Regional coordinators of continuing pharmacy education. Seven years later

In 1976 a regional network of coordinators of continuing education was established in British Columbia to increase the accessibility of programs to all pharmacists. The purpose of this paper is to report the contributions of the network to continuing education since its inauguration. As of 1983, 94 pharmacists have been trained to assist with the design and management of continuing education programs and they have had a significant impact on regional programming. When yearly summary statistics from the four years prior to the network are compared to the seven subsequent years an approximate five-fold increase in the average number of programs is found. There is also a greater than two fold increase in the average number of contact hours and an approximate six-fold increase in the average number of registrations. The network of coordinators has increased not only the quantity but also the relevancy of programs by focusing on regional needs. In addition, the network has had spill-over benefits to the University of British Columbia and the licensing body in some of their other province-wide activities such as teleconferencing competency assessment, and poison prevention programs.