Abstract
BackgroundThe Portuguese Pharmaceutical Society (PPS) implemented a system of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for pharmacists in 2004. This system has evolved throughout the years, and currently all active pharmacists in Portugal are required to participate in the CPD program. Each CPD cycle takes 5 years. In each cycle, pharmacists must collect 15 CPD points, through participation in educational activities. The PPS accreditation process is managed via an online platform, where education/training providers, as well as pharmacists themselves, can submit educational activities for accreditation. Pharmacists may access their CPD status and assess their development at any point. The objective of this study was to analyze and review the educational activities submitted by providers over a 11-year period (2009–2019).MethodsData from activities were retrieved from the PPS CPD online platform. All educational activities were labeled according to the area of pharmaceutical professional focus, type of promoter, and activity type.ResultsDuring the study 3685 activities were analyzed. Over the last decade, submitted activities for accreditation increased in 52.6%. A significantly high proportion (98.9%) of these activities has been accredited. Promoters of activities were mostly pharmacies sectoral associations (29.6%), consultancy/training companies (19.6%), the PPS (18.5%), pharmaceutical industry (17.7%) and wholesalers’ consortia (9.0%). Academia represented only 2.3% of the total amount of educational activities. The most frequent topics were related to “pharmacology & pharmacotherapy” (9.9%), followed by “counselling” (9.8%) and “management & administration” (7.2%). The most accredited type of activities was face-to-face (68.9%) and e-learning trainings (13.1%).ConclusionsThis study shows increasing interest in submitting CPD activities for accreditation between 2009 and 2019, but it also demonstrates that Academia could play a more interventive role in the lifelong learning education of Portuguese pharmacists.
Highlights
The Portuguese Pharmaceutical Society (PPS) implemented a system of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for pharmacists in 2004
Data collection and variables Data from 3800 educational activities were retrieved from the Portuguese Pharmaceutical Society CPD online platform using Microsoft Excel 2019, covering the period 01/01/2009–31/12/2019
Data extracted consisted of: (i) the year in which the educational activity was evaluated; (ii) the name of the activity’s promoter; (iii) the name of the activity submitted to accreditation; (iv) the outcome of PPS evaluation; (v) the presence or absence of evaluation within the activity; (vi) the number of CPD points attributed; (vii) the classification regarding the type of activity; (viii) the activity’s duration (from 1 hour (h) to 5 years); (ix) the total number of participants registered, and; (x) the total number of times that each activity took place in each year
Summary
The Portuguese Pharmaceutical Society (PPS) implemented a system of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for pharmacists in 2004. The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) has adopted the concept of CPD in 2002 and defined CPD as “the responsibility of individual pharmacists for systematic maintenance, development and broadening of knowledge, skills and attitudes, to ensure continuing competence as a professional, throughout their careers” [1]. This is intended to be an on-going cyclical process built over different fundamental pillars: self-appraisal, development of a personal learning plan, taking action or implementing the learning plan, and evaluation [3]. CPD is responsible for knowledge increase, changes of practice and boosts professional development [4]
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