Private-Rx, a 600-member internet discussion network for pharmacists, has been accredited by the College of Pharmacy Practice to provide continuing professional development for pharmacists on its website and by e-mail.
Under the scheme, each week questions are e-mailed to subscribers and published on the Private-Rx website. A few days later suggested answers are published, together with hyperlinks to relevant source material. Suggestions are also made on how the information could be used in a variety of ways to develop practice.
After each set of four topics has been posted, a set of multiple-choice questions is added to the Private-Rx website. Successful completion of these questions enables participants to be credited with two hours towards the CPP continuing education requirement. Certificates of completion personalised to the participant can be printed directly from the website.
Private-Rx decided to provide online learning after reviewing evidence that the internet might be the future preferred source of continuing education for busy professionals.
A US telephone survey (www.capellauniversity.edu/newsmaker) found that working adults believed that college courses offered via the internet were the future for higher education.