On 30 March 2018, revalidation replaced the requirement for pharmacist and pharmacy technician registrants to complete CPD.
Pharmacists will need to carry out, record and submit four CPD records (of which two must be planned), a peer discussion record and a reflective account record.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
- Ongoing professional development is crucial in keeping you up to date and also gives the public reassurance of your safe and effective practice.
- The GPhC want to see CPD entries that have relevance to the people using your services so you’ll need to provide a real example, rather than a hypothetical example, of how your learning has benefited those people.
- The four CPD entries should aim to describe a variety of learning methods which will demonstrate a breadth of learning and development activities.
- Your CPD entries should also reflect your scope of practice. If you have a variety of roles your CPD entries should reflect that breadth of practice.
Planned learning activity
- At least two of your four CPD entries should be planned learning activities.
- A planned learning activity is when you actively decide to develop your knowledge or skills in advance of carrying out the learning activity.
Examples:
- Attending a conference
- Attending a masterclass, workshop or training session
- Reviewing current guidelines
- Undertaking elearning
- Reviewing the evidence base
How UKCPA can support you
- The UKCPA has an annual programme of practitioner-led education and trainingin a variety of clinical areas, and we are accredited as a training provider by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. All our events are developed and delivered by experienced pharmacy practitioners, who work at the leading edge of their practice area and are committed to sharing expertise with the pharmacy profession. Their knowledge and experience can be shared with you so that you get first hand information and opinion to take back to your daily practice.
- UKCPA members are also able to access additional and ongoing support for their practice through our online forums. There are forums dedicated to several clinical areas so if you’re looking for something specific, you can see if it’s being discussed or you can ask the question yourself. These forums enable you to post a message, ask advice, respond to a query, upload a document to share, promote good practice, or share important information, regardless of where you are practising.
Unplanned learning activity
- We’re all constantly learning, and often this happens on the fly without being planned.
- Unplanned learning might be triggered when talking to a colleague, reading an article, or when faced with a complex patient case.
Examples:
- When faced with a patient, you identify a knowledge gap which you then research
- You attend a meeting which covered information you weren’t previously aware of
- You attend a training course which touched on an interesting area you weren’t aware of
- You read an interesting article in a journal and decide to find out more
How UKCPA can support you
- Why not take a look through the discussions on our online forums? You might come across some information that you weren’t previously aware of. If so, join in the conversation and see where it leads you.
- Have a look through the articles in Rx magazine. The articles cover various areas of clinical pharmacy, written by expert practitioners. Have a browse and wee what grabs your attention.
Peer discussion
- Peer discussions are useful to explore, with another person, what you actually do in practice and the reasoning behind how you made decisions, as well as developing other skills such as communication.
- They provide a supportive environment in which to aid your reflection and receive feedback on your areas of strength, and suggestions on how to improve your practice and develop further skills. Your peer may ask you questions about you and your practice to help draw out reflections that you might not have reached on your own. This feedback allows you to focus your continued professional development and also reduces the risk of professional isolation.
- You are free to choose your own peer to have a discussion with. The discussion can be carried out with someone who understands the aspects of the work you do and with someone that you trust and respect. This may be someone in your workplace, or it may be someone from another background who can bring a new perspective on your practice.
- The GPhC emphasise that you should be comfortable with your choice of peer. For example, your employer cannot force you to have a particular peer if you do not want to; neither can your employer require your peer discussion to be a part of your appraisal. The GPhC will ask you to make a declaration when you renew your registration to make sure that you selected your peer.
- The topic of conversation can be chosen by you, allowing you to select a topic which relates to specific areas of your practice that you wish to discuss. It may be quality improvement activities you are involved in, any critical incidents or significant events you have come across. Or it may be a review of complaints, compliments and other feedback you have received from people using your services. Perhaps you may wish to discuss your performance and development reviews, your CPD activities or your reflective account (see below).
- Peer discussions can take place in a real-time communication format which is suitable for you: face to face, over the phone, via web chat, or via a video call.
- For more detailed information on how to choose a peer, the nature of the discussion and more, have a look at the GPhC guidance.
How UKCPA can support you
- The UKCPA offers opportunities for peer discussions at our learning eventswhich are held throughout the year in various locations in the UK. Please contact usif you would like to book a peer discussion in a supportive environment to help you improve your practice and your care to patients, and complete this aspect of your revalidation.
Reflective account
- The purpose of a reflective account is to encourage you to think about how you meet the GPhC standards for pharmacy professionalsin the work you do as a pharmacy professional.
- The GPhC will ask you to provide a reflective account of how you met one or more of the standards for pharmacy professionals. The GPhC will tell you which standards to choose from each year.
- The reflective account should include an overview of your work, including your setting, your main roles and responsibilities and the typical users of your service.
- It should also include a statement of how you have met the chosen standards in the last 12 months, and you will be asked to provide examples to support your statement.
- You may find that you can demonstrate meeting more than one standard using just one example.
How UKCPA can support you
- Why not use the peer discussion to chat with your peer about how to complete your reflective account? Our experts will be able to give you some advice. Please contact usif you would like to book a discussion with a UKCPA peer.
- Have a look at our tips for writing a Reflective Account. This may give you some ideas on how to write yours.
Resources:
General Pharmaceutical Council. Revalidation Framework.
General Pharmaceutical Council. Revalidation at a glance.
Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Revalidation: Everything you need to know.
