CPD for Pharmacists

Since 1999 Focus on Health has provided Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities for a wide range of healthcare professionals. We are very proud to now also include pharmacists.

Our dedicated team strives to generate new solutions to make the CPD environment so much easier to navigate. Focus on Health’s pre-selection of activities and providing these timeously, save you time and money. While colleagues search for activities, are frustrated with data bundle fees, slow internet connections, your CPD is sorted. This gives you the advantage of always knowing we have your back when it comes to your CPD.

What is CPD and how does it work?

Registered persons are required to keep abreast of developments in pharmacy practice and the pharmaceutical sciences, professional standards requirements, the laws governing pharmacy and medicines and advances in knowledge and technology relating to the use of medicines. This can only be achieved by an individual’s personal commitment to continuing professional development (CPD). CPD is the process by which persons registered with the SAPC continuously enhance their competence throughout their professional careers, and it encompasses a range of activities including continuing education and supplementary training.

The CPD process for pharmacists is not a point based system but is rather a comprehensive four step process. These steps are:

  • Step 1: Reflection

    • What do I need to know?
    • What do I need to be able to do?
  • Step 2: Planning

    • How can I learn what I need to learn?
    • What am I going to do to learn?
  • Step 3: Implementation

    • What did I do to achieve the learning outcome?
  • Step 4: Evaluation

    • What have I learnt?
    • How have I applied my learning?

Our CPD activities

All our activities are self-study material, which can be completed in your own time. These activities consist of articles from open source peer reviewed journals and each activity is accompanied by a multiple-choice questionnaire which you may complete as part of the Evaluation step of the CPD cycle.For the year 2022 we have selected six topics relevant to pharmacists. We’ve developed these activities to make it as easy as possible for you to complete the four step process.

  • Compassion fatigue
    Constantly being exposed to patients’ suffering can lead to depersonalised care that lacks compassion and fails to meet patients’ needs. Last year we addressed burnout in the healthcare setting and its impact on healthcare workers. This article aims to explore the principles of bioethics when dealing with compassion fatigue. Pharmacists often work in multi-disciplinary groups, with colleagues and the public, and knowledge of compassion fatigue is of value in these situations.
  • Posture
    Patients often complain of back pain and many healthcare professionals attribute this to ‘bad’ posture. Learning more about ‘good’ or ‘bad’ posture and the role this plays in back pain can assist you to promote health and wellness in your patients. Pharmacists often work in multi-disciplinary groups, with colleagues and the public, and knowledge of posture is of value in these situations.
  • Vaccine mandates
    The purpose of this activity is to explore the principles of bioethics when considering whether vaccine mandates are ethical. Vaccines result in immunization which reduces the transmission of disease. Examples for which vaccines have proved effective in reducing harmful diseases, include polio, measles, and even influenza (flu) is combatted by yearly vaccination. Vaccine mandates are not new. The first U.S. vaccine mandate occurred in 1809 to deter the occurrence of the deadly smallpox virus. Pharmacists often work in multi-disciplinary groups, with colleagues and the public, and knowledge of vaccine mandates is of value in these situations.
  • Working effectively in a team
    The purposes of this article is to explore how to work effectively as part of a team. The study aims to find relationships between ethnicity and personality types in order to enhance their value creation in the workplace. Also, if there are correlations between them and team roles, managers will be better equipped when making decisions regarding team building and cohesiveness. Pharmacists often work in multi-disciplinary groups and with colleagues, and knowledge of how to work effectively as part of a team is of value in these situations.
  • Internet gaming disorder & ADHD
    Videogame addiction has been suggested as a tentative disorder in 2013 by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and was recently officially recognized as a mental health disorder by the World Health Organization (WHO). Although a few studies have identified attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a key risk factor for Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD), the interplay between ADHD and IGD symptoms with gender differences across cultures remains to be further examined. Pharmacists often work in multi-disciplinary groups, with colleagues and the patients with ADHD, and knowledge of the role that internet gaming disorder plays is of value in these situations.
  • Antiobiotic stewardship
    The efficacy of antibiotics is slowly being compromised by a growing number of antibiotic resistant strains due to inappropriate use of antibiotics. Antibiotics are used inappropriately in 75% of cases involving dental conditions. Implementing antibiotic stewardship efforts in dental practice are an opportunity to improve antibiotic prescribing practices and to curb the pandemic issue of antibiotic resistance. Pharmacists often work in multi-disciplinary groups, with colleagues and the public, and knowledge of antibiotic stewardship in the field of dentistry is of value in these situations.

Who needs to complete CPD activities?

According to Board Notice 201 of 2019 all registered pharmacists shall be required to comply with requirements for CPD effective from 1 January 2020 and are required to submit a minimum of six CPD activities by 31 December annually.

How can Focus on Health help me?

We realise that CPD may be new and overwhelming to many pharmacists and therefore we would like to assure our members we will be there every step of the way to assist with the CPD cycle. We will also keep record of your portfolio of evidence on your behalf, as required by the SAPC. You can also expect to be continuously receive access to new activities as new topics emerge (for example, COVID-19).

Fees

The annual membership fee is R1,100.00 per annum. This includes the articles and their multiple choice questionnaires, as well as assistance to upload the four step CPD process onto the SAPC platform.

So what now?

If you would like to become a member you may complete the application online or download the application form below.

If you would like to receive more information, or have any queries, please fill out the form below and we will get back to you.