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Education
Q. What impact will any changes to the structure and delivery of the MPharm and pre-registration year have on the GPhC?
Q. I won't have to undertake continuing professional development (CPD) if I am on the GPhC register unless I deal with patients, will I?
Q. Will the current CPD framework be revised?
Q. Will there be protected time for CPD?
Q. Will I be removed from the register if I fail to submit my CPD records, or they do not meet the standards set by the GPhC?
Q. What will happen to the courses for non-registrants currently accredited by the GPhC?
A. The GPhC will, like the RPSGB, be responsible for setting and securing standards for the MPharm programmes and for the pre-registration year. This will include standards for the pilot sites referred to in the recent Pharmacy White Paper for England: Building on strengths – delivering the future. It will also be responsible for quality assuring the processes to implement those standards in the pilot sites and during full implementation. As with other standards the GPhC will have a duty to consult all stakeholders in relation to setting the education standards and on the processes for securing those standards. The explicit link made in the Order between safe and effective practice and standards of proficiency and education will ensure that education keeps pace with changes in practice and patient expectations as well as science and technology. The underpinning regulatory processes, including appointment of visitors and examiners for example will allow proportionate systems to ensure compliance, are developed and implemented by the GPhC.
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A. CPD will become a statutory requirement for all registrants after the GPhC is established. The GPhC will consult on a proposal to adopt the current standards and guidance for CPD for a transitional period, with effect from when the GPhC acquires operational responsibility. It will produce revised draft CPD standards for consultation at a date to be determined and statutory CPD will be introduced once these standards and the CPD rules have been agreed by the Council and are in place.
Regardless of statutory CPD, if you are on the register the public will expect, and it is mandatory under the current Code of Ethics, that you keep up to date and fit to practise in your chosen field. Part of the evidence that is required to establish fitness to practise is your CPD record. You will still be required to complete CPD relevant to your field of practice and be able to demonstrate that you have done so.
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A. The GPhC will consult on a proposal to adopt the current standards and guidance for CPD for a transitional period, with effect from when the GPhC acquires operational responsibility. It will produce revised draft CPD standards for consultation at a date to be determined.
The need to record CPD is already a professional requirement in the RPSGB’s Code of Ethics and the RPSGB council has set standards for CPD. All pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are required to sign a declaration relating to their CPD when they apply to be retained on the registers every year. The four Chief Pharmaceutical Officers (CPhOs) actively continue to promote this as a matter of best practice. It will be important that all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians develop their CPD portfolios between now and the demerger so that they are prepared for the introduction of statutory CPD when the GPhC opens. Given the commitment made by the 4 CPhOs (endorsed by the Pharmacy Regulation and Leadership Oversight Group), to allow CPD records created in the period before the introduction of a statutory requirement to form part of the assessment process carried out by the GPhC from 2010 onwards, it is unlikely that the format of the records i.e. the CPD cycle, will change. The GPhC will set standards and a framework to provide guidance on, for example the amount and type of CPD to be recorded each year. As with other standards, the GPhC will have a duty to consult all stakeholders before setting the CPD standards and implementing the framework and will build on the current standards set by the RPSGB under its Code of Ethics.
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A. Whether or not there is protected time for CPD is a matter for negotiation with your employer. The Order is not prescriptive in this area. It is important to remember that a CPD record can include critical incident analysis, reading, participating in an audit etc. as well as attendance at Continuing Education (CE) events.
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A. Ultimately yes, but the GPhC is likely to consider a range of proportionate sanctions before taking action to remove someone from the Register. All pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are required to sign a declaration relating to their CPD when they apply to be retained on the registers every year.
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A. The Pharmacy Order contains no proposals for change to the current legal situation, whereby the Council can from time to time publish or provide guidance in respect of education, training, supervision and performance of non registrants, who provide services in connection with those provided by registrants. There has been no declared intention to move away from the current policy of accrediting suitable courses for non registrants, but this will be a matter for the Council of the GPhC to decide when it is up and running.
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