Continuous professional development for public sector pharmacists in South Africa: A case study of mapping competencies in a pharmacists’ preceptor programme
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Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MPDI
Abstract
Lifelong learning among healthcare practitioners is crucial to keep abreast of advances in
therapeutic and service delivery approaches. In South Africa, continuous professional development
(CPD) was mandated (2019) for re-registration of pharmacists to illustrate their learning according to
the South African Pharmacy Council’s (SAPC) competency standards. This paper uses a preceptor
programme linked to the University of the Western Cape School of Pharmacy’s service learning
programme to map the competencies employed by pharmacist preceptors in primary care public
healthcare facilities in Cape Town in an attempt to encourage completion of their annual CPDs
and strengthening the academic-service partnership. Competencies identified were divided into
input competencies related to the preceptor’s role in designing and implementing the educational
programme in their facilities and assisting students to complete their prescribed learning activities,
and output/outcome competencies that emerged from preceptors identifying the facility needs and
employing their input competencies. Input competencies pertained to education, leadership, patient
counselling, collaborative practice and human resources management. Output competencies related
to pharmaceutical infrastructure, quality assurance, professional and health advocacy, primary
healthcare, self-management and patient-centred care.
Description
Keywords
Healthcare practitioners, Pharmacy education, Pharmacy practice, Continuous professional development (CPD), South Africa
Citation
van Huyssteen, M. et al. (2020). Continuous professional development for public sector pharmacists in South Africa: A case study of mapping competencies in a pharmacists’ preceptor programme. Pharmacy , 8(2), 96. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy8020096