ACP has received questions about supervision, scopes of practice, and activities allowed of students and provisional registrants (which includes pharmacy interns and provisional pharmacy technicians). We recognize that, due to COVID-19 associated delays to registration, individuals may find themselves on the provisional register for a longer-than-usual period this year. We also appreciate the enthusiasm of students and provisional registrants in wanting to support pharmacy practice in Alberta, especially during this stressful, pandemic period.
It is important to note that, at this time, all usual requirements to be eligible for the clinical pharmacist or pharmacy technician registers remain in place. These requirements are important to achieving both safe and competent pharmacy practice. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the healthcare landscape, impacting drug availability, legislation, and access to usual healthcare providers, challenging even experienced pharmacy professionals.
Please refer to, and ensure your understanding of, the supervision requirements detailed on the ACP website. This is a shared responsibility of not only interns, students, and supervising regulated members, but should be apparent to all members of the pharmacy team and members of the public receiving services from these individuals.
As a reminder, when direct supervision is required, the supervisors must have hands-on and eyes-on oversight of the restricted activity and supervised individual. Documentation, such as dispensing audit trails or injection administration forms, must make it clear which regulated individual provided this authority.
When indirect supervision is appropriate, based on an ongoing assessment of the individual’s competency for a particular task, the supervisor must be readily available for consultation and able to provide support, if necessary. In both cases, the regulated member providing supervision is ultimately liable and accountable for all restricted activities performed by a student or provisional registrant practising under their supervision. Interns should not be scheduled to work independently without a pharmacist providing direct supervision present in the pharmacy.
Please stay tuned for further guidance on supervision coming in a future edition of the Link.
