Professional competence is about more than just having the knowledge and skill to provide professional services. Competence involves the whole professional in all contexts of their professional practice. ACP’s Continuing Competence Program (CCP) is evolving to build a contemporary and comprehensive understanding of what it means to be a professional and to assess competence in more ways.
As part of this evolution, the CCP rules for both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have been enhanced with the following:
- introduction of the Practice Improvement Program (PIP), in addition to the annual requirements of continuing professional development; and
- including evaluation for additional prescribing authorization (APA) within the CCP.
Additionally, the rules have been changed to enhance transparency of existing processes within the CCP by
- adding a definitions section,
- highlighting the authority of the CCP that comes from the Health Professions Act (HPA) and the Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians Profession Regulation (PPTPR),
- describing how practice visits are used within the CCP, and
- describing audit processes in more detail.
These changes bring the CCP more in line with the program’s philosophy and guiding principles (below), which were adopted by Council in April 2020.
Philosophy
The Alberta College of Pharmacy compels professional growth that empowers and enables pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to continuously enhance their practices, embody ACP’s tenets of professionalism, and support Albertans’ health and well-being. With a shared vision of excellent pharmacy practice that includes professionalism, ACP works with registrants in a diverse and holistic approach to identify personal competence goals and milestones signifying success, and ensures that learning transfers into practice.
CCP guiding principles
1.Diverse: to accommodate different practices and learning approaches that active learners engage in.
2.Engaging: to inspire career-long learning, peer-to-peer interaction, and opportunities to connect with mentors, thought leaders, and subject matter experts.
3.Forward-looking: to help meet the changing needs of Albertans, integrate with other ACP programs, and provide support throughout careers.
4.Sustainable: to anticipate growing and diverse populations and use evidence informed tools and methods applicable to a variety of practices.
5.Accountable: meets legislative requirements and provides reliable assessments and measures that confidently establish that pharmacy professionals are competent to provide safe and effective care.
For more information, visit the CCP requirements page of the ACP website.
