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Letters to the Editor
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CPD
Questionable assessment of community practice
From Mr P. B. Lowe, MRPharmS
Philip Brown’s assessment of the community pharmacist’s
continuing professional development needs (PJ, 29 Jan, p110) calls into
question the extent (and perhaps the advisability) of his practice in
this branch of the profession. Were patient consultations solely concerned
with the symptoms and treatment of minor ailments, referral to a pharmacist
would be unnecessary; if dispensing responsibility involved only the
accurate interpretation of instructions, it could be left safely in the
hands of a technician or even a well-drilled grocer’s boy.
Peter Lowe
Newcastle upon Tyne
Society should revisit its CPD model
From Mr A. Mackridge, MRPharmS
I would echo the comments of Susan
Davis (PJ, 22 January, p83) with regard
to the straitjacket imposed by the current continuing professional development
structure. I am currently undertaking a PhD in pharmacy practice during
which I am constantly learning new skills relevant to my practice. However,
when I come to record this as CPD, I find the plan and record system totally
irrelevant to the work I have undertaken.
I also perform some part-time locum duties in both a community and prison
environment as part of this. I regularly attend Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate
Education meetings and meetings arranged by the local primary care trust.
I carry out a number of other educational activities, most recently to
enable me to be accredited to provide emergency hormonal contraception
on patient group directions in a number of different PCTs. Again, this
is difficult for me to record because many of the questions in “Plan
and record” are irrelevant to my situation.
In addition, owing to the small amount of teaching I perform, I have undertaken
a teaching qualification during my time as a postgraduate, which has taught
me a considerable amount about learning and assessment. If the “Plan
and record” model is critically appraised, it is clear that it only
supports reflective learning (one of the four learning styles) and for
anyone who does not learn well through this style, it becomes a simple
chore to fill in the boxes.
We have heard that the process of CPD is the important bit. However, I
believe this opinion is inherently flawed when one is attempting to ensure
the high quality skills and knowledge of pharmacists. A far better system
would be one based upon competencies, defined by the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society, where pharmacists can see what the Society expects of them and
the Society can easily see whether the pharmacist is competent in a specific
area. This allows for all learning styles and all learning methods, is
easy to administer and, most importantly, is simple to assess.
I suggest that the Society revisits the CPD model it has as a matter of
urgency in order that members such as myself who take education and life-long
learning seriously do not fall through the gap.
Adam Mackridge
Birmingham |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal