News

The Medical School Council (MSC) and the British Pharmacological Society (BPS) have commissioned a review into our joint Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA) exam. The review will look to support the training of safe medical prescribers, maintaining the centrality of improved patient safety.
 
The Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA), which launched in the early 2010s, is a 60-question exam required as part of medical training to progress from Foundation Year 1 to Foundation Year 2 in the UK. Developed by the BPS and the MSC with support of the General Medical Council, it is a joint endeavour to improve safe prescribing.  
 
The commissioned review is being led by Professor Dame Jane Dacre and a panel of experts from across the prescribing landscape. It will look at the continued role of the PSA, its funding and governance, and ultimately provide recommendations on how the assessment might evolve to meet changes in the prescribing education and assessment – particularly considering the introduction of the Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA), a two-part national assessment which will test the core knowledge, skills and behaviours of doctors new to medical practice in the UK and will feature questions on prescribing. 
 
Since the PSA was developed, electronic prescribing has become more commonplace, and a wider range of professionals are now involved in prescribing practice. This review will help us understand how these changes will inform how the PSA could develop in the years to come. 
 
The BPS and the MSC would like to encourage all those involved with prescribing and the PSA to contribute to the consultation. Your views will help optimise the preparation of professionals in safe prescribing practice. We invite you to share your thoughts via an online survey.  
 
The survey closes on 23 December 2022, and we shall aim to share findings from the review in mid-2023. 

Learn more about Prescribing Safety Assessment