Perceptions of CPD within the pharmacy profession

Abstract

Focal points □ A questionnaire was used to determine current perceptions of continuing professional development within the pharmacy profession in Northern Ireland □ Although the majority of respondents understood the concept, few pharmacists currently practise this method of professional development □ Almost 90 per cent of responding pharmacists agreed/strongly agreed that it was essential for all practising pharmacists to participate in continuing professional development □ Lack of time, remuneration and locum cover, location and type of courses provided, and lack of understanding about continuing professional development were all identified as barriers to participation

Community pharmacists' preferences for continuing education delivery in Australia

“…[16][17][18] The practical effectiveness of this process is, however, called into question by this sample of pharmacists. Concerns exist about the way to document activities, a lessstructured and consequently less-rigorous approach than attendance-based approaches, and the ease with which CPD reporting might be faked.…”

Scottish pharmacists’ views and attitudes towards continuing professional development

“…A study carried out in 2001 aimed to discover perceptions of pharmacists in Northern Ireland on CPD. All pharmacists in Northern Ireland were sent a questionnaire (n = 1689; response rate 24%) and factors such as lack of time, remuneration, shortage of locum cover and lack of understanding of CPD were all identified as barriers to participation [8]. A further study by questionnaire sent to all pharmacists in one English region (n = 750; response rate 43%) evaluated the current practices of pharmacists with regard to their professional development and found that 90% of respondents had undertaken continuing education in the previous 12 months [9].…”

Gender Differences in Motivation and Learning Preferences of Pharmacists in Lifelong Learning

“…On the other hand, when we compared different studies which determined the most important barriers in CE-or CPD-context, no major differences are observed. Time/job constraints, location, family responsibilities, relevance of courses and financial incentives are the most important barriers in both CE and CPD [6,8]. Further research needs to confirm the value of these results when implementing in a future CPD system.…”

“…Barriers in both CE and CPD, such as lack of time and motivation were found [1,[6][7][8]. Remuneration, locum cover and lack of understanding of CPD were also identified as barriers to participate in CPD [8].…”

“…By profiling pharmacists based on their motivation and preferences for CE courses, we try to understand how we can engage pharmacists in a system of CPD. Previous motivation research is mostly based on the barriers to participate in CE and CPD [6][7][8]19]. Unlike these earlier studies, we do not ask for the experienced barriers.…”