Background:
Neurodiversity describes natural variation in how individuals think, learn, and process information. Estimates suggest that neurodivergence affects 15–22% of the global population and approximately 11% of the Australian workforce1,2. Local hospital data demonstrate that 17.5% of a tertiary hospital staff identified as neurodivergent, highlighting the relevance of neurodiversity to health professional education and workforce sustainability.
Hospitals are highly structured, fast-paced, and interruption-rich environments, with rigid hierarchies and implicit performance expectations that may disadvantage neurodivergent learners. Without early identification and inclusive support, these environments can undermine equity, belonging, and professional identity formation. Medical education has increasingly implemented proactive, relational identification and mentoring models, offering leadership insights.

Aim:
To compare survey-based and interview-based approaches to early identification of neurodiversity in intern doctors, examine implications for supporting junior doctors, and explore the transferability of this approach to pharmacy intern education and support.

Methods:
All intern doctors were invited to complete an online well-being survey during orientation. Additionally, each intern participated in a structured face-to-face interview within the first five weeks of commencing their internship, designed to identify support networks and diversities, and to normalise disclosure within a psychologically safe environment. Early identification informed tailored supports and access to mentoring pathways coordinated through the Medical Education Unit.

Results:
Face-to-face interviews identified a higher proportion of neurodivergent interns than surveys alone (9%). Interviews enabled nuanced exploration of strengths, preferences, and workplace challenges, facilitating earlier, individualised supports. Survey-only approaches under-identified neurodivergence and were less effective in fostering trust and belonging (0.5%).

Conclusion:
Interview-based early identification, supported by mentoring and educator capability building, represents an inclusive educational leadership strategy. Translating this model to pharmacy education offers an opportunity to foster professional growth, embed equity and belonging, and strengthen professional identity formation for pharmacy interns and future pharmacy leaders.
1. Australian Government. Job Access. (2022). How to support a neurodivergent workforce: A guide for employers https://jobaccess.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2025-02/7911-jobaccess-how-support.pdf
2. Australian Disability Network & Business Disability Forum. (2024). What is Neurodiversity? https://australiandisabilitynetwork.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/What-is-neurodiversity.pdf
3. NHS. (2025, May 19). Embracing neurodiversity in the workplace. NHS Employers. https://www.nhsemployers.org/articles/embracing-neurodiversity-workplace

Background and Aims:
Pharmacy education, including academic training and continuing professional development (CPD), has traditionally prioritised knowledge acquisition with limited emphasis on practical implementation, either independently or within healthcare teams. This imbalance is particularly pronounced in developing countries, where access to academic and professional resources is constrained. The Square Academy was established to address this gap through an innovative e-learning and workshop-based model in clinical pharmacy. The aim of this initiative is to enhance pharmacists’ professional competence by integrating applied practice with up-to-date knowledge, while supporting CPD accreditation across diverse regulatory contexts.

Methods:
The Square Academy delivers modular, online clinical pharmacy education via a proprietary platform. Content comprises recorded lectures contributed by a virtual international faculty, including academics from institutions such as Monash University. Lectures are either personally recorded, allowing experiential commentary, or institutionally sourced to facilitate rapid updating. Modules are developed in collaboration with pharmaceutical societies and regulatory bodies to achieve approved CPD provider status. Most modules are reviewed and endorsed by the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences, enabling the issuance of certificates of completion. Participation, engagement, and learner feedback are systematically recorded through the platform.

Results:
The program has been piloted across ten sub-Saharan African countries and two regions in India. CPD accreditation has been secured in two countries, with four additional submissions under review. Qualitative feedback demonstrates high learner satisfaction, and certification has been used by participants as evidence of professional competence in successful employment applications.

Conclusion and Innovation:
Operating for four years, the program continues to expand in scope and sophistication, addressing both knowledge and practice in resource-limited settings. Its innovations include equitable global access to expert faculty, a deliberate focus on applied practice, and structured documentation of CPD participation. Supplementary workshops and forthcoming webinars further emphasise interprofessional competence and CPD harmonisation, with regional workshops already conducted or planned across Africa. This scalable model demonstrates significant potential to strengthen pharmacy practice and professional development in diverse healthcare systems.

