Reviewing Competence in Practice: Reform of Continuing Professional Development for Irish Pharmacists

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy practice and professional regulation
• Healthcare professional education
• Quality assurance in healthcare

Background:

• Significant reforms to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements for Irish pharmacists were implemented in 2015.
• The new system mandates quality assurance for both practitioner engagement in CPD and practitioner competence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of the development and implementation of new CPD quality assurance processes for Irish pharmacists.
• To analyze the outcomes observed in the initial four years of these quality assurance processes.

Main Methods:

• Pharmacists are required to document learning activities in an electronic portfolio (ePortfolio).
• Mandatory ePortfolio Review process for all pharmacists every five years.
• Random sampling for Practice Review for patient-facing roles.

Main Results:

• Nearly 3000 pharmacists participated in ePortfolio Review (2016-2019), with 96.2% demonstrating appropriate CPD engagement.
• Almost 200 pharmacists underwent Practice Review (2017-2019), with 97.5% showing required competence.
• Pharmacists failing Practice Review had previously passed ePortfolio Review, indicating a potential disconnect.

Conclusions:

• The implemented quality assurance processes for CPD in Irish pharmacy show high levels of practitioner engagement and competence.
• The findings suggest that CPD engagement, while important, may not be a perfect surrogate for demonstrating professional competence.
• Further consideration is needed on how professions measure competence versus engagement in continuing education.