Joy Wingfield
Special Professor of Pharmacy Law and Ethics, Faculty of Science
Contact
Biography
My original qualification as a pharmacist has been supplemented by a Master of Philosophy in aspects of European Law, a Master of Health law and a diploma in agricultural and veterinary pharmacy. From initial employment as a community pharmacist and branch manger with a large multiple chemist, I moved to employment with the RPSGB as inspector for Central Southern England, charged with enforcement and observation of legal and ethical requirements by some 1,000 pharmacies and several hundred "other" outlets for medicines such as drug stores, newsagents, farm shops feed mills and game farms. Subsequently I moved to the RPSGB London Headquarters and became head of ethics and registration, servicing various Council Committees, drafting publications such as the Code of Ethics, provision of an advisory service to practising pharmacists and preparation of cases for disciplinary process.
In 1991 I was appointed assistant pharmacy superintendent for Boots The Chemists where my responsibilities included provision of legal, ethical and practice advice to the Superintendent Pharmacist, management of the Superintendent's Office providing professional advice and support to 1200 community pharmacies throughout the UK and management of response to service failures and errors in the company's pharmacies and preparation of defences where appropriate. In addition my role included identification of changes in external healthcare environment and advising on how to respond, plus guidance on training and development needs of the company's pharmacists and other healthcare staff.
In 1997 I formed the Pharmacy Law and Ethics Association, (PLEA) a special interest group bringing together some 100 pharmacists with law qualifications and lawyers whose work is primarily involved with pharmacy matters. PLEA holds regular seminars exploring new areas of pharmacy law and ethics. In 2000, I was seconded by Boots into my position at Nottingham University where I have principally contributed to the MPharm course and pioneered a project to support the teaching of pharmacy law and ethics in UK Schools of pharmacy (see below).
Research Summary
As a special professor and holder of the first UK chair established in this area in 2000, my role has been to stimulate and support new directions for pharmacy practice research to encompass… read more
Current Research
As a special professor and holder of the first UK chair established in this area in 2000, my role has been to stimulate and support new directions for pharmacy practice research to encompass healthcare law and professional ethics and to raise awareness within centres for studies in healthcare law and ethics of how they apply to pharmacy practice. I have supervised several PhD students tackling research in these areas, generated small studies of my own and with undergraduate students and associates to establish a research agenda for this area. My research interests include the scope of pharmacy ethics in practice, the effect of the business environment and organisational values on the professional independence of pharmacists and the teaching, learning and assessment of ethical competence in practice.
By building on my thirty years practice in professional regulation and risk management, I promote study and discourse on legal and ethical aspects of pharmacy practice. This is principally through publication and debate in pharmaceutical, healthcare law and healthcare ethics publications and input to consultations and strategies affecting the development of the pharmacy profession at national level. I am co-author of three textbooks: Pharmacy law and Ethics, Practical Exercises in Pharmacy Law and Ethics and Pharmacy Ethics and Decision making (in press July 2007)
Memberships of Committees and Professional Bodies
- Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain
- Fellow of the College of Pharmacy Practice
- Chair, College of Pharmacy Practice Accreditation panel
- Member, RPSGB Registration Exam Board
- Member, RPSGB Working Party on the Code of Ethics
- Chair, Pharmacy Law and Ethics Association
- Fellow, American Society for Pharmacy Law
Teaching
I currently undertake lectures, workshops and seminars in the first, third and final years of the Nottingham MPharm. These encompass aspects of jurisprudence and legal philosophy such as the distinction between law and ethics, European, criminal, civil and administrative NHS law as they relate to pharmacy and an overview of judicial proceedings and regulatory tribunals. I cover schools of thought in moral philosophy, the development and application of Codes of Ethics, aspects of consent, confidentiality, research and resource allocation ethics as well as risk management, handling of errors and the profession's disciplinary procedures.
I have directed a HEFCE funded project for five years to develop APPLET, a web based teaching resource on pharmacy law and ethics for teachers in all UK Schools of Pharmacy, augmented by two short residential courses, a research directions conference and workshops on assessment of professional values, attitudes and behaviours.
I also deliver a ten week module on medicines and pharmacy law to the Nottingham Trent LLM in healthcare law and contribute lectures and a workshop to the non medical prescribing course run in the Nottingham School of Nursing two or three times a year.