailed feedback options, incorporates a regularly updated drug bank of over 7000 prescriptions, and features automated marking and review tools to efficiently identify student challenges. Accessible on any device, our intuitive interface enhances prescribing education through expert-developed, peer-reviewed content.


 

Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (CPT) Elective

Our two-week CPT Elective provides an intensive, expert-developed learning programme, with automated marking that minimises teacher admin. It covers key prescribing topics such as PKPD, medication errors, ADRs and monitoring drug therapies, and includes pre-course assessments and a detailed final assessment so you can measure student progress.


 

Global Collaboration and Reach

BPS Assessment’s online resources are being used by an ever-expanding network of global partners. We collaborate closely with educational institutions in regions such as Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, North America, and the UK to enhance prescribing practices and reduce medication errors. Our commitment to international collaboration ensures our resources remain cutting-edge and relevant across global healthcare education standards.


 
If you’d like to request a demonstration of any of our products or talk to us about a free trial, please get in touch. Empowering the next generation of healthcare professionals begins here!

 

 

 

Prescribing with Precision: How BPS Assessment Elevates International Medical Education Standards

Accurate prescribing is, of course, critical to ensuring patient safety and effective treatment outcomes. But to improve prescribing precision, we first need to improve prescribing education. BPS Assessment is at the forefront of elevating prescribing education standards, partnering with universities and institutions all over the world to deliver high quality learning and assessment resources.

 

Our flagship product, the Prescribing Skills Assessment, is an online assessment tool for organisations looking to measure and improve prescribing safety and skill. Based on the UK Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA), its questions are suitable from an undergraduate to a professional level.

 

Developed in close collaboration with leading experts and educators, the Prescribing Skills Assessment is grounded in the realities of clinical practice, ensuring its relevance across diverse healthcare settings. The content can be adapted to suit local education and prescribing practice in different countries, making it a valuable tool for medical and pharmacy schools all over the world.

 

Our eLearning resources are designed to support learning for the Prescribing Skills Assessment, and are split into two key sections: Prescribing Skills and Clinical Pharmacology. eLearning sessions are accessible anytime, anywhere through our online platform, so students can revisit topics on demand and continually test their knowledge.

 

Our collaborations with international medical and pharmacy schools have already been instrumental in elevating prescribing education. Some highlights include:

 

Partnership with Misr International University

Misr International University (MIU) is taking a pioneering step in the Egyptian educational landscape, partnering with BPS Assessment to provide the Prescribing Skills Assessment to their pharmacy students. The students will now have the opportunity to showcase their critical thinking, clinical acumen, and hone their prescribing capabilities. They will navigate specific and realistic clinical scenarios, mirroring the challenges they might encounter in their professional journey. As MIU’s pharmacy students prepare to make history as the first cohort in Egypt to undertake this milestone, we recognise the dedication and commitment of both the institution and its students to advancing their prescribing education.

 

Gulf Medical University’s Pursuit of Excellence

Gulf Medical University stands as a testament to the transformative power of the Prescribing Skills Assessment. PharmD students at the university embarked on a comprehensive journey of learning and evaluation, aimed at mastering the nuances of safe and effective prescribing. This partnership has set a new benchmark for pharmacy education in the region, and will have a significant impact on patient medication safety and the prescribing capabilities of GMU pharmacy graduates.

 

Empowering Prescribing Skills in the Middle East

BPS Assessment supported faculty development workshops that took place at Gulf Medical University College of Pharmacy and Saudi German Hospital in the UAE in May 2023. These workshops aimed to weave prescribing skills into the pharmacy curriculum, providing an opportunity for educators to network with experts and participate in demonstration assessments on the BPS Assessment platform.We used our expertise in medical education to offer insights and guidance to attendees, empowering them with innovative tools and resources needed to effectively teach future healthcare professionals about this complex subject. The participation of BPS Assessment in these workshops underscored its ongoing commitment to enhancing healthcare education and patient outcomes in the Middle East, highlighting a significant step forward in promoting safe and effective prescribing practices.

