Angela Alexander

British pharmacy professionals' beliefs and participation in continuing professional development: a review of the literature.

Objectives  Continuing professional development (CPD) has potential to be useful in pharmacy revalidation but past uptake and attitudes to CPD in Great Britain (GB) need to be mapped. This review examines published literature to chart the participation and beliefs of pharmacy professionals towards CPD in GB in a decade that had seen a formal transition from continuing education to CPD.

Wiltshire pharmacy health promotion training initiative: a telephone survey

A telephone survey of 40 pharmacists before and after attendance on a health promotion course in Wiltshire, conducted using semi‐structured questionnaires, indicated that training led to changes in knowledge and perceived changes in attitude and practice. The value of the increased knowledge was recognised by participants, in particular when talking to patients and other health professionals. The change in attitude, towards a more holistic view of health, is seen by the authors as a positive benefit of training, as it may be of value to the pharmacists. Changes in practice were evident despite recognised constraints.

Internet networking for pharmacists: an evaluation of a mailing list for UK pharmacists

Objective To analyse the content of messages to an internet mailing list for UK pharmacists and to ascertain if the list was performing a continuing professional development (CPD) function.

A Framework for Assessing Continuing Professional Development Activities for Satisfying Pharmacy Revalidation Requirements

Introduction: The United Kingdoms pharmacy regulator contemplated using continuing professional development (CPD) in pharmacy revalidation in 2009, simultaneously asking pharmacy professionals to demonstrate the value of their CPD by showing its relevance and impact. The idea of linking new CPD requirements with revalidation was yet to be explored. Our aim was to develop and validate a framework to guide pharmacy professionals to select CPD activities that are relevant to their work and to produce a score sheet that would make it possible to quantify the impact and relevance of CPD. Methods: We adapted an existing risk matrix, producing a CPD framework consisting of relevance and impact matrices. Concepts underpinning the framework were refined through feedback from 5 pharmacist teacher‐practitioners. We then asked 7 pharmacists to rate the relevance of the frameworks individual elements on a 4‐point scale to determine content validity. We explored views about the framework through focus groups with 6 participants and interviews with 17 participants who had used it formally in a study. Results: The frameworks content validity index was 0.91. Feedback about the framework related to 3 themes of penetrability of the framework, usefulness to completion of CPD, and advancement of CPD records for the purpose of revalidation. Discussion: The framework can help professionals better select CPD activities prospectively, and makes assessment of CPD more objective by allowing quantification, which could be helpful for revalidation. We believe the framework could potentially help other health professionals with better management of their CPD irrespective of their field of practice.

Methodology for assessing the appropriateness of Continuing Professional Development for pharmacy professionals’ revalidation

From April 2010, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) will be responsible for the statutory regulation of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Great Britain (GB).[1] All statutorily regulated health professionals will need to periodically demonstrate their fitness-to-practise through a process of revalidation.[2] One option being considered in GB is that continuing professional development (CPD) records will form a part of the evidence submitted for revalidation, similar to the system in New Zealand.[3] At present, pharmacy professionals must make a minimum of nine CPD entries per annum from 1 March 2009 using the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) CPD framework. Our aim was to explore the applicability of new revalidation standards within the current CPD framework. We also wanted to review the content of CPD portfolios to assess strengths and qualities and identify any information gaps for the purpose of revalidation.Compliance with the DoH requirement for VTE risk assessment was poor. Stickers on medication charts appeared to be effective in increasing the proportion of patients’ prescribed prophylactic treatment for VTE. Reasons for stickers not being attached or completed require investigation. While the number of risk factors increases the chances of receiving prophylaxis, all patients with any risk factor should have been treated, unless contraindicated. Therefore, mechanisms for improving risk assessment and VTE management require further investigation.