Developing Pharmacists Post Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) Pathway

Clinical Supervision Bulletin – July 2021

Issue #4

Who is this bulletin aimed at?

Pharmacists as well as their managers / supervisors who have:

Completed their Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) training pathway (or equivalent)

Completed their independent prescribing qualification

As a pharmacist, how can I develop?

There are lots of areas you may wish to focus on depending on your career aspirations and workforce need.

There are two frameworks that you can use as a guide in developing as an advanced practice pharmacy professional.

The NHS multi-professional framework for advanced clinical practice in England

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s ‘Advanced Pharmacy Framework’

What is advanced practice?

NHS England defines advanced practice as:

“A level of practice which is delivered by experienced registered health and care practitioners. It is a level of practice characterised by a high degree of autonomy and complex decision making.”

How does advanced practice differ to being an advanced clinical practitioner (ACP)?

An ACP is normally a health care professional (with a Masters) who has completed a specific advanced clinical practice course. They work as part of a multidisciplinary team to autonomously manage and care for a group of patients.

Please note - pharmacists may be working at or working towards a level of advanced practice but might not be in an advanced clinical practitioner role.

Where can I find more information?

Further information may be found in this Advanced Pharmacist Practice Handbook. It is intended as a resourceful tool to support the development of pharmacists in advanced practice.

What are the key areas of development?

There are four themes that are common to both frameworks that you may want to focus on in your development. These are:

Clinical Practice

Leadership and Management

Education

Research

An ACP Personal Development Plan template has been produced to help record your development plan.

Clinical supervision is key!

To facilitate your continual professional development (CPD) into advanced practice - effective mentoring is essential.

Once embedded and trained it is still recommended that pharmacy professionals have:

Regular safety debriefs

Personal development meetings approximately every 3 months (frequency may vary depending on pharmacist and roles)

Please note there is no timescale for completion of advanced frameworks (unless defined specifically in role). They should be used as a guide to help develop the pharmacist in improving care and services.