Study Toolbox Part 4: Training Courses

This 4th post in the Study Toolbox series will provide an overview of the training courses available to help you on your long road to eligibility. 

One of my previous posts gave a brief overview of the QP Study Guide which provides a general syllabus that all prospective QPs are expected to have a detailed understanding of.  There is a wealth of topics within the Study Guide and the breadth of topics can be overwhelming at first glance.  This may be of particular relevance for trainee QPs from either small scale manufacturing operations (like me) or from those from relatively niche areas such as  PET radiopharmaceutical or medical gas manufacture.

So how can you demonstrate you have the required knowledge & experience in all 11 sections of the Study Guide?   The training providers listed below will provide this but they are not compulsory or expected to be on your application form.

Commercial Training Providers

Training courses are one way of gaining sufficient knowledge.  The main commercial training providers offer modules based on each of the 11 sections of the Study Guide.  These courses not only provide comprehensive training but also provide a fantastic opportunity for networking with other trainee QPs.  This is especially important for identifying potential study partners and arranging reciprocal visits.  (I'll aim to cover visits in a future post).

NSF-DBA

The David Begg Associates courses have been running for a number of years now and are viewed by many to be the gold standard with regards to QP training packages.  The full course is linked with the University of Strathclyde and offers candidates the opportunity to gain a post graduate certificate, diploma or MSc.  The modules run over 21 months but you can pick and choose the modules to fit in with your own requirements or knowledge gaps.

Each module lasts between 4 to 5 days in Durham or York Marriott hotel conference centres.  Lecture notes for each module are substantial and include not only the slides but a very useful overview of each lecture in an easy to read format that compliments the slides really well.  The week long course is broken up into lectures and practical group work.  Written exams are held for those students aiming to complete the post graduate university course.

Is there a downside?   At circa. £3-4k per module the cost my be prohibitive for some companies or individuals who are self-funding (like me).  Also the length of the course means added expense of hotel & travel.  DBA offer special rates for the Marriott hotel at circa. £100 per night and will obviously provide a great platform to continue the networking into the early hours!   

DBA does offer a generous 50% discount for NHS employees which then brings it the price down in line with other providers.  To qualify for the discount you'll need a confirmation letter from your employer and DBA will then invoice you with the discount included.

DBA also offer a free annual QP training day for prospective students and their sponsors.  The date for this year is May 14th and I'll be heading up for the day.  It might be worth contacting DBA directly to enquire for last minute availability.

RSSL

RSSL specialise in scientific analysis, consultancy, product development and training for the pharmaceutical and food sectors.  Their popular QP training packages offer the similar layout to DBA by offering 11 stand alone modules the reflect the Study Guide.  There is no university collaboration so post graduate qualifications are not available to run in parallel with the QP course.

RSSL has its advantages over DBA.  The training is held within Reading and typically over 2 days meaning less impact to your work and family duties and may not require nights away from home for those based around London.   The costs per module is more accessible at circa £1.5k.  The shorter duration of the module means more of a focus on the relevant details required for your QP training.  The notes are more succinct than DBA but do not provide the excellent text overview for each lecture.   

Inspired Pharma

Inspired Pharma offer an alternative platform with their QP training.  They provide online tutor-facilitated courses on the Study Guide topics.  This allows you to fit the training in and around your busy work/life schedule without the need to spend 3-5 days on a residential course.  There is not a great deal of information on their website regarding the costs of these courses but I would suggest emailing them for further information.

Pharmaceutical Quality Group

Although not strictly a QP training provider, the PQG is an invaluable source of information for trainee QPs.  Membership is only £17 per year and this provides access to a wealth of documents and presentations available via their website.  For trainee QPs the PQG provide QP seminars specifically aimed at trainees and newly qualified QPs.  These full day seminars based in London provide a great introduction to QP training.  They cover the application process, requirements and legislation/GMP update session.  

My first foray into the QP training arena was attending last year's November seminar.  I found it extremely useful and a great opportunity for networking with other trainee QPs from the pharmaceutical industry.  I met a great study partner from this course and we still have weekly calls to discuss scenarios etc. 

The PQG also arrange visits to a wide range of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, distributors, API manufacturers.  The events page on their website gives all the visits coming up.  These are particularly good value at around £60 per visit. 