Background and Statement of Aim: From 2026, all UK pharmacists will be independent prescribers (IPs) upon registration. To support existing pharmacists wishing to become IPs, the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education implemented ‘Preparing to Train as an IP’ (PTTIP). This study explored course effectiveness in supporting pharmacists to gain confidence for academic study prior to a postgraduate IP course.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews with course participants in 2024 (pre-) and 2025 (post-PTTIP completion). Interviews explored motivations for becoming IPs and enrolling on PTTIP, course experiences, whether it met expectations, and possible improvements. With consent, interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed thematically.
Results: Six participants were interviewed in 2024, 18 in 2025, three in 2024 and 2025. Of the 21 interviewed in 2025, 11 worked in community pharmacy, nine in hospital, two in general practice. Seven of the 21 pharmacists interviewed in 2025 had qualified as IPs, eight were accepted for/ undertaking IP training.
Interviewees’ motivations for qualifying as IPs were consistent, with most providing several reasons: Upskilling, career progression and job opportunities, feeling pressured by the 2026 cohort of IP pharmacists, and hopes to improve patient outcomes.
Interviewees described PTTIP course expectations, which mapped well onto perceived benefits and outcomes. Interviewees described how PTTIP offered a starting point for their IP journey, increased confidence, supported a return to academic study, and provided practical guidance.
When discussing challenges, some suggested improved clarity regarding target audience and PTTIP content. Peer support networks (e.g. WhatsApp) were considered important but not sustained. A few felt preparation for academic demands could be strengthened. Guidance on securing a designated prescribing practitioner (DPP) would be appreciated.
Conclusion: This study offers evidence that PTTIP was effective in building pharmacists’ confidence to return to academic study for IP. Wider support may be required to ensure access to DPP supervised practice.

Background/Statement of aim(s): Cultural competence is essential in healthcare education to educate future practitioners for diverse populations.[1] Embedding diverse case studies in pharmacy curricula aligns with inclusive pedagogy, fostering belonging and engagement while enhancing motivation and relevance.[2] This project aimed to enrich pharmacy education with CulturaLearn, a repository of culturally diverse case studies and narratives, to cultivate cultural competence, support awareness, inclusion, and reflexivity, and evaluate its impact.

Methods: In 2024, CulturaLearn was piloted as a curated resource embedding culturally diverse case studies into a second-year undergraduate pharmacy course. A pre- and post-evaluation design was used, including Likert-scale items on cultural representation, satisfaction, and attitudes, plus closed- and open-ended questions on cultural awareness and curriculum relevance. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively, and qualitative responses were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.

Results: Pre-implementation responses (n=110) indicated only 16% of students had formal cultural diversity training, yet perceived curriculum diversity was moderately high (mean=3.8/5). Students highly valued incorporating cultural contributions (mean=4.41/5) and representation in pharmacy education (mean=4.16/5). Awareness of global scientific contributions improved slightly post-intervention, and 20% of students engaged with culturally diverse case studies, reporting them as impactful. CulturaLearn enhanced understanding of pharmacy topics for 50% of respondents, but confidence in working with diverse populations declined (4/5 to 3/5), suggesting increased awareness of knowledge gaps. A common theme identified was that students valued diversity, inclusion, representation and open cultural dialogue. Overall satisfaction was high (97%), with recommendations for broader integration of cultural content and increased representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Discussion/Conclusion: Students value diversity and perceive benefits to learning and engagement when integrated into pharmacy education. CulturaLearn improved awareness and understanding but highlighted complexities in confidence and inclusion, suggesting sustained, embedded approaches are needed rather than isolated activities. Future curricula should combine implicit representation with explicit instruction to foster cultural competence and confidence.


1. Nair L, Adetayo OA. Cultural Competence and Ethnic Diversity in Healthcare. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - Global Open 2019;7(5):e2219.

2. Anyichie AC, Butler DL. Examining culturally diverse learners’ motivation and engagement processes as situated in the context of a complex task. Front Educ 2023;8:1041946.

