It’s tempting to stay in a routine when it comes to earning your CEUs, but the practice of pharmacy in Alberta is evolving and growing. Practice is getting more complex, and patient expectations are rising.
The Continuing Competence Program is a great framework for keeping yourself ahead of the curve by investing in your personal and professional goals. Get your creativity flowing with a few examples of inspiring and purposeful activities that other pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have done to earn CEUs!
Take a cue from your patients
Your patients are a great source of ideas for CEUs. Do they ask you about a drug you aren’t familiar with? Or potential interactions with herbal supplements or homeopathic treatments they may be taking? Earn CEUs by researching potential interactions and turning your work into an implementation record.
Keep informed of the latest health and wellness trends
Your patients may be hearing a lot of health (mis)information as trends come and go. Learn more about the latest health, diet, and wellness trends (for example: sports and stress relief; fad diets) and look at the potential health implications or drug interactions that your patients and other pharmacists would need to be aware of. Make a poster presentation so that your colleagues can learn too.
Learn a new lab test
Is there a lab test that you are not as comfortable with as others? Research when it would be appropriate to request the lab test, how to order it, what to order, and how to interpret the lab results.
Become more familiar with a regulatory or practice issue
Research a regulatory or practice issue that interests you and remain informed on issues as they evolve. You might be interested in exploring background information found in past issues of The Link, or other sources like research journals.
Earn CEUs while networking and strengthening your inter-professional relationships
Attend a learning event, research talk, or seminar hosted by another health profession. In addition to learning about, or refining your knowledge of, other health professions, you can build and strengthen your inter-professional relationships at the same time.
Share your knowledge of pharmacy with other health professionals
Generate a conversation with a physician or another health professional and see what they are interested in learning more about. You could then provide them with an in-service.
These are just a few examples of outside-the-box activities completed by fellow pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. As you work on your Continuing Competence Programs in 2017 and 2018, we encourage you to combine your creativity and professional judgement to think of new ways to build competence and confidence.