Non-Commercial Training Providers

Q3P (UCL School of Pharmacy)
 
This is the only non-commercial provider that I am aware of.  The Q3P course was initially aimed at addressing the shortage of QPs within the NHS sector.  The course is free for NHS staff and provides a similar layout to the commercial providers in following the Study Guide with 1 or 2 day modules.  Although still in its infancy the course is now enrolling its 3rd cohort.  The training has evolved since the first cohort and includes lecturers from both the pharmaceutical industry and NHS sectors as well as QP assessors. 

The Q3P course has a free open day on the 6th June 2013 for prospective students.  See their website for details.

Post Graduate University Courses

There are a number of university courses that cover some aspects of the Study Guide.  Although not specifically tailored to QP training they do offer a good grounding in the essential elements of pharmaceutical manufacturing & quality assurance.  These part time courses are designed on a modular basis and will provide the opportunity for post graduate qualifications to MSc level.  Post graduate qualifications are available with the NSF-DBA course (see above).

PIAT (Manchester University)
Industrial Pharmaceutical Sciences (Brighton University)
Pharmaceutical Technology (Bradford University)
PTQA (Leeds University)
Leeds University has now stopped supporting the PTQA course and currently there is no further information on the future of the course.

Completion of these courses would usually be expected before gaining QP trainee positions.  From there the QP trainee would often be sent on the specific commercial training courses to build on the knowledge from the post graduate course. 


Individualised Mentoring & Training

All of the courses above will provide you with a great amount of knowledge covering all aspects of the Study Guide.  However it must be noted that attendance to these course wont automatically get you through the viva.  The knowledge gained wont provide you with the detail and expertise required to structure well reasoned responses to the viva questions. 

This is where personalised training will help translate your knowledge into a well structured format to get you through the viva.  They will also offer to review your application form and provide either face-to-face or telephone training sessions tailored to suit you and your specific requirements.  The providers will also be well networked within the QP community and hence should be able to provide contacts for potential visits.

QPQuandary

This personalised training company provides coaching and mentoring to both QP trainees and sponsors.  It is run by Alex Hall who provides teaching on some of the commercial training courses including RSSL & Q3P as well as one-to-one coaching.

Alex is the RSC Chief Assessor and senior QP for Roche, but will be running QPQuandary full time in the near future. Therefore she knows what it takes to get through the viva and can provide mock vivas, application form reviews and numerous other services to help meet your training needs. In addition she provides a fantastic weekly teleconference service for groups of QP trainees from a wide range of backgrounds. For more information see the QPQuandary website for her contact details.


Other Training Sources

Self Study

Your own personal study underpins everything you learn both from your job and attendance at training courses.  There are no shortcuts.  You will have to hit the books for hour after hour to ensure all the knowledge remains at the forefront of your mind especially leading up to viva day.  Self study is acceptable for inclusion into your application form.

In House Training

Some of the larger companies (e.g. GSK) provide substantial in-house training programmes for trainee QPs that rival even the DBA course.  For those with shallower pockets in house training can be provided by your sponsor or from subject matter experts within your company.  This can be on a one-to-one basis or as part of departmental-wide training sessions. 

My own training plan

My training is underpinned by a Pharmacy degree and  post graduate diploma in the PTQA course.  I've chosen a pick n' mix selection from the training providers in order to fill in the gaps.  A gap analysis really helps identify those areas that need supplementing with training courses.  I'll be using DBA for API manufacture, roles of QP and Law & Administration courses this year.  Law & Admin and QP roles are essential as they form the majority of the fundamental modules of the Study Guide.  API manufacture is not something I have exposure to from either work experience or from my previous training courses and hence is a significant knowledge gap for me.  In addition to these I've booked a mock viva & mentoring sessions with QPQuandary as a milestone for me prior to submitting.  I've also got into the habit of self study most evenings to supplement all the above.

 Summary

There are a wide range of QP training courses available to cater for all your training requirements.  They are not compulsory for getting to the viva but will provide you with the knowledge, networking and confidence in new subject areas.   Supplementing these with one-to-one coaching sessions either from your sponsor or specialist training providers should provide the final polish for you before you enter the lions den.

I'm sure there are other providers out there.  Please add any to the comments section below.


Study Toolbox Part 1:  The Onion
Study Toolbox Part 2:  Introduction to Mindmaps 
Study Toolbox Part 3:  Keeping up to date