Society Confident That Profession is Maintaining Skills and Knowledge

www.rpsgb.org 23/02/10

80% of registrants achieve “excellent” rating in first six months of CPD call and review.
The regulation directorate of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) is
confident that the pharmacy profession is keeping its competencies, skills, and knowledge of
best practice, actively up to date with the announcement that over 80% of registrants have
achieved a rating of “excellent” in the first wave of its call and review Continuing Professional
Development (CPD) assessment programme.
“Over 3500 records have been called for review since the system went live in July last year,”
says Janet Flint, the Society’s lead for CPD. “Not only are we pleased to report the high
standards of registrants’ achievement in the overall assessment – over 80% of entries
achieved a rating of “excellent” against the review criteria and a further 18% of entries
achieved the “good” standard – but we are also pleased that over 80% of the records
requested were submitted promptly within the specified time limits.”
The Society’s analysis of the data from the first six months of CPD call and review also
revealed that:-
• The average number of entries submitted per record was 15
• The referral rate to the Chief Inspector for non compliance was 1.5%
• The average time between receipt of the record and review and feedback from the
Society being despatched to the registrant was 27 days
• 3.5% of registrants subject to the call requested an extension to the time frame, with
75% of those requests being granted and a further 5% rescinding their original request
“CPD is a key tool which enables the profession to demonstrate its capabilities,
professionalism and expertise, in a day and age where change is constant and innovation
continuous meaning that the resulting challenges to pharmacy professionals have never been
greater,” comments Janet. “Evidence of CPD is likely to form a significant part of the
requirements for the revalidation of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians when introduced to
the profession in the next few years. By taking a formal approach now to CPD we are
demonstrating publicly the standards which professionals are expected to attain and maintain.
This means not only that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have a framework to
support their ongoing professional development, but also, and as a result, that the public can
be reassured that it will receive the first class professional pharmacy practice it expects and
deserves.”