DRAFT Licensee Competencies Framework

The Council of the Alberta College of Pharmacy (ACP) has identified the performance of pharmacy licensees as a critical success factor to quality pharmacy practice. Ensuring licensees meet regulatory requirements, support safe pharmacy practices, and are available and present for patients and staff within their pharmacy, is an important part of protecting and serving the health and safety of the public. The achievement of consistent, high-quality practice in pharmacies across Alberta is highly dependent on the leadership shown by their licensees. Licensees must be able to coach, mentor, and inspire their teams to practise at or above ACP’s standards and Code of Ethics, and in adherence to the professionalism framework.

Defining licensee competencies will assist ACP in measuring and assessing individuals in these roles. The aggregate information from these assessments will further allow ACP to identify areas of educational or regulatory need. Licensees will benefit from the transparency of clearly defined competencies expected of their role, and can use these expectations to identify strengths and weaknesses and guide their own, as well as their team’s, performance development. Pharmacy team members will also benefit from the role clarity, and can use the framework to reflect on pharmacy processes and plan their own leadership development. Lastly, and most importantly, patients will benefit from access to consistently skilled and effective pharmacy teams and services.

Council has approved six (6) core competencies for pharmacy licensees, including descriptors for each, and has requested that consultation occur with regulated members and interested parties about the measures and indicators that have been proposed to further define each competency. These provide further definition and meaning to acceptable licensee performance, and will be instrumental in licensees and ACP in measuring performance.

The Licensee Competencies Framework (LCF) was informed and developed by

• a review of literature,
• environmental scanning from other provinces and professions,
• consultation with licensee thought leaders through an advisory group,
• review by a competency development consultant, and
• feedback gathered from an external panel of regulated members.

As you provide feedback, consider whether the framework

• encompasses the composite of the licensee role as managers who maintain procedures and systems, and leaders who represent vision and change, and who are accountable to their pharmacy team members, patients, the healthcare system, and their communities;
• applies to different practice sites, diverse patient populations, and varied staffing models;
• uses language and terminology that is understandable by licensees, pharmacy team members, and is consistent with existing licensee expectations; and
• articulates the need for licensees to be skilled at “managing in the middle,” that is, they lead and manage the pharmacy team as well as influence proprietors and senior management.