Features

Benefits of becoming an FPMM member

It is clear that revalidation — the regular appraisal of a health care professional’s skills and competencies — is looming, although it is not certain when it will be introduced.

This development and the idea of getting prepared for it, motivated me to apply for membership of the Faculty of Prescribing and Medicines Management (FPMM). It would mean that I could demonstrate my competencies within the profession and to other health care professionals but, ultimately, I recognised this would benefit my patients.

Associate membership of the College of Pharmacy Practice and the faculty is open to anyone committed to high standards of pharmacy practice through annual submission of continuing professional development records. Full member status of the faculty is achieved through a process of accreditation.

The pharmacist must demonstrate that he or she practises to a sufficiently high standard and has appropriate skills, knowledge and experience. The pharmacist assesses his or her own competence against a nationally validated competency framework, either at general or advanced level. This must be substantiated by a portfolio of evidence from daily pharmacy practice. This evidence is then verified by two assessors who are members of the FPMM and is followed, at a later date, by an interview with the assessors.

Gaining membership

The main reason I applied for full membership of the faculty was my conviction that it represents pharmacists with an enviably high standard of performance in prescribing and medicines management, and I wished to achieve this standard. With appropriate diligence (and a lot of memory jogging) I compiled a portfolio of my CPD and my career, reviewing the skills I had acquired and reflecting on my special achievements. I had worked in community and in secondary care at a large teaching hospital before embarking on a continuing course of postgraduate studies, including training as a supplementary prescriber.

With some assistance from the administrative staff at the college, I put together the required documentation and finally submitted my written review in the portfolio format described in the faculty’s handbook, “A guide to the FPMM and how to achieve membership”. This was often my sole guide to the correct submission format.

Once my portfolio had been assessed, I was invited for an interview at the college in Coventry. The interview was a rigorous one, conducted by two experienced pharmacists. Although daunting and thorough, the interview was also an amicable and interactive process during which I felt comfortable enough to put my case forward with enthusiasm. The hard work of compiling the portfolio and the interview was worthwhile, and I achieved membership status.

Although I personally did not have a mentor, mentoring to help associates to achieve full membership is available through the faculty and I would encourage associates intending to become members to make full use of a mentor. Details of the help and support provided through mentoring are available on the faculty website. Mentors’ own experience of being members and how the faculty helps them in their careers will prove invaluable.

Benefits

Membership of the faculty has had a positive impact on me as a community pharmacist. I have the opportunity to meet supplementary prescribers from other sectors of pharmacy, such as academia and hospital as well as practice-based pharmacists.

In September 2006, the faculty organised a mentoring masterclass for supplementary prescribers in London. This was well-attended. The one-day course was intensive and filled in many gaps in my knowledge — assisting me in discussion with my peers in supplementary prescribing as well as providing me with confidence to help mentor others.

The faculty takes a proactive approach and offers encouragement to pharmacists from all sectors. With the faculty’s support, I was recently accepted on an independent prescribing course. And I am confident that I will get additional support from other members of the faculty through the network of experience available through the forum on the college’s website.

Although I gained a master’s degree in 2003, like many community pharmacists, lack of time is the principal obstacle to pursuing higher education. Through mentoring and support, the FPMM aims to help pharmacists set up and undertake research. The college and faculty are also involved in the administration of the Servier Prescribing and Medicines Management Awards. These innovative awards support the implementation of educational and clinical initiatives and fund project development in the areas of osteoporosis, coronary heart disease and diabetes.

I have only been a member of the FPMM for a few months but I have found that my association with the faculty has already provided me with a refreshed sense of direction, access to a wealth of experience, increased confidence in my sector of practice and, most of all, increased ability to perform to the highest standards. I encourage pharmacists to apply to become associates and then work towards becoming full members of the college and the faculty.

I would also encourage members and associates of several years standing to volunteer their views by writing articles for the faculty’s newsletter and offering feedback on how their own membership and being associates has helped them, to the faculty liaison co-ordinator (e-mail: teresa@collpharm.org). Such first-hand knowledge would be of great help to me and other new members in becoming involved in the running of the faculty, and to associates applying for full membership.