Education Update
The strategic plan for this year emphasizes having pharmacy technicians writing continuing education modules for pharmacy technicians. Our goal was to have 1-3 online learning modules developed this year. We’re pleased to announce that the course Using Knowledge and Research Application in Practice has just been accredited and is available for you to complete in the PTSA Education Courses learning platform.
We are already working on module number 2: Introduction to the Canadian HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Program. To round out the trifecta, PTSA is working on implementing a course that will help educate pharmacy technicians about how to write continuing education – so that we can introduce even more courses written by a variety of authors.
Not taking into account the time it takes authors to write the CE modules, it takes minimum 5 weeks for the accreditation process overseen by the Canadian Council on Continuing Education in Pharmacy (CCCEP). That process is dependent upon having all the supporting documentation to submit an application which includes comments from at least two pharmacy technicians that reviewed the learning module before the accreditation process begins. Some times things arise that can delay the process, such as a reviewer potentially having a conflict of interest with the CE’s author. Should this occur we need to find an alternate reviewer and give them adequate time to do a review before we make the submission. Development time is also needed to transform a written CE document into the final version you access in the learning platform.
Self-study CE is only one type of education PTSA is working on providