CCP requirements

About the Continuing Competence Program

Maintaining competence is a professional responsibility and the hallmark of self-regulated professionals. In this context, maintenance doesn’t mean staying the same, it means keeping up with (or ahead of) the changes around you.

According to your Code of Ethics, it is your professional responsibility to

• continuously improve your level of professional knowledge and skill,
• take responsibility for maintaining a high standard of professional competence,
• evaluate your individual practice and assume responsibility for improvement, and
• keep informed about new pharmaceutical knowledge.

According to the professionalism framework, an engaged pharmacy professional who is an active learner

• seeks out learning opportunities;
• keeps knowledge and professional skills up to date;
• maintains current understandings of the healthcare community they practise in (e.g., providers, agencies,
• policies);
• regularly self-evaluates and pursues opportunities for development; and
• embraces change and is committed to learning new things.

ACP has created the Continuing Competence Program (CCP) to help you meet these responsibilities. By identifying appropriate learning activities and implementing that learning into practice, you can continually build your competence and confidence to assure yourself, your patients, and your healthcare colleagues that you are providing quality care throughout your career.

CCP cycle

The CCP requires the following of all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians each continuing education (CE) cycle:

• For pharmacists, the CE cycle starts June 1 of any year and ends May 31 of the following year.
• For pharmacy technicians, the CE cycle starts December 1 of any year and ends November 30 of the following year.

Requirements

Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can access all program materials through the CCP portal. You will fill out all forms, upload documents, and compile a portfolio of your learning in your own secure online repository.

1. You must complete at least 15 continuing education units (CEUs) during each CE cycle

CEUs can be earned from either accredited or non-accredited learning activities. One hour of learning activities is equivalent to one CEU. You may claim to the nearest quarter of an hour for the time spent on a learning activity.

2. You must record all learning on one or more learning records

The learning record is an online form on the CPP portal. You must complete it for all accredited and non-accredited learning. On the learning record, you will record

• the title of the learning activity;
• the date it was completed;
• the number of CEUs that you are claiming;
• for accredited learning, the accrediting body and accreditation number;
• the type of learning activity (group program, workshop, self-study, etc.);
• the competency categories that the learning relates to;
• whether you acquired new knowledge of skills or confirmed that your knowledge or skills are current;
• the key elements that you learned; and
• the impact that the learning will have on your practice.

You will be required to describe the learning activity and explain how it relates to the competency category chosen. Although this seems like a lot of documentation, many of the categories consist of checkboxes or drop-down lists. We expect it will typically take only five to 10 minutes to complete the learning record. Please keep all proof of learning for a minimum of two years.

You may complete as many learning records as they wish. However, in a CE cycle, you must submit learning records that document at least 15 CEUs.

3. You must implement at least one CEU of learning into your practice and document this on an implementation record

The implementation record documents

• which learning you have implemented into your practice,
• why you chose to implement it,
• what your objective was for implementing this learning, and
• how you implemented your learning.

4. You must complete any required learning assigned by the competence committee

The CCP program rules allow the competence committee to identify required learning that must be completed by all pharmacists or pharmacy technicians. The prescribed learning is available in the CCP portal, under the self-assessment/prescribed activities section.

5. Self-assessment (OPTIONAL)

In addition to the learning records and the implementation records sections of the CCP portal, there is a self–assessment section. Completion of the self-assessment is optional, but we encourage you to use the tools there to understand your current work environment, assess your practice, professional competencies, and/or jurisprudence knowledge, and plan your learning and implementation objectives accordingly. Completing these activities will help you identify and plan learning and implementation activities that are appropriate to your practice.

Practice Improvement Program

In some cases, registrants may be referred to ACP’s Practice Improvement Program (PIP). While participating in the program, registrants will work with the ACP competence staff and the competence committee to develop and carry out a plan to improve areas of their practice. The competence committee will assign activities to help those referred to the program to learn and improve their practice.

For more information on the Practice Improvement Program, refer to the CCP guide and CCP rules for both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians found below and our Full Scale article.

Program resources

You may access the CCP portal here. To learn more about the competence program, complete the CCP tutorial available in the CCP portal.

• CCP video guide
• CCP FAQs
• Submitting your professional portfolio guide
• How to write SMART objectives
• Where to find accredited learning
• How to upload a supporting document

Resources for pharmacists

• Pharmacist CCP tutorial (also available in the CCP portal)
• Pharmacist CCP manual
• Examples of implementation objectives

Resources for pharmacy technicians

• Pharmacy technician CCP tutorial (also available in the CCP portal)
• Pharmacy technician CCP manual

Questions?

competence@abpharmacy.ca
780-990-0321 or toll-free at 1-877-227-3838