The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7178 849-854
15 December 2001

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Letters to the Editor

CPD

Help available for all pharmacists

From Mr A. Nathan, FRPharmS

In his "Broad Spectrum" article (PJ, 24 November, p744), John Wilson expresses his concern as to who will help and provide support for self-employed proprietor pharmacists and locums in carrying out their continuing professional development. I am pleased to be able to inform him that it is the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's CPD Advisory Group's intention that help will be available for these pharmacists, and indeed for all others. It will be provided in several ways.

Once the scheme "goes live" all members of the Society will be provided with an information pack giving full guidance on what CPD is and how to carry it out.

A website will be set up to provide similar information, together with news and updating information. And, like the pack, it will carry the answers to commonly asked questions.

There will be a team of CPD facilitators to provide help on an individual basis for pharmacists who request it and for those whom the CPD assessors, having examined submitted records, feel would benefit from it.

An important role for local branches is envisaged, not only through providing educational meetings as they have always done, but also by acting as centres where pharmacists can get together for self-help and mutual support, much as Mr Wilson suggests. Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education tutors in all the home countries might lend their expertise here, since there are almost as many of them as there are branches and they are geographically well distributed.

Accreditation of any learning will not be a problem, as Mr Wilson fears, because although desirable it will not be a necessity. There are many forms of learning, some of which will be accredited pharmacy meetings, courses, conferences etc, but many others which will not. What will matter is the relevance of the item of learning to a pharmacist's individual professional development need and the perceived value to him or her of the learning once it has been undertaken. In fact, learning on the job from, for example, solving a problem or correcting a mistake, is as important and as valid as any formal learning. The important thing will be to record all learning, and to be able to provide evidence whenever possible that it has been undertaken or has occurred.

The CPD Advisory Group has recently formulated a communications strategy with the intention that from now on pharmacists will be regularly kept informed and up to date with news and developments on CPD.

Alan Nathan
Chairman, CPD Advisory Group, Royal Pharmaceutical Society

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