Due to the challenges being faced by pharmacy technicians during the COVID-19 pandemic, ACP Council has made accommodations to the Continuing Competence Program (CCP) requirements for the 2019-20 continuing education (CE) cycle. Most pharmacy technicians must meet the following requirements as part of their application for annual practice permit renewal for the 2020-21 year:
- a minimum of eight (8) CEUs documented in one or more Learning Records, and
- the prescribed learning activity for the 2019-20 CE cycle.
Most pharmacy technicians will not be required to submit an implementation record this year. However, those who are in Category 2, 3, and 4 (per the CCP Continuing Professional Development Rules for Pharmacy Technicians), and those who have a directive(s) from the competence committee, must complete the directives from the competence committee. This includes completion of the regular CCP requirements (completion of at least 15 CEUs documented in one or more Learning Records, the prescribed learning activity, and implementation of at least one CEU of learning into practice and documented in an implementation record). Specific correspondence will be sent to those pharmacy technicians.
While these accommodations will help with your workload as you renew your practice permit, this is not intended to undermine the importance of the CCP and, in particular, the implementation record. ACP still expects pharmacy technicians to implement their learning into their practice for the benefit of their patients, colleagues and themselves. The only difference this year is you are not required to document your implementation. CCP requirements must be completed by November 30, 2020, as part of annual practice permit renewal.
When entering your CEUs into the CCP portal this year, please pay attention to the information provided. The system will not indicate that you have completed the accommodated requirements. However, this will not impede your ability to renew your practice permit.
To complete your CCP requirements, login to the CCP web portal. For more information, refer to the Pharmacy Technician Continuing Competence Guide.
