The ACADEMY
Welcome to the Academy, brought to you by the PM Society and the Healthcare Communications Association (HCA), developed from training feedback from the industry. We have selected carefully curated courses, packaged up into two levels of Academy for healthcare communication professionals at entry and mid-senior level.
The Academy brings together CPD courses from two of the sector’s leading not-for-profit providers, the PM Society and the Healthcare Communications Association (HCA). Each programme provides individuals with multi-year, accredited, learning, tailored to their profession and experience level. The timings and pace of the programmes carefully considered to slot into busy work schedules.
All the courses that comprise an Academy programme are delivered by experienced facilitators, endorsed by both associations. The courses have been developed and refined over time by our expert facilitators and from feedback of the many delegates who have already participated in them, ensuring they maintain their relevance and impact in the rapidly changing marketplace.
By enrolling onto an Academy programme, either as an individual or as an employer enrolling a team member (or team members), you are demonstrating a commitment to your ongoing development, and to your team.
As an employer, you are demonstrating your commitment to the individual’s learning and development and as an organisation, your participation in the Academy offers great employee attraction and retention benefits.
The Academy Alumni will offer additional learning benefits for all delegates. The Alumni will activate upon joining and open up the opportunity to receive additional useful insights and highlights from the course trainers during the two-year Academy journey, as well as post completion. A great opportunity to keep learning and development front and centre and continue to expand knowledge in support of professional development.
There are two levels of Academy programmes to choose between;
1. Foundation for those who are at the start or early stages of their Healthcare Communications career, or
2. Rising Stars for those at the mid to senior stages of their career.
Each programme offers a ‘Plus’ option to add in an on demand compliance course.
Foundation CPD Programme Details: Please click on each course for details (please be sure to sign-up via the Academy link below and not via the individual courses):
Foundation Programme
| Foundation Programme | 2024 | 2025 |
| Pharmaceutical industry essentials | Jan – April | |
| Molecule to Marketing | May – August | |
| Managing pressure and building resilience | 8th October | |
| How to impact, influence and inspire | Jan- April | |
| Assertiveness skills | 10th, 11th & 12th June | |
| Creating creativity in communications | Sept – Dec | |
| On-demand compliance course (PLUS programme) | On-demand | On-demand |
For those who are at the start or early stages in their Healthcare Communications Career journey, this programme is a ‘must have’ foundation. Designed to run alongside live ‘on the job’ experiences, over a two year timeframe.
Sign up for the Foundation programme for £2,000 + VAT.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR FOUNDATION
Foundation PLUS offers everything in the Rising Stars programme with the addition of an on-demand compliance course.
Sign up for the Foundation PLUS programme for £2,450 + VAT.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR FOUNDATION PLUS
Rising Stars CPD Programme Details: Please click on each course for details (please be sure to sign-up via the Academy link below and not via the individual courses):
Rising Stars Programme
| Rising Stars Programme | 2024 | 2025 |
| Client retention and growth for agencies | 25th, 27th & 28th March | |
| Medical communications planning | May – August | |
| Effective Story telling in healthcare communications | Sept – Dec | |
| European understanding HC systems | Jan – April | |
| People Management for new Managers | 1st, 2nd & 3rd July | |
| Coaching essentials | 15th October | |
| On-demand compliance course (PLUS programme) | On-demand | On-demand |
This programme has been designed for those who are mid to senior level. Each course carefully designed and deliberately chosen to help further develop and grow upon existing knowledge within the Healthcare Communications sector.
Sign up for the Rising Stars programme for £2,000 + VAT.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR RISING STARS
Rising Stars PLUS offers everything in the Rising Stars programme with the addition of an on-demand compliance course.
Sign up for the Rising Stars PLUS programme for £2,450 + VAT.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR RISING STARS PLUS
This programme has been designed for those who are mid to senior level. Each course carefully designed and deliberately chosen to help further develop and grow upon your knowledge within the Healthcare Communications sector.
ACADEMY FAQ's
Why have you introduced the Academy?
