Chapter 13 - Continuing Professional Development and Self-Learning for Pharmacists

Abstract

Life-long learning (LLL), continuing education (CE), and (more recently) continuing professional development (CPD) were triggered by a realization of healthcare practitioners’ needs to keep up with the fast pace of change in order to provide care to patients that is appropriate, relevant, and evidence-based. While often considered synonymous, CPD is distinct, as it is intended to be driven by the learner's sense of accountability and autonomy, where he or she chooses the subject of need or interest, the content or materials, and the learning space and pace. Today, interest in CPD is seen all over the world, and Ministries of Health, healthcare regulators, and professional bodies advocate CPD as a strategy that leads to better health outcomes. The interest in CPD was soon followed by policies mandating it as prerequisite to licensure and practice. Many forms of CPD and CE programs exist across countries, and there is no one way of applying them. The aim of this chapter is to provide an update on the status of CPD in pharmacy and to describe the crucial elements and requirements of a CPD program. We have also covered aspects related to mandatory accreditation of CPD and the challenges and conditions associated with this.