Together, we can elevate international prescribing education standards and improve patient safety. Get in touch today for more information about our learning and assessment products, or find out more about the Prescribing Skills Assessment here.

BPS Assessment Welcomes Misr International University as a Valued Customer

We are thrilled to share some exciting news! Misr International University (MIU) has officially partnered with BPS Assessment in a bid to enhance the skills and capabilities of their pharmacy students. As we embark on this collaborative endeavour, we are delighted to play a significant role in shaping the future of pharmacy education in Egypt.

MIU Prepares Its Pharmacy Students for the Global Prescribing Skills Assessment

In this exciting partnership, MIU is taking a pioneering step in the Egyptian educational landscape. Their pharmacy students are gearing up to embrace a new learning resource in the Prescribing Skills Assessment. As an industry-leading assessment platform, BPS Assessment is honoured to facilitate this critical phase of their educational journey.

 

The Prescribing Skills Assessment, an exam to assess and improve prescribing competency, is delivered by BPS Assessment to organisations across the globe. It’s designed to evaluate the prescribing skills and knowledge of early career healthcare professionals, based on UK prescribing practices.

Elevating Education Through Realistic Clinical Scenarios

At BPS Assessment, we understand the importance of practical learning. Through our online platform MIU’s pharmacy students will have the opportunity to showcase their critical thinking, clinical acumen, and hone their prescribing capabilities. They will navigate specific and realistic clinical scenarios, mirroring the challenges they might encounter in their professional journey.

A Milestone in Pursuit of Excellence

This partnership signifies not only a significant achievement for MIU but also a proud moment for BPS Assessment. As MIU’s pharmacy students prepare to make history as the first cohort in Egypt to undertake this milestone, we recognize the dedication and commitment of both the institution and its students to advancing their prescribing education.

 

By taking these important strides towards continuous quality improvement, MIU is building on its existing ACPE international accreditation to provide students with an unparalleled educational experience. BPS Assessment is honoured to be part of this journey and is fully dedicated to supporting MIU in their mission to produce proficient and competent pharmacists, not only regionally but also on a global scale.

 

To MIU and Beyond!

We extend our warmest welcome to Misr International University in this new partnership. BPS Assessment is excited to work with MIU as they prepare their pharmacy students for success on the international stage. Together, we hope to forge a path of educational excellence and innovation.

Platform Licensing: creating prescribing education that matches your learning outcomes

Prescribing education is an important aspect of modern medical training, but it often means educators need to tailor their lessons to meet the specific requirement of both their students and their organisation’s curricula. We know through talking with our customers that creating engaging content that is both informative and effective can be a time-consuming task.

 

In this blog, we explore how the BPS Assessment’s online platform can aid in developing prescribing education, and improving prescribing competency among trainees while reducing the time burden on educators.

 

The challenges of developing prescribing education

Building resources that simulate or replicate prescribing in the real world are very few and far between, not only this, but educators often feel as though they have to go to huge lengths to create robust and engaging resources to help trainees better understand prescribing.

With limited time dedicated to this important area of medical education, students often finish their training with a lack of confidence in their prescribing abilities.

 

Creating unique prescribing resources with our online platform

Our online platform delivers prescribing eLearning and assessments to students who sign up for an account either independently or through their organisation.

 

We provide prescription writing questions, which test the students’ therapeutic intention, rather than trying to mimic a specific electronic prescribing system. By doing so, we can create a prescribing learning environment which is suitable for training all prescribers, regardless of the EPS that they go on to use.

 

Through years of research and development, we’ve established an authoring console which is built into the online platform, giving educators the opportunity to write, edit and administer prescribing resources.

 

Assessment templates on offer

Our out-of-the-box assessments follow a blueprint which tests 8 fundamental competencies in prescribing. The competencies can be seen in the image below.

Educators can choose to follow the blueprint and use the templates available to create their own assessments, or they also have the option to create their own templates depending on their requirements.