Feeback from both our memberships suggested the desire for more structured programmes of learning for individuals to support their development over a period of time (with a consensus of around 2 years). This would provide organisations an easy to administer, professional development investment in team members, supporting their growth and enhancing their performance.
We recognised that by selecting from both of our professional development offerings, we were able to bring together a highly credible Academy of established, tailored, tried and tested courses, that together formed a structured development path for two experience levels of communications practitioners (Foundation and Mid-level) We have therefore launched The Academy in response to our members’ feedback, providing them another cost effective solution to support their own professional development offering to their teams.
Who is the Foundation Course aimed out?
The Foundation Programme has been developed for those who are at the start or early stages of their Healthcare Communications career journey. A programme made up of a series of courses, designed to run alongside live ‘on the job’ experiences, over a two-year timeframe.
What’s the difference between the Foundation Course and the Foundation Plus?
The Foundation Plus option adds an on-demand Compliance Course into the Foundation programme, at an additional cost. This on-demand Compliance Course is designed to fulfil annual code compliance training requirements, but goes beyond to explore the principles to build an ethos of compliance and ethics and continue to support the delegate in these areas across the whole year through updates and webinars.
Who is the Rising Stars Course aimed out?
The Rising Stars programme has been designed for those who are mid to senior level. Each course carefully designed and deliberately chosen to help further develop and grow upon individual’s knowledge within the Healthcare Communications sector. The timings and pace of the programme carefully considered to slot into busy work schedules.
What’s the difference between the Rising Stars Programme and Rising Stars Plus?
Rising Stars Plus option adds an on-demand Compliance Course into the programme, at an additional cost. This on-demand Compliance Course is designed to fulfil annual code compliance training requirements, but goes beyond to explore the principles to build an ethos of compliance and ethics and continue to support the delegate in these areas across the whole year through updates and webinars.
How are the courses CPD accredited?
Our courses gain HCA CPD Accreditation through a 3-stage process:
- The course to be accredited is assessed to determine if it is relevant and tailored to healthcare communication professionals
- The method of delivery is then assessed to ensure it is appropriate for the learning outcomes
- The content and delivery methodology is then also independently assessed to ratify that accredited courses meet accepted cross-industry CPD standards
Will I receive a certificate at the end of the course?
All delegates will receive a certificate of course completion after each component course attended on The Academy. This will be available within their personal MY CPD record where they are able to record all their CPD activity and submit for annual HCA CPD Standards Certification. More information on The HCA’s CPD Standards and Certifications can be found here.
How will the alumni work?
Membership of The Academy Alumni will activate upon joining and open up the opportunity to receive additional useful insights and highlights from the course trainers during the two-year Academy journey, as well as post completion. A great opportunity to keep your learning and development top of mind and continue to expand knowledge to support in support of professional development.
What happens if I don’t complete all the courses within the two years?
Each individual course is accredited, so if circumstances change and a delegate is no longer able to complete the programme, they will still receive CPD recognition for those completed.
What happens if the person registered for the academy leaves my team, will I get a refund?
Due to the fact we are offering The Academy programmes at significantly reduced rates we will not be able to offer refunds for any missed or non-completed courses. However, we can transfer the allotted place to somebody else within the team. If there is an instance where a team member leaves half-way through or near the end of the programme, please get in touch and we can look to transfer the allotted place to somebody else. However, this is not ideal as each course in the series has been structured to run in a particular learning sequence.
Can I transfer the Academy to another delegate?
Yes, we can transfer the allotted place to somebody else within the team. If there is an instance where a team member leaves half-way through or near the end of the programme, please get in touch and we can look to transfer the allotted place to somebody else. However, this is not ideal as each course in the series has been structured to run in a particular learning sequence.
Is the fee paid in one sum or over the 2 years of courses?
The fee of £2,000 + VAT (or £2,450 for the Plus programmes) is paid in one payment.
How can I access and book an individual courses?
Individual courses are available to book separately to the Academy and through the normal PM Society or HCA booking channels via our respective websites.
Are the dates for each course the only dates available?
The dates for the courses are already set as a package. If you are not available for these dates, each individual course is accredited, so the delegate will receive CPD recognition for those completed.