The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (FPM) is a faculty of the three Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom (the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

London, the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh and the

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, is an institute of physicians and surgeons in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by Peter Lowe after receiving a royal charter by James VI in 1599, as the Glasgow Faculty, it originally exis ...

). It is a UK-based professional membership organisation with 1,600 members; physicians with a professional interest in the speciality of

pharmaceutical medicine Pharmaceutical medicine is a medical discipline concerned with the discovery, evaluation, registration, monitoring and clinical aspects of pharmaceutical development. All medical specialties overlap to some extent, and likewise the boundaries of pha ...

, the science of discovering, developing and testing new drugs, their regulation, and monitoring them for safety both during development and when they are prescribed. FPM is a registered charity and ultimately exists to bring about an improvement in health in patients and the general population. The president of FPM is Dr Flic Gabbay.

History

In 1976 the three Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK agreed to grant the first Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine to be gained by examination, and a two-year training course for pharmaceutical physicians was established under the guidance of the Joint Advisory Committee on pharmaceutical medicine, with representation from AMAPI (now the British Association of Pharmaceutical Physicians (BrAPP)), and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). The rapid evolution of pharmaceutical specialists, and the developing interface between pharmaceutical medicine and other medical disciplines, led to the idea of creating a Faculty within the three Royal Colleges of Physicians, so that criteria could be established that would result in specialist accreditation. Thus, FPM was formed on 26 October 1989, led by its first President,

Professor Sir Abraham Goldberg Sir Abraham Goldberg (7 December 1923 – 1 September 2007) was a British physician who was a Regius Professor of the Practice of Medicine at the University of Glasgow. He was educated at George Heriot's School in Edinburgh and the Universit ...

. In April 2002,

was officially recognised as a medical specialty in the UK and the GMC guidelines on Pharmaceutical Medicine stipulate the professional expectations of pharmaceutical physicians. In 2009 FPM formed part of the working party that developed the landmark RCP report ''Innovating for Health: Patients, Physicians, the Pharmaceutical Industry and the NHS''.

Location

: 1989 to 2011 - St. Andrews Place, Regent's Park, London (estate of the RCP London) : 2011 to 2015 - Furnival Street, Holborn, London : 2015 to present - Angel Gate, Islington, London

Membership

The 1,600 FPM members are registered medical practitioners. There are four main categories of membership: Affiliate, Associate (Training), Member (MFPM) and Fellow (FFPM). Approximately 450 members (of all grades) are based outside the UK (approximately 30% of the total). Most FPM members are involved in the coordination of clinical trials of new medicines, vaccines and medical devices. The majority are employed by pharmaceutical companies, but many act as independent medical consultants or work for regulatory agencies such as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) or European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Activities

FPM carries out a number of activities to maintain the standards of practice of pharmaceutical physicians so that their work is always in the best interests of the public and patients. FPM supervises the Pharmaceutical Medicine Specialty Training (PMST) as well as running the Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine for pharmaceutical physicians and the Diploma and Certificate in Human Pharmacology (DHP and CHP) examinations which have been designed to provide accreditation to all professionals with an interest in exploratory drug development.Diploma and Certificate in Human Pharmacology
/ref> FPM coordinates the continuing professional development (CPD) of its members and is also, as a member of the

Academy of Medical Royal Colleges The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) is the coordinating body for the United Kingdom and Ireland's 23 Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties. It ensures that patients are safely and properly cared for by setting standards for the way doc ...

, working with the GMC on the framework for

revalidation Revalidation is a mechanism used to "affirm or establish the continuing competence" of health practitioners, whilst strengthening and facilitating ethical and professional "commitment to reducing errors, adhering to best practice and improving qua ...

for pharmaceutical physicians.

References

External links

* of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine
NHS Medical Careers websiteGeneral Medical Council Specialty Curriculum in Pharmaceutical Medicine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faculty Of Pharmaceutical Medicine Health in the London Borough of Islington Organisations based in the London Borough of Islington Pharmacy education Pharmacy organisations in the United Kingdom