In this article, the chief executive of the College of Pharmacy Practice sets out to allay pharmacists' apprehensions about continuing professional development and explains how the college can help pharmacists to understand what CPD means for them, to identify and meet their CPD needs, and to use CPD to improve their professional practice and progress their careers
My experience over the past year in the College of Pharmacy Practice suggests that there are significant numbers of pharmacists who have apprehensions about what continuing professional development (CPD) is, and what it means for them in practice. Two events have brought this into sharp focus for me. On the first of these I was present at a pharmacy development weekend organised jointly by the college and Unichem last November. This included a number of workshops on pharmacist-led clinics, and was attended by over 70 pharmacists, many of whom remarked that they had not appreciated how much more they could contribute. On the second occasion, at a recent exhibition, I asked a visitor to the college stand, a pharmacist of mature years, about his CPD activities. I was told that CPD was not relevant for him since all he did was supply medicines for patients. Clearly there is a serious issue here, in which a number of agencies, including the Royal Pharmaceutical Society have a significant role to play.
Recent high profile cases in the medical profession have prompted proposals from the Department of Health, aimed at tackling poor performance among general medical practitioners, and the Government has made a clear link between professional self-regulation, CPD and clinical governance. There will be no opting out of CPD in the future for pharmacists either: the Society is considering how to tackle poor performance, and is working to develop clinical governance at a local level. This should not be seen as a threat, and any pharmacist following a CPD programme should have no fears for their professional practice.
In any profession, the knowledge we have when we leave university or college is quite likely to be out of date, perhaps even irrelevant, three to five years later. In law or accountancy, new legislation often requires these professionals to change the way they practise. Similarly, new therapies, drugs and legislation dictate that pharmacists and other health professionals keep abreast of developments, and that their practice reflects these developments. Life-long learning, continuing education, CPD, Investors in People - call it what you will - is no longer simply about doing an evening class each year at a local college: it is an integral part of developing one's career to achieve greater fulfilment and provide a better service.
As with any developmental activity, CPD has to be undertaken in a properly structured way to derive the maximum benefit (Figure 1). Figure 2 shows the key stages in the CPD loop, and emphasises the importance of evaluation and reflective practice.
Figure 1: Why pharmacists should get involved in continuing professional development |
Figure 2: Key stages in the continuing professional development loop |
The college CPD portfolio is a tool, available as a loose-leaf folder and a computer template, which enables the user to identify skills and knowledge, to plan and record training activities and professional development, and ultimately, through appraisal and assessment, to gain full membership of the college.
Let us look at a specific example (which formed the basis for a successful submission for practitioner membership of the college). A pharmacist with limited management experience, having been a locum for three and a half years, took up a post of community pharmacy manager. The pharmacy had not had a manager for two years, and much of the management function had been taken on by the senior assistant. There were no real relationships with local general practitioners and no established services to nursing or residential homes. Therefore, in order to be successful in this position, the pharmacist needed to:
In order to build relationships with the local GP practice, she took the opportunity provided by the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education's "Pharmacy interface" course. She registered for the course and was expected to take along a local GP. This led to the pharmacist and the GP working together on a number of projects, including a regionally funded scheme. Within this, they went for further joint training and had to devise a project to work on together in the practice. They decided to review the repeat prescribing systems. This gave the pharmacist the opportunity to work closely with the rest of the practice team. The relationships built were invaluable when she wished to refer patients to the doctors and, indeed, they began to refer patients to her for medication reviews.
The pharmacist was still concerned about her lack of management experience. She investigated local opportunities and decided to enrol on the local college of further education's diploma in management studies. This gave her the expertise to think about her business in a new way and to use marketing techniques more effectively. For the first time, she began to think about her customer profile and soon realised that her key customers were young mothers and the elderly. She decided to concentrate on developing services to these groups and succeeded in doubling turnover by expanding the mother and baby section and introducing a section selling aids for daily living.
In this example, we can see how the pharmacist has adopted reflective practice. She has examined her practice, identified potential weaknesses, and has considered how to overcome these. She has set herself targets and achievable working objectives when taking on a new job, and has also considered the needs of her customers and how she might meet these. Finally, she gives evidence of how the service she is able to offer has improved as a result of her CPD.
One of the main reasons that the College of Pharmacy Practice was established was to promote standards within the profession through CPD, and the route to full membership of the college via a successful CPD portfolio is becoming increasingly popular. The college portfolio, which is available to associate members either individually or through employers' group schemes, provides a clearly structured tool for organising and recording CPD activities. But what is involved in putting together a portfolio?
It is impossible within the constraints of this short article to cover every aspect of a portfolio. However it is important to stress at the outset that it is not just a curriculum vitae. It sets out future career objectives as well as previous experience and, most importantly, it should demonstrate a reflective and analytical approach. The college portfolio provides guidance not only on recording CPD but also participation in professional and inter-professional activities, and identifies key features to assist in developing critical evaluation skills. The analysis of critical events and participation in service developments are also particularly appropriate for inclusion in the portfolio.
As part of its support for CPD activities the college offers a number of study days around Britain. These are open to members and non-members, pharmacists and other health professionals. It has a network of regional facilitators, and for those seeking membership via the portfolio, mentors who can offer one-to-one guidance. There are also advice and workshop sessions available at events such as college days and college weekends.
Further informationMore information about the college, its continuing professional development activities, and the portfolio is available from The College of Pharmacy Practice, University of Warwick Science Park, Barclays Venture Centre, Sir William Lyons Road, Coventry, CV4 7EZ (e-mail info@collpharm.org.uk, website www.collpharm.org.uk). |