About the specialty:

Welcome to the world of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics – a dynamic specialty at the heart of patient care that makes a major contribution to the health and wealth of the nation!

Embark on a consultant career where in addition to delivering clinical care your specialist expertise influences policy, shapes guidelines, and contributes to the strategic direction of healthcare. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (CPT) offers a fulfilling journey for those seeking a career that goes beyond the ward, clinic and prescription pad, making a lasting impact on patient care and healthcare systems.

As a small specialty, unless you have met some of us, you might never have heard of CPT or be unclear about the scope of our practice. The wide variability in CPT consultant job plans further adds to the mystery, making it less visible compared to more mainstream specialties. Follow the links on this page to the British Pharmacology Website for lots more information on careers in CPT.

Clinical Pharmacologists improve patients’ lives by developing new medicines, by ensuring they are used safely and effectively, and by providing general and specialist medical services, often as part of a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals, working in hospitals, academia, the pharmaceutical industry and the community.

Clinical Pharmacologists ensure there is an overarching, cross-specialty stewardship of all aspects of medicines used in the NHS and do so by:

1. Specialist and generalist patient care including managing patients with complex prescribing needs including; polypharmacy, adherence and intolerance; preventing and managing adverse drug reactions; identifying and reducing medication errors; managing patients with poisoning, hypertension or other conditions requiring specialist therapeutics knowledge and skills; facilitating the transition to precision medicine, including individualised pharmacogenomic-based prescribing; and providing acute and general medical care.

2. Medicines policy and management including; providing leadership in ensuring the safe and optimal use of medicines within the health service at local, regional and national levels including the promotion of collaboration with other specialties and pharmacy; leading for medicines regulation and health economic assessments; producing prescribing guidance and medicines optimisation policy.

3. Education and training Teaching is at the core of our specialty, with Clinical Pharmacologists actively involved in educating the next generation of healthcare professionals. From medical students to fellow practitioners, our community fosters a culture of continuous learning and knowledge dissemination, particularly in relation to all aspects of the safe, effective and economic use of medicines.

4. Development of medicines and other therapeutics, including; designing and leading safe and effective clinical trials, including first-in-human studies; working with the life sciences industry to discover new medicines, explore their efficacy, repurposing potential and adverse effects; bridging the translational gap between basic science and clinical practice; leading for pharmacovigilance of licensed medications; and leading NHS research facilities. Our specialty bridges the gap between bench science and clinical application, fostering a holistic approach to patient care.

Why not explore the new CPT curriculum that reflects the evolving landscape of medicine, ensuring our practitioners are equipped with cutting-edge knowledge and skills, by following the link below?

Delve into the diverse facets of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, where specialists thrive in roles ranging from Clinical Toxicologist for the National Poisons Information Service to Early Phase Clinical Trial design and delivery, from working as experts for the MHRA or NICE to teaching core pharmacology and prescribing to students and healthcare colleagues. Our experts lead in tackling clinical challenges like hypertension, ensuring optimal medicines management and governance locally, nationally and regionally, and navigating complexities related to polypharmacy and adverse drug effects.