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Client case study

Irish Pharmacy Union

Rebuilding the Medicines Counter Assistant (MCA) course.

A national course taught in hotel rooms and marked by hand, rebuilt as an ATHE endorsed online programme for around 800 learners a year.

Two pharmacy staff smiling in front of pharmacy shelves

At a glance

The Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) runs the MCA course, which trains pharmacy counter staff to sell over-the-counter medicines safely. QedON rebuilt the course with academic rigour, secured awarding body endorsement through ATHE, and moved the whole programme online with consistent materials, live virtual classes and instant, automated assessment.

learners a year

c. 800

endorsed certificate

ATHE

online delivery

100%

automated grading

Instant

The challenge

The course was widely used but had no formal academic or regulatory standing. It ran as evening sessions in hotels around the country, led by IPU-approved pharmacy tutors.

  • No awarding body approval. A long-standing expectation of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI).
  • No academic underpinning. Paper handouts and slides, with no defined learning outcomes or structured assessment.
  • Inconsistent delivery. Tutors added their own materials, so content varied from venue to venue.
  • High cost, poor access. Hotel hire and tutor travel were expensive, and learners travelled after a full working day.
  • No oversight. Paper exams were marked by hand, with no oversight of tutors, learning or learner progress, including ETB learners entering pharmacy work.

How QedON delivered it

The solution

QedON acted as the IPU’s Knowledge Partner, turning an informal course into a structured, endorsed and fully online qualification, with the IPU’s pharmacy tutors still at its centre.

  1. Design

    Rebuilt the curriculum with academic rigour: clear learning outcomes, structured content on over-the-counter medicines and a valid assessment strategy aligned to ATHE requirements.

  2. Develop

    Created one standard set of tutor and learner materials, so every learner receives the same content wherever they are.

  3. Build

    Moved the whole course online, with live virtual classes and self-paced learning, using BigBlueButton and Moodle as the delivery engine. All materials can be downloaded.

  4. Manage

    Rebuilt the assessment with multiple question banks and instant, automatic grading. Certification is centralised through ATHE, with full visibility of tutors, learning and learners.

The results

Awarding body endorsement, consistent national delivery and assessment that costs nothing to grade.

The results
Measure Before QedON After QedON
Awarding body status None Endorsed by ATHE
Delivery Evening hotel sessions nationwide Live virtual classes and self-paced study
Materials Handouts, slides and tutors’ own materials One standard set, downloadable by all
Assessment Paper exam, graded by hand Multiple question banks, graded instantly
Grading cost Fee per tutor hour Removed
Venue and tutor travel cost Fee per tutor hour Removed
Certification None ATHE endorsed certificate
Oversight None of tutors, learning or learners Full visibility of progress and results

QedON turned our MCA course into an ATHE endorsed online programme with one standard, instant assessment and full oversight of every learner.

Susan McManus Training Manager, Irish Pharmacy Union

Why it matters

For any professional body with a long-running but informal course, the IPU shows how to gain awarding body recognition, standardise delivery nationally and cut delivery costs, without losing the expert tutors members trust. Regulators, employers and partners such as the ETBs can be confident in what every certified learner knows.

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