The Council of the Pharmaceutical Society NI has today launched a 12-week public consultation on proposals to update its Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Framework.
Speaking about the public consultation, Dr Jim Livingstone, President of Council stated:
“Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is vitally important to ensure that pharmacists in Northern Ireland maintain their professional standards and are continually developing their practise. The CPD Framework outlines the form and manner by which pharmacists can meet their CPD obligations.
“We have carried out a review of the current Framework, and are proposing a simplified and shorter document, which is focused on ensuring pharmacists fully understand their obligations, which will be supported by further guidance to help explain the regime.
“Some of the main proposals include changes to the number of CPD cycles, the total number of CPD hours, and the overall pass mark, bringing the latter into line with post-graduate qualifications. Changes are also proposed to the requirements for those joining the register after more than 12 months out of pharmacy practice.
“Subject to the outcome of this consultation, the proposed new framework will be introduced in the CPD year 2020/21.
“I encourage pharmacists, the public and our stakeholders in Northern Ireland to respond to this public consultation on the CPD Framework 2020. The Framework will be very important to pharmacists, but it also plays an important role in maintaining public confidence in the pharmacy profession. This revised document will become the foundation upon which we develop a continuing fitness to practise programme for pharmacists in Northern Ireland”.
Notes
The 12-week public consultation will close at 12 noon on Tuesday 21 January 2020.
The Consultation on the proposed 2020 Continuing Professional Development Framework , information on how to respond to the consultation and relevant consultation documents can be found by following this link: www.psni.org.uk/publications/consultations/