CPD Review Project

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society undertook a project to appraise the CPD call and review process in preparation routine review in 2009. The objectives of the project were to:

• establish a suitable sample group of pilot participants who record their CPD online, on desktop and on paper;
• recruit, train and assess 28 new CPD reviewers to extend the existing team of seven;
• identify a process to manage paper records;
• test and implement an electronic CPD review system;
• provide a feedback reporting system and individual feedback reports to participants;
• establish participant’s views on their experience through independent research commissioned from the Welsh School of Pharmacy;
• provide information to support the regular review of CPD records.

The project was limited to 1000 participants, split proportionally between pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. This was done to ensure that we were able to test the designed system and gain meaningful feedback from participants. The Society invited participants by region to control the number of members who participated in the project. The Society is now confirming plans to routinely review members’ CPD records and provide feedback. If you missed out on this opportunity during the project you may be asked by the Society to submit your record from July 2009.

The project was conducted in three pilots, as follows:

Pilot A involved online users only and ran from October 2007 to January 2008. This pilot tested the online submission, review and feedback. Records contained entries starting at Reflection or Action points of the CPD cycle.

Pilot B involved CPD Desktop and CPD online users and ran from January 2008 until March 2008. This pilot allowed ongoing testing of the online system, as well as the submission of electronic records from CPD Desktop, and their review and feedback. Again, records contained entries starting at Reflection or Action points of the CPD cycle.

Pilot C involved all users: online, desktop, and paper, and ran from May 2008 to September 2008. Following the Society’s Council decision to modify the recording framework, Pilot C participants submitted entries which started at any of the four stages of the CPD cycle (Reflection, Planning, Action or Evaluation).

As part of the pilot, an independent research was conducted by the Welsh School of Pharmacy to evaluate the participants’ views on the pilot feedback process, feedback policy and to determine any additional information participants would value about the online system.

The records were reviewed by the Society’s trained reviewers. The CPD reviewers were recruited from a range of backgrounds and include pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and others. They were all subject to an extensive selection, training and assessment process and underwent quality assessment prior to reviewing records.

It is expected that there will be a requirement for more reviewers to be employed in the future. These positions will be advertised on the RSPGB website and through the Pharmaceutical Journal.

This can be found on this site under ‘CPD Materials’. This is Appendix 5 in the Plan and Record Version 1.4 Complete Guidance Pack, or you can download it on its own. The section is called Plan and Record Reviewer Criteria Version 1.4 (Appendix 5).

The Welsh School of Pharmacy study revealed that the changes made to the online feedback system had been a success and the overall objectives of the pilot had been achieved. for the final report from the independent research carried out by the Welsh School of Pharmacy. In response to recommendations made in the final report, a number of minor changes are being planned for the CPD recording system. This is to ensure the system is as user-friendly and flexible as possible for the commencement of routine call and review.