1 September 2015
CommuniquÉ from the Pharmacy Practitioner development Committee

The Pharmacy Practitioner Development Committee (PPDC) met in early August 2015 and has continued to progress work on the review of the National competency standards framework for pharmacists in Australia.

Key considerations of the PPDC included the following.

• Enhancing the domain on Leadership and management.  This includes clearly articulating competencies such as displaying self-awareness, motivation and social skill, and a commitment to self-reflection and improvement.  In addition, the revised competency standards in this domain are being mapped against Health LEADS Australia: the Australian health leadership framework.
• Plans for integration of interprofessional learning competencies which were recently endorsed by the 14 health professions regulated under the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.
• Integration of the standards from An advanced pharmacy practice framework for Australia into the revised competency standards to create a single competency framework for pharmacists showing a clear practice continuum.

The PPDC is working towards preparation of a consultation draft which is anticipated to be circulated to PPDC Member organisations later this year.

Shane Jackson

Chair PPDC

 

September 1, 2015
PSA now offers MMR Stage 1 course online

Pharmacists wanting to take the first step towards gaining accreditation for the delivery of Medication Management Reviews (MMRs) as an accredited pharmacist now have a unique opportunity to pursue this career path through new online resources provided by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.

The importance of MMRs was recently highlighted in a landmark study on the impact of medication reviews in Australia.

The study highlighted the benefits of such services and found they are valuable in identifying medication-related problems, improving medication adherence, reducing hospitalisations and minimising the use of potentially inappropriate medications.

The study, undertaken by Australian researchers and published in the internationally reputable Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy journal, concluded that the available evidence suggests clinical medication reviews are beneficial in improving quality use of medications and consumer health outcomes.

With this sort of endorsement, more and more pharmacists are likely to turn to MMRs to further grow their career.

To facilitate this, PSA’s MMR Stage 1, which has a reputation second to none, is now available as a fully online certificate.

Those undertaking the online course receive email support from a PSA-accredited pharmacistnteractive quizzes as they go to provide instant feedback on their progress.

The online course provides self-paced learning from the comfort of their own home and has been structured to remember where each student is up to each time they log in.

There is no need to wait for the certificate as it can be printed out on completion of the final quiz.

The course provides four Group 1 and 12 Group 2 CPD credits.

PSA members enjoy support with member pricing and access to the Accredited Pharmacist Resource Centre to assist in becoming a fully accredited pharmacist.