Mr Andrew Lea
He/Him
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About
Andrew graduated from The School of Pharmacy, University of London in 1998, and registered as a pharmacist in 1999. Andrew worked in community pharmacy since qualifying, providing NHS Pharmacy Services throughout Kent and holding a number of managerial positions within leading community pharmacy chains. During 2006, he was the pharmacy representative on the Professional Executive Committee at Ashford Primary Care Trust.
Andrew has wide-ranging coaching and training experience, supporting the development of colleagues from NVQ level through to pre-registration pharmacist training. In 2007, he became a Regional Pre-registration Training Manager for a leading community pharmacy chain, before joining the Medway School of Pharmacy as a Community Pharmacy Teacher Practitioner.
Andrew became a full-time Clinical Lecturer in 2009 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2018.
Since then, Andrew has held a number of senior academic and leadership positions that have shaped both student experience and institutional outcomes. As Graduate Support Lead, he implemented targeted initiatives to help graduates prepare for the pre-registration assessment; work that gained external recognition for its clear benefits to student progression and success.
During his time as MSOP Senior Tutor, Andrew developed pastoral support initiatives that have since been expanded and refined by the wider Faculty, leaving a lasting framework that continues to shape student support practices.
He has also undertaken roles as Portfolio Development Lead, Placement Lead, and Professional Practice Lead across multiple years of the MPharm. In 2025, Andrew served as Programme Lead during the School’s successful reaccreditation; a collective achievement in which he made a significant contribution, drawing on his expertise in curriculum design, assessment, and quality assurance.
As part of his curriculum leadership, Andrew designed and delivered the Foundation Year professional practice module, creating a structured pathway that bridges the transition into the MPharm. He was Professional Practice Lead for Year 1 from 2009 to 2013, Professional Practice Lead for Year 2 from 2013 to 2016, and Professional Practice Lead for Year 4 from 2016 onwards. He also served as Professional Practice Lead for the preparatory year (Year 0) from 2019 until 2024, embedding professional values and skills at the very beginning of the programme. In 2024, Andrew was appointed Module Lead for MSOP1012: Quality Use of Medicines, further extending his influence on curriculum design and assessment across the programme.
Andrew has also led on trialling innovative changes to assessment design and standardisation. These pilots introduced new approaches to evaluating knowledge, skills, and professional behaviours, with a strong focus on fairness, transparency, and alignment with regulatory expectations. Several of these innovations have already been adopted across other years of the MPharm, with plans for programme-wide rollout in future years. His work has also advanced quality assurance processes, particularly through the integration of blueprinting to strengthen consistency, validity, and oversight in assessment design.
As part of his advocacy for quality and excellence in teaching and learning, Andrew is undertaking a new role as OSCE Development Lead, building on his earlier contributions to the introduction and integration of OSCEs within the curriculum. This role focuses on the expansion and development of OSCEs across both teaching and assessment, ensuring they play a central role in preparing students for professional practice. He also continues to support colleagues — particularly early career academics — in embedding robust curriculum design, developing engaging content, adopting best practice in assessment, and building confidence as educators.
Research interests
Andrew’s research is centred on advancing pharmacy education. His main interests include supporting future and current practitioners to embed continuing professional development (CPD) into daily practice, and maximising the effectiveness of undergraduate teaching, assessment, and pre-registration pharmacist training.