Children: Next steps in learning...

Last updated: Monday, May 16, 2022

If you are a pharmacist with an interest in the use of medicines in children, then you may like to join the Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacists Group (NPPG). The Group aims to improve the care of neonates, infants and children by advancing all aspects of the development of pharmacists and pharmacy services involved in caring for children. Their website contains a wealth of information. There is also an NPPG conference every autumn, which is an excellent way to learn, keep up-to-date, and to meet colleagues with similar interests.



As a pharmacist you need to be able to explain what an unlicensed medicine is, in a clear and accurate way. There is a valuable guide for patients and carers about the use of unlicensed medicines in children on the Medicines for Children website. This is an excellent basis on which to build your own explanation when talking to patients. 



CPPE has a child health gateway page that links to several learning programmes including Consulting with children and young people. This e-learning package focuses on the key skills and behaviours you can adopt to make sure you communicate effectively with children and young people.



There is some good advice on working with children to help them take their medicines on the NetDoctor website. The advice is aimed at the parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but many of the ideas suggested could apply to other children and other medicines. There are some helpful lessons here for pharmacists.


The taste of a medicine is an important factor that may influence adherence in children. Read more about the specific impact of using unpalatable antibiotics such as flucloxacillin and erythromycin in children here.





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