 

Take advantage of expert consultation

In order to create our database of questions, BPS Assessment works with a team of prescribing experts. As part of a platform licensing, educators have the option to consult with our team to ensure their prescribing resources are testing the right areas for their students while reflecting an accurate representation of what prescribing looks like in the real world.

 

You can request a demo of the platform to see how platform licensing might work for you and your organisation. Contact team@bspassessment.com

Supporting Prescribing Skills in the Middle East

BPS Assessment will be supporting faculty development workshops being held at Gulf Medical University College of Pharmacy and Saudi German Hospital in the United Arab Emirates. The workshops which are to be held on the 5th and 6th May 2023, are focused on promoting prescribing skills and training for faculty members of the University.

 

The workshops will focus on integrating prescribing skills into the pharmacy curriculum and will be an opportunity to network with leading experts in the field. Delegates will be given access to the BPSA platform to take part in demonstration prescribing assessments.

 

BPS Assessment’s expertise in this important area of medical education is being used to provide valuable insights and guidance to those attending the workshop.

 

Through the use of innovative tools and resources, BPS Assessment is helping to empower these educators with the knowledge and skills they need to effectively train future healthcare professionals in this complex subject matter.

 

Prof. Simon Maxwell, Professor of Student Learning at the University of Edinburgh and Medical Director at BPS Assessment, said

“I’m excited to be joining my esteemed colleagues at Gulf Medical University and Saudi German Hospital in order to discuss prescribing education best-practice, but also to demonstrate how we have worked together so far to provide better training for clinical trainees. I hope that this partnership will only continue to grow and that other students from across the Middle East are able to benefit from programmes such as those being developed at GMU and SGH.”

 

BPS Assessment’s participation in this workshop demonstrates its continuing commitment to supporting safe and effective prescribing worldwide, with a view to aiding the progression of healthcare education and the enhancement of patient outcomes in the Middle East.

 

Manchester improve medical students’ prescribing skills with our online platform

BPS Assessment have worked in partnership with the University of Manchester to develop an electronic prescribing system that empowers medical students to improve their prescribing skills and confidence ahead of their exams.

 

By integrating our online platform with their in-house learning management system, the team at the University of Manchester have been able to create their own content, tailoring prescribing questions to their curriculum and bringing everything into one easy-to-use online platform.

 

With this new API, the team at Manchester can now provide the University’s medical students with opportunities to practise electronic prescribing in a safe environment without negative impacts on clinical care. They benefit from automatic marking, remote learning opportunities, and tailored feedback on both correct and incorrect answers.

 

“The prescribing & medicines safety and eLearning teams have made fantastic progress in collaboration with BPS Assessment. This ground-breaking work paves a new path to successful integration of electronic prescribing into teaching, learning and assessment as our students’ progress through their clinical years. For the first time, we can integrate key skills required for practice in 21st century electronic healthcare directly into our case-based learning throughout our course and do so in a way that is safe, realistic and will be valued by tutors and students.”

Professor Kurt Wilson, Academic Lead for Prescribing and Medicines Safety, University of Manchester

 

Students on the University of Manchester’s programme will gain valuable hands-on experience of electronic prescribing systems during their clinical years, preparing them for their local medical school assessments and the national PSA exam in their final year.

 

“I’m excited to see this new, tailored prescribing education content in action at the University of Manchester. Collaborations like this should have a really positive impact on prescribing safety around the country, as more and more newly qualified prescribers enter the workforce having had the opportunity to get realistic hands-on prescribing practice with cases that simulate the challenges they will face in the workplace. Manchester’s medical students are getting a real head start in preparing for their final year assessments, as well as gaining valuable experience of electronic prescribing systems and real-life prescribing challenges. I look forward to seeing more collaborations like this one in the future.”

Professor Simon Maxwell, PSA Medical Director

 

To find out more about our customisable prescribing assessment and eLearning platform, visit this page or contact the team – we’d be happy to share more information about the work we’ve been doing to bring tailored prescribing education content to medical schools all over the world.