International trends in lifelong learning for pharmacists

Lifelong learning for community pharmacists is shifting from continuing education (CE) towards continuing professional development (CPD) in some countries. The objectives of this report were to compare lifelong learning frameworks for community pharmacists in different countries, and determine to what extent the concept of CPD has been implemented. A literature search was conducted as well as an Internet search on the web sites of professional pharmacy associations and authorities in 8 countries. The results of this review show that the concept of CPD has been implemented primarily in countries that have a long tradition in lifelong learning, such as Great Britain. However, most countries have opted for the CE approach, eg, France, or for a combination of CE and CPD, eg, New Zealand. This approach combines the controllability by regulatory organizations that CE requires with the advantage of sustained behavior change seen in successful CPD programs.