Students
PLEA for students
We welcome students into membership, and membership is free.
Pharmacy is the most highly regulated of all the healthcare professions. From the moment students begin their MPharm courses, they are expected to follow the General Pharmaceutical Council’s Standards for Pharmacy Professionals. They have to pass a law exam in order to graduate.
Through our updates on pharmacy law and ethics, we hope to help students on their career journey by providing information and updates. We also hope to foster an interest in pharmacy law and ethics, and to maintain that interest after graduation.
Student infographic competition
PLEA runs an annual student competition which is open all MPharm students, pre-registration trainee pharmacy technicians (PTPTs) and undergraduate law students in the UK and Ireland. By this means, we hope to encourage the pharmacists of the future to engage with law and ethics issues at the start of their careers. The competition has run since 2008-2009.
Over the years of the competition entries have been received from 23 schools of pharmacy and winners have come from 12 of these schools of pharmacy, showing engagement and participation from all nations. The PLEA student competition aims to encourage students to think critically about law and ethics issues, as well as support their writing and research skills.
The titles are disseminated through academic colleagues at the schools of pharmacy, with marking being undertaken by academics and law colleagues.
Topics are chosen to be topical, but also to highlight law and ethics debate. The first topic sought to query the arguments surrounding the right to know the genetic health of a sibling. Since then, topics have included the code of ethics and confidentiality breaches, e-cigarettes, informed consent, religious and moral beliefs and competences of pharmacists in a changing world.
In 2025-26, students were invited to submit a design for an infographic – an information poster. The subject was: “Information for patients before starting
weight loss medication if not having a face-to-face pharmacist consultation”. The first prize was £250 and the second prize was £100.
We had 17 entries from 13 schools of pharmacy. We received a good selection of posters, and all the candidates were given feedback from their markers to support future submissions after the seminar.
The winning poster was submitted by Fatema Hussein of Aston University.
The runner up was Hania ElShalkany of the University of Nottingham.
Competition rules
- The academic institution at which the candidate is a student will select and submit in each academic year no more than one submission by each candidate and up to two submissions. The Pharmacy Law & Ethics Association (PLEA) disclaims any responsibility for the selection by academic institutions of slides for submission.
- Posters should be maximum one Powerpoint slide, and should be able to be read on a computer screen. Posters should be created as information posters or infographics to showcase a Law & Ethics topic to the public.
- Slides must be the candidate’s own work. Material sourced from elsewhere must be appropriately referenced. Plagiarism or the use of artificial intelligence are not acceptable and may lead to disqualification.
- The arrangements for the assessments of submissions and the assessments themselves are entirely at the discretion of PLEA and the individuals to whom the arrangements and assessments are delegated.
- The prize awarded for the best submission by a pharmacy undergraduate, or student pharmacy technician or law student will be designated “The Joy Wingfield prize”.
- A first prize of £250 will be awarded to the student whose essay is assessed to be the best.
- A prize of £100 will be awarded to the submission assessed to be second.
- If the first prize is not awarded to a pharmacy undergraduate, student pharmacy technician or law student, PLEA reserves the right to award to a pharmacy undergraduate, student pharmacy technician or law student an additional prize or increase the value of a prize awarded.
- The student competition is not intended to form a legal contract and these rules are binding in honour only. In the event of any question or dispute, the decision of the Chair of PLEA shall be final. For more information, contact chair@plea.org.uk
- The student competition is open to candidates who, at the time of submission, are pharmacy undergraduates, law undergraduates and student pharmacy technicians in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland.
For more information on how to enter contact us
Grants
From time to time, PLEA may be in a position to make grants to support members in their further studies. If you wish to inquire about such support, contact us.
