Our first face-to-face conference in four years was a huge success. 

We were joined by colleagues from all over the UK, across specialities, sectors and professions. From panel discussions to workshops through to our inspirational speaker, there was a constant buzz of enthusiasm, conversation and laughter.

Networking opportunities was ranked as the top reason for booking and we met this desire with feedback showing that ninety percent of attendees found an opportunity for making connections.

The panel discussions around key issues affecting the workforce today -  graduate prescribers and workforce issues – were also a big draw, and were repeatedly mentioned as the aspect attendees enjoyed most.

Our keynote speaker, Professor Kevin Fong, was also a huge hit, giving us insights into how people make decisions in high pressure situations and drawing examples from space exploration, emergency rescue and the COVID pandemic.

For the first time ever, we offered one-to-one coaching as part of our conference programme. This proved to be very popular and we will be analysing the feedback to inform a published paper. The need for support within the pharmacy workforce was evident and we hope to be able to offer this service again in the future.

The interactive workshops allowed attendees to dive a little deeper into specific topics, working through case studies to contextualise their knowledge and being brought up to speed with the latest information by our expert speakers.

And finally, a traditional and much-loved feature of UKCPA Conferences – the posters – were as popular as ever. Our poster presenters had a platform to showcase their work, and attendees enjoyed learning about new initiatives and research across the country and throughout the profession. 

We wanted to put on a good show for our members, making their day out of work worthwhile, valuable and inspiring. We believe we achieved our aim.