The Production of a Framework of Competences for Pharmacy Practice in the European Union

Abstract

Abstract:The goal of the PHAR-QA (quality assurance in European pharmacy education and training) project is the production of a European framework for a quality assurance system based on competences for pharmacy practice. The PHAR-QA framework will be European, consultative and will encompass the various aspects of pharmacy practice. In this review, we describe the methodology to be used in the project and the first stage in the development of this framework. Using the proposals for competences produced by our previous PHARMINE (Pharmacy education in Europe) project, together with those of other sources, three university professors of pharmacy (Authors 2 through 4) produced a list of three major competency domains that reflect the activities of practitioners: Patient Care Competences, Personal Competences and Management and Organizational Structure Competences. Each domain was subdivided into nine, nine and eight competencies, respectively, for a total of 27 major competencies that were further subdivided into an average of five supporting competences per major competence, giving a total of 140 proposals for competences for pharmacy practice. The 27 and 140 proposals were ranked by an expert panel of seven university professors of pharmacy (Authors 5 through 11). The panel also commented on the proposed competences. On the basis of the ranks and comments, a list of 68 proposals for competences was produced. This list was then examined by the expert panel and a new version based on their comments produced. The latter process was repeated twice based on Delphi methodology. This review presents this process and the 68 proposals. We invite the pharmacy community to participate in the second stage of the elaboration of the PHAR-QA competence framework for pharmacy practice by ranking the proposals and adding comments. It is anticipated that this survey will stimulate a productive discussion on pharmacy education and practice by the various stakeholders (department staff and students, community, hospital and industrial pharmacists, as well as pharmacists working in clinical biology and other branches, together with representatives of chambers and associations).

A survey of pharmacists’ perception of foundation level competencies in African countries

“…The finding is in consonance with similar evidence from the field of medicine that demonstrates the relevance of the Canadian CanMEDS Physician Competency Framework to medical practice in the Netherlands [ 51 ], Denmark [ 52 , 53 ] and Australia [ 54 ]. It is also in line with evidence from studies that show consensus between countries in Europe on the relevance of a core set of competencies for pharmacy education and practice [ 42 , 55 ].…”

Competencies for the position of the Responsible Person in good distribution practice

“…A review of the competencies from PHARMINE and PHAR-QA was performed whereby relevant competencies such as leadership, good documentation skills and other professional skills were identified, extracted and adapted for this research competency from all sources. The competencies collected were compared to already implemented frameworks including the study of Atkinson and team, the Phar-QA project and European legislation (Atkinson et al, 2014,).…”

The effectiveness and impact on performance of pharmacy-related competency development frameworks: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…10,15 Other organisations have also developed regional, national, and institutional frameworks that map the expectations for pharmacy practice in the specified region or country. [23][24][25][26][27] A 2015 survey of 48 countries across the six World Health Organization (WHO) regions, showed that competency frameworks in pharmacy were either already in use or being developed in approximately 60% of the countries surveyed. 28 Pharmacy-related competency frameworks generally comprise competencies grouped into clusters (or domains), and sub-divided into respective behavioural indicators (or behaviours).…”