Background and aim: The South African Pharmacy Council specifies in its exit level outcomes and associated competencies that pharmacy students should be able to interrogate, critically analyse, evaluate and transmit knowledge based on current research in the pharmaceutical and relevant clinical and social sciences [1]. At the University of the Western Cape, structured debates were therefore developed and integrated at the second-year level to facilitate active participation in a co-operative and interactive process; introduce students to controversial topics in health and pharmacy in South Africa; exercise verbal communication; think deeply, logically and critically; clearly articulate arguments; use appropriate evidence to support ideas and to appreciate diverse opinions. This abstract details the implementation and evaluation of the structured debate assessment.
Method: Debates are conducted in paired groups, with students assigned to argue either for or against a resolution. Topics include pharmaceutical care, feasibility of the National Health Insurance in South Africa, HIV prevention strategies, the Essential Medicines Programme, and interventions such as the sugar tax. Each debate follows a standardised format - assertion, reasoning and evidence based on published and grey literature. Assessment is guided by a rubric that considers argument quality, use of evidence, organisation, communication style and professionalism
Results: The results are based on student evaluation of the debates and the course. Students generally reported positive perceptions of debate-based learning outcomes. This positive perception appears to have increased over time. The majority of students reported that participation in debates supported the ability to create new knowledge, apply information across a range of contexts, and develop a thorough understanding of ethical and professional issues. Debates also enhanced their capacity to work independently and collaboratively, and to communicate effectively using various formats. Engagement with peers from diverse perspectives was also rated highly.
Discussion and conclusion: The debates are a useful tool for developing critical thinking skills, communication and professional identity formation among undergraduate pharmacy students. These skills are transferable to pharmacy practice in real world settings.

References
1. South African Pharmacy Council. Bachelor of Pharmacy Curriculum Outline and Criteria for Accreditation: Exit Level Outcomes, Associated Assessment Criteria and Constructive Alignment. 2024.

Background:
Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are a time- and resource-intensive assessment used across many healthcare programmes. The use of technology to support the management of assessments has been developing in higher education in recent years. The use of an online assessment management tool, Gradescope, was developed and trialled to support the delivery of OSCEs for an MPharm programme. This is a novel use of Gradescope.

Aims:
To trial the use of Gradescope to support the marking and mark management of OSCEs in an MPharm programme.

Methods:
A small team of Technology Enhanced Learning experts from the university’s staff development department and Pharmacy academic staff worked on converting existing OSCE resources into a format that would be compatible with Gradescope.

The main adjustment was the reformatting of the OSCE marking schemes to be compatible with being scanned and then digitally ‘read’ by the Gradescope tool, which then ‘marked’ the scripts and compiled marks for individual students, as well as assessment statistics such as average marks and individual marking criterion mark distributions.

The new format was piloted during the formative mock OSCEs for Year 2 students, which resulted in some refinements to the process, and the refined version was then used successfully in the summative OSCEs during the end of year assessment period.

Outcomes:
The new format was used successfully. Benefits included reduction of handling paperwork which saved staff time, accessing scans from any location to facilitate moderation; automatic production of assessment statistics, easier sharing of scripts with students for feedback. Limitations included Gradescope not being able to process anything it is not ‘expecting’, which then requires manual intervention.

Conclusion:
The use of Gradescope to manage OSCE marking was successful.
Next steps include converting paper marking schemes into direct on-screen marking.

Background: Faculty workload in pharmacy education includes both direct instruction with learners and extensive preparation time for lectures, laboratories, and assessments. The time spent on these tasks is poorly characterized, especially on a national level. This study aimed to evaluate the duration of time faculty at schools of pharmacy spend preparing course materials such as didactic lectures and skills, compounding, or simulation labs with the intent to assist faculty and administrators better understand faculty workload.

Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive analysis was a web-based survey distributed via Qualtrics to all United States (US) pharmacy faculty members within the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy faculty email listserv. Eligible participants included faculty employed at accredited US schools of pharmacy who are at least 18 years of age. The 30-item survey was open for one month with two reminder emails sent to maximize response rates. Faculty workload patterns were analyzed using descriptive statistics and by Chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests; the number needed for power was 363.

Results: The survey was completed by 408/5270 faculty (response rate 7.7%). Most respondents were from 4-year PharmD programs (80.2%) and were members of pharmacy practice departments (69.0%). Preparation times scaled with the length of lecture with most reporting 5-6 hours for a new 50-75 min lecture. Respondents reported a similar distribution for new lab sessions with the most common responses of >15 hours or 5-6 hours. Most spent 1-4 hours on annual updates to lectures and lab materials. No significant differences existed between time taken and departmental association.

Discussion/Conclusion: This survey of AACP pharmacy faculty members identified varying distributions of time spent creating teaching materials, though most spend approximately 5-6 hours preparing new 50-75-minute-long didactic lectures. These values may help establish a baseline for individual workload analysis and development planning.