The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7247 p627
3 May 2003

Society summary

CPD roll-out is well received

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society's continuing professional development programme shows signs of being well accepted by pharmacists in the north-west of England, where it is being rolled out ahead of the rest of Britain.

Feedback from a joint meeting of the Society's Mersey and North-Western regions, held in Preston on Sunday 30 March, shows that many pharmacists who were apprehensive about CPD have become converts to the process.

The Society completed the roll-out in the north-west early in March, when copies of its CPD pack were despatched to a final batch of pharmacists in the Society's Merseyside and North-Western regions (PJ, 8 March, p347). (The roll-out does not extend to pharmacists aged over 60 who are no longer working and who pay a reduced retention fee.)

The aims of the regional joint meeting included putting the Society's CPD initiative into context, explaining the CPD process (and the Society's CPD format in particular), discussing the different types of CPD records that might suit different individuals, and demonstrating the practicalities of making CPD records. A further important aim was to consider the concerns of individuals and groups.

More than 80 pharmacists attended the meeting, where they were addressed by Council member Alison Ewing (chairman of the Society's Education Committee) and by two speakers from the north-west — Claire Grout (Greater Manchester Workforce Development Confederation) and Allan Melzack (community pharmacist and Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education tutor). An online demonstration of the Society's CPD website followed the main session. A wide-ranging discussion elicited some expressions of apprehension and concern, but most participants were open-minded about the subject.

Evaluation forms and informal feedback after the meeting showed that most participants had found the meeting useful in dispelling myths and uncertainty, and many had become converts to the CPD process.

Pharmacists who are not yet part of the roll-out can learn the basics of pharmacy CPD from the Society's 30-minute video, "Introducing CPD", which was sent in October 2002 to all members other than those who pay the over-60 reduced fee (PJ, 5 October 2002, p478). They can also download the "Plan & record" from the CPD pages within the education section of the Society's website (www.rpsgb.org.uk/ education), along with several fact sheets answering frequently asked questions about CPD. Those without internet access can borrow the "Plan & record" from the Society's library.