The sigma North West and North Wales event held at Liverpool John Moores University on 19 November attracted 29 participants from 16 institutions, with a good representation of both maths support practitioners and pharmacy teachers.

Tony Croft opened proceedings with a presentation on the issues with numerical and mathematical reasoning which plague all HEIs and all disciplines.  Next Emma Bolton, Educational Development Officer of the British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association, presented the results of a social media poll of pre-registration pharmacists (those in their first year of practice after graduation) asking about their experiences with mathematics in their undergraduate courses.  The final invited presentation in the morning was given by Lisa Smith, Question Writing Coordinator from General Pharmaceutical Council who manages the setting, marking and moderation of this calculation part of the qualifying examination.

In afternoon there were contributed presentations on an interesting range of approaches to creating capability with and confidence about the calculations which pharmacy students encounter.

For the full event report and links to presentations, click here.