The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7389 p233
25 February 2006

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· Oxygen supplies (5)
· Community pharmacy
· Vitamin D
· Care homes
· Boots/UniChem merger
· Locum pharmacy
· Assisted dying
· Methadone
· Statins
· CPD
· Criminal convictions
· Overseas pharmacists
· National boards

Letters to the Editor

Continuing professional development

In CPD, like regulation, one size does not fit all

From Professor S. J. Mather, FRPharmS

There was an interesting contradiction between the articles by Hemant Patel, President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, and Graham Phillips, a member of the Society’s Council, published on consecutive pages of The Pharmaceutical Journal of 11 February (p185 and p186). On the one hand Mr Patel is insisting that the Society’s approach to continuing professional development is appropriate for all pharmacists, whatever their field of practice; on the other, Mr Phillips criticises the Government for (perhaps) insisting on a “one size fits all” approach to professional regulation.

I think few (if any) progressive pharmacists would disagree that keeping abreast of new developments is an essential part of their job and I, for one, have no objection to its mandatory introduction. However, I do object to the imposition of an inflexible, bureaucratic means of recording CPD activities based on one particular restricted model of learning.

Many of us, working on the fringes of the profession, are in the business of trying to exploit new scientific discoveries in order to introduce them into clinical practice. For us, CPD is not an “add-on” activity but an integral part of our day-to-day work. The “reflective cycle” of CPD recording that the Society wishes to impose simply does not fit my job as an academic researcher. I have tried it and, believe me, it does not.

I can produce evidence (in the form of peer-reviewed publications) that I am keeping up to date in my chosen field of pharmaceutical practice. I think the Society must recognise that for CPD, as in professional regulation, one size does not fit all, and be prepared to accept alternative proofs of compliance that we are indeed remaining fit to practise in our chosen specialty.

Stephen J. Mather
Department of Nuclear Medicine,
St Bartholomew’s Hospital,
London

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