News

Advanced Recognition for Pharmacists

The Australian Pharmacy Council has awarded certificates to Australia’s first ever Advanced Practice Pharmacists, who were among 43 participants in a pilot credentialing program undertaken by the APC.

67% of the pharmacists in the trial were evaluated at ‘Advanced - Stage 3’ (credential level) while the other third were evaluated at ‘Advanced - Stage 2’ (consolidation level), the APC said.  The program used the Advanced
Pharmacy Practice Framework (APPF) for Australia as a tool for evaluating practitioner performance and guiding development. 

Participants demonstrated the impact of their practice via a portfolio of their training, achievements and experience.  “Each portfolio was independently evaluated by panels of trained credentialing evaluators,” the
Council said, with evaluators including both pharmacists and other health professionals such as doctors and nurses.

APC president Debra Rowell said the pilot represented a substantial commitment to the broader community by the Council, which will now be undertaking further evaluation of the trial.  “The pilot program is a fantastic
foundation for the future of formal professional development and recognition of pharmacists in Australia,” said Dr Ian Coombes, inaugural chair of the APC Credentialing Committee.

Dr Shane Jackson, chair of the Pharmacy Practitioner Development Committee that developed the APPF, said it had been extremely satisfying to see it used in a constructive way to support professional development and ultimately recognise theachievements of the practitioner.  The outcome and feedback reports for participants identify professional strengths and opportunities for further development against the 30 competencies in the APPF.  “The report will be a helpful tool in complying with the learning plan requirements in the revised CPD registration standard recently announced by the Pharmacy Board of Australia,” the APC said.

Pharmacists credentialed under the trial can use the postnominative Adv. Prac. Pharm.

Source: pharmacydaily.com.au, Tuesday 10 November 2015