A Five-State Continuing Professional Development Pilot Program for Practicing Pharmacists

Objective. To assess the long-term sustainability of continuing professional development (CPD) training in pharmacy practice and learning behaviors.Methods. This was a 3-year posttrial survey of pharmacists who had participated in an unblinded randomized controlled trial of CPD. The online survey assessed participants' perceptions of pharmacy practice, learning behaviors, and sustainability of CPD. Differences between groups on the posttrial survey responses and changes from the trial's follow-up survey to the posttrial survey responses within the intervention group were compared. Results. Of the 91 pharmacists who completed the original trial, 72 (79%) participated in the sustainability survey. Compared to control participants, a higher percentage of intervention participants reported in the sustainability survey that they had utilized the CPD concept (45.7% vs 8.1%) and identified personal learning objectives (68.6% vs 43.2%) during the previous year. Compared to their follow-up survey responses, lower percentages of intervention participants reported identifying personal learning objectives (94.3% vs 68.6%), documenting their learning plan (82.9% vs 22.9%) and participating in learning by doing (42.9% vs 14.3%) in the sustainability survey. In the intervention group, many of the improvements to pharmacy practice items were sustained over the 3-year period but were not significantly different from the control group. Conclusion. Sustainability of a CPD intervention over a 3-year varied. While CPD-trained pharmacists reported utilizing CPD concepts at a higher rate than control pharmacists, their CPD learning behaviors diminished over time.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sustainability of Improvements from Continuing Professional Development in Pharmacy Practice and Learning Behaviors

McConnell

Delate

Newlon

2015

“…4 Florida was the first state where CE was mandated for pharmacists in 1965. 5 It is very important to understand the difference between CE and CPD and realize that the purpose of CPD is not to replace CE. In fact, CE is an integral part of a professional's CPD.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

US and International Health Professions’ Requirements for Continuing Professional Development

Tran

Tofade

Thakkar

et al. 2014

There is not a comprehensive global analysis of continuing professional development (CPD) and continuing education (CE) in the major health professions in published literature. The aim of this article is to summarize findings from the US and international literature on CPD and CE practices in the health professions, comparing the different requirements and frameworks to see what similarities and challenges exist and what the future focus should be for the pharmacy profession. A literature review was conducted on CPD and CE in selected health professions, namely pharmacy, medicine, nursing, ophthalmology, dentistry, public health, and psychology. Over 300 papers from the health professions were retrieved and screened. Relevant articles based on the abstracts and introductions were summarized into tabular form by profession, minimum requirements for licensure, nature of credits, guidelines on how to record CE and CPD activities, and specific CE and CPD definitions. Wide variations exist among the health professions. Lessons learned from this information can be used to further clarify and define the role of CE and CPD and self-directed lifelong learning in pharmacy and the health professions.

“…7 In preparation for the study, 2 instructors from the school's Division of Pharmacy Practice and Experiential Education who had been trained during the North Carolina ACPE CPD pilot programs were chosen to serve as CPD mentors. 10 The school's hospital and community IPPEs are month-long experiences that take place in the summer following the first and second years, respectively. The primary intent of the IPPEs is to facilitate students' continuing professional development in the context of the hospital and community pharmacy practice settings.…”

Section: Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…6 Further, a 5-state CPD pilot program for practicing pharmacists in Indiana, Iowa, North Carolina, Washington, and Wisconsin concluded that "with appropriate training and support, pharmacists can use a CPD approach to their lifelong learning and professional development. 10 The North Carolina Board of Pharmacy became the first pharmacy board in the United States to approve CPD for pharmacists. After completion of required education and training programs on the method, pharmacists can use CPD as a way to renew their licenses in North Carolina.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of SMART Learning Objectives to Introduce Continuing Professional Development Into the Pharmacy Curriculum

Tofade

Khandoobhai

Leadon

2012

Objective. To determine whether a 2-year continuing professional development (CPD) training program improved first-year (P1) and second-year (P2) pharmacy students' ability to write SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timed) learning objectives. Design. First-year students completed live or online CPD training, including creating portfolios and writing SMART objectives prior to their summer introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE). In year 2, P1 and P2 students were included. SMART learning objectives were graded and analyzed. Assessment. On several objectives, the 2011 P1 students (n 5 130) scored higher than did the P2 cohort (n 5 105). In 2011, P2 students outscored their own performance in 2010. In 2011, P1 students who had been trained in online modules performed the same as did live-session trainees with respect to SMART objectives. Conclusion. With focused online or live training, students are capable of incorporating principles of CPD by writing SMART learning objectives.