Advanced recognition
November 10, 2015
The Australian Pharmacy
Council has awarded certificates
to Australia’s first ever Advanced
Practice Pharmacists, who were
among 43 participants in a pilot
credentialing program undertaken
by the APC.
67% of the pharmacists in the
trial were evaluated at ‘Advanced
- Stage 3’ (credential level) while
the other third were evaluated at
‘Advanced - Stage 2’ (consolidation
level), the APC said.
The program used the Advanced
Pharmacy Practice Framework
(APPF) for Australia as a tool for
evaluating practitioner performance
and guiding development.
Participants demonstrated
the impact of their practice
via a portfolio of their training,
achievements and experience.
“Each portfolio was independently
evaluated by panels of trained
credentialing evaluators,” the
Council said, with evaluators
including both pharmacists and
other health professionals such as
doctors and nurses.
APC president Debra Rowell said
the pilot represented a substantial
commitment to the broader
community by the Council, which
will now be undertaking further
evaluation of the trial.
“The pilot program is a fantastic
foundation for the future of formal
professional development and
recognition of pharmacists in
Australia,” said Dr Ian Coombes,
inaugural chair of the APC
Credentialing Committee.
Dr Shane Jackson, chair of
the Pharmacy Practitioner
Development Committee that
developed the APPF, said it had
been extremely satisfying to see
it used in a constructive way to
support professional development
and ultimately recognise the
achievements of the practitioner.
The outcome and feedback
reports for participants identify
professional strengths and
opportunities for further
development against the 30
competencies in the APPF.
“The report will be a helpful tool
in complying with the learning
plan requirements in the revised
CPD registration standard recently
announced by the Pharmacy Board
of Australia,” the APC said.
Pharmacists credentialed
under the trial can use the post-nominative
Adv. Prac. Pharm.
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