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School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Dr Ellen Schafheutle PhD, MRes, MSc, MRPharmS, FHEA

Lecturer in Law & Professionalism in Pharmacy

 

Memberships of Committees and Professional Bodies

Pharmacist and MRPharmS (Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of GB) - since 1994

Approbierte Apothekerin (Registered pharmacist in Germany)

FHEA - Fellow of the Higher Education Academy - since 2011

Member of the Pharmacy Practice Research Trust (PPRT) Bursaries review & interview panel - since 2009

2009-10: Member of the NCAS Network of Expertise

Until 2009, Researcher Representative on the School of Pharmacy Promotions Committee

Unitl 2009, Chair of the School Researchers Forum and pharmacy representative on the Pan Faculty Researchers Forum

Research

Ellen has been a member of staff in the Drug Usage & Pharmacy Practice Group since December 1998.  In May 2007, she joined the Centre for Pharmacy Workforce Studies (CPWS), where - with her colleagues - she is interested in skill mix issues, particularly around Pharmacy Technicians; movement of pharmacists on the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Register in terms of new entrants and leavers, joiners from overseas; etc. She has also been involved in a number of projects with the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE), exploring the uptake of 'Learning @ Lunch', as well as other recent workshop and open learning materials by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

Over the last couple of years she has become increasingly interested in professional regulation and fitness to practise issues, both for registered pharmacy professionals as well as MPharm students.  She is currently PI on a RPSGB funded project about revalidation in pharmacy, and the potential use of appraisals and other possible sources of evidence.  She also has a keen interest in how pharmacy professionalism is defined and how it is learnt and developed, during university education through to newly registered and more experienced practitioners.

Previously, over the past ten years or so, Ellen’s research interests had predominantly centred upon the cost of prescription charges and their influence on GP prescribing and, particularly, patient behaviour.  The research project she undertook as part of her MSc effectively launched her interest in patient cost and its impact on health and access to medicines.  It represented important work for herself as well as the DUPPG, as it laid the foundation for further work, including a three-year six nation European collaboration (ENDEP) on the impact of prescription cost on physician and patient decision-making.  The project Ellen did as part of her Post Doctoral award was entitled "Is the prescription charge a barrier to meeting primary health care goals?" and continued her interest in prescription charges and patient behaviour.  As part of this award Ellen also undertook the Manchester-based MRes in Health and Community (Policy & Management pathway) thus extending her formal training in research methods and broadening her understanding of policy and management issues.  Ellen procided both written and oral evidence to the Health Committee enquiry into NHS Charges in England.

Besides her main research, Ellen has also been involved in a number of other projects where medication cost was an issue.  Between 1999 and 2001, Ellen took over the coordination of the Community Pharmacy Practice Research Panel, where the latest project explored non-dispensing of NHS prescription items and the role of cost.  Between 2001 and 2002, she was involved in the evaluation of the Direct Supply of Medicines Scheme in Scotland, through which prescription charge exempt patients can access medicines for minor ailments free of charge in community pharmacies.

 

Methodological Knowledge


 

Teaching

Undergradute and postgraduate teaching

In July 2009 Ellen was appointed as Lecturer in Law & Professionalism in Pharmacy, and is taking over the teaching of law relating to pharmacy.  Ellen is module leader of the revised 3rd year modle 'introduction to research, evaluation and audit' (PHAR 30392), where she teaches research methods using lectures and workshops.  At both undergraduate and postgraduate level, she delivers teaching around her research interests of patient charges and professionalism in pharmacy.  Ellen further teaches research methods on the postgraduate diploma/ MSc course in Clinical and Health Services Pharmacy.

Following the successful completion of the New Academics Programme (NAP) at Manchester University, Ellen achieved the status of Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) in August 2011.

Supervision

Each academic year, Ellen supervises 4th year project students.

She supervises PhD students with the following titles:

'Internationally trained pharmacists: their contribution to, and experiences of, working in the GB labour market' - Zainab Ziaei, start April 2008, supervising with Prof Karen Hassell

'Professionalism in pharmacy education and practice' - Sam Jee, start September 2010, supervising with Prof Noyce

‘How could risk reduction from public health services provided through community pharmacies be evaluated?’ - start September 2011, supervising with Profs Chris Cutts & Peter Noyce

 

Biography

Ellen Schafheutle is a pharmacist registered in both the UK and Germany, where she undertook her undergraduate pharmacy degree and pre-registration training.  She initially joined the Drug Usage and Pharmacy Practice Group (DUPPG) in September 1993 to do an MSc in clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice and then went on to do a PhD exploring patients’ views of pain and analgesia, and nurses’ behaviour in pain management.  In 2001, Ellen secured one of only three National NHS Primary Care R&D Post Doctoral Awards, as the first pharmacist from an open field of health services researchers.  In May 2007, Ellen joined the Centre for Pharmacy Workforce Studies (CPWS), which is part of DUPPG.  She has been teaching and supervising undergraduate pharmacy students for a number of years and was appointed Lecturer in Law & Professionalism in Pharmacy in July 2009.

 

Qualifications

  • 2005 - MRes - University of Manchester
  • 1999 - PhD - University of Manchester
  • 1994 - MSc - University of Manchester
  • 1992 - 4 year Pharmacy degree - University of Bonn, Germany
 

Collaborators and affiliated staff

  • Dr Karen Hassell
    Ellen and Karen worked together for a number of years on ENDEP, an EU funded six nation study on the impact of medication cost on prescriber and patient behaviour. Between 2001 and 2006, Karen acted as mentor to Ellen as part of her NHS Fellowship. Since Ellen joined the CPWS, Ellen works closely with Karen on a number of projects.
  • Professor Peter Noyce
    Peter was one of Ellen's PhD supervisors. They have since worked together on a number or projects, i.e. ENDEP, the Community Pharmacy Practice Research Panel, and the Direct Supply of Medicines scheme evaluation in Scotland. Peter also supported and advised Ellen during her NHS Fellowship. They have been co-supervising 4th year project students since 2005/06.
 

Selected publications

2009

  • David TJ, Schafheutle EI, Hall J. (2009). Fitness-to-practise procedures for pharmacy students and how they work. The Pharmaceutical Journal, 282, 646-647. eScholarID:1d28352
  • David TJ, Schafheutle EI, Hall J. (2009). What "fitness to practise" means for schools and for students' behaviour. The Pharmaceutical Journal, 282, 623-624. eScholarID:1d28350
  • Schafheutle EI, Hassell K. (2009). Internationally trained pharmacists in Great Britain: What do registration data tell us about their recruitment? Human Resource for Health, 7, Article 51. eScholarID:1d19541 | DOI:10.1186/1478-4491-7-51
  • Schafheutle EI, Noyce PR, Cutts C. (2009). Hospital trust engagement with a new vocational learning programme for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in England. International Journal Of Pharmacy Practice, 17, 243-247. eScholarID:1d28367 | DOI:10.1211/ijpp/17.04.0008
  • Schafheutle, E (2009). The impact of prescription charges on asthma patients is uneven and unpredictable: evidence from qualitative interviews. Prim Care Respir J, 18(4), 266-72. eScholarID:75622 | PMID:19484164 | DOI:10.4104/pcrj.2009.00012

2008

  • Schafheutle EI, Samuels T, Hassell K. (2008). Support staff in community pharmacy: who are they and what do they want? International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 16, 57-63. eScholarID:1d28154 | DOI:10.1211/ijpp.16.2.0002
  • Schafheutle EI. (2008). Patients' views on the UK policy of prescription charges - Insights from qualitative interviews. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 4, 343-354. eScholarID:1d18212 | DOI:10.1016/j.sapharm.2008.02.001

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