March 1, 2004

“Learning the best medicine” for Irish pharmacists"

The Irish Centre for Continuing Pharmaceutical Education launches Spring 2004 Education and Training Programme

Irish pharmacists will be prescribed a dose of continuing education this spring with the launch of the Irish Centre for Continuing Pharmaceutical Education's (ICCPE) Education and Training Syllabus for Spring/Summer 2004. This programme provides an opportunity for pharmacists to update their knowledge and skills through the delivery of a series of live training courses and through opportunities for open learning and e-learning.

Rapid rates of change in pharmaceutical practice and the fact that community pharmacy is both a profession and a business render continuing pharmaceutical education an indispensable asset. The ICCPE's newest syllabus – and its ongoing work – has as its core focus the provision of practical, up-to-date, evidence-based continuing education in the diverse, and often disparate, functions of the Irish community pharmacist.

“Patients are entitled to be cared for by healthcare professionals with relevant up-to-date experience,” says ICCPE Director, Orla Sheehan. “Pharmacists, more than any other healthcare professional, have a unique knowledge of medicines and how they work; keeping this knowledge refreshed is the challenge. Maximising therapeutic outcomes and minimising risk is the ultimate goal.”

Live training is provided under seven key headings which encompass the varied tasks and functions of the community pharmacist. These are Therapeutics, Health Promotion, Medicines Management, Communications, Professional Issues, Management Skills, and Service Development. Specific courses being provided in the coming months include Palliative Care, Men and the Pharmacist – Y or Why?, Working at the Community-Hospital Interface, Health Literacy, Continuous Professional Development, Effective Management, Community Pharmacy Asthma Service, and Practice Research in Community Pharmacy. Live training courses are provided between March 8 and June 4 at venues throughout the country and many courses are delivered in multiple venues.

A central feature of the ICCPE spring syllabus is a training roadshow which will be delivered at 26 venues across the country. The theme for the spring roadshow is Management and Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease, an issue which is particularly pertinent for Irish pharmacists. “With the exception of Finland, Ireland boasts the highest death rate from Coronary Heart Disease in Europe,” says Ms Sheehan. “Community Pharmacists must work in tandem with national strategies for the management of this epidemic.” Lectures will be delivered by the newly established ICCPE tutor network. The network comprises pharmacists from all over Ireland who will provide training in their own localities. It is hoped that this measure will encourage greater participation in continuing pharmaceutical education at a local level and increased contact between pharmacists practicing in the same geographical region.

As well as changes in the delivery of live training, the ICCPE has developed its open-learning and e-learning programmes. A number of previous open-learning titles have been removed and the ICCPE will be introducing more up-to-date courses tailored specifically to the needs of Irish pharmacists and qualified assistants. The first open-learning module written specifically for Irish pharmacy is Managing Diabetes in Pharmacy which will be available in May. New e-learning titles (delivered on CD Rom) will include Smoking Cessation for Patients, an interactive counselling tool which will enable pharmacists to assist customers to quit smoking, and Evaluating Clinical Papers, a course designed to help pharmacists develop their evaluation skills.

A full list of course titles, dates, times and venues for live training courses is printed in the ICCPE Spring Programme 2004, alongside comprehensive details on self-study courses.

For further information, contact:
Julie Cronin
e-mail: mobile: 086 080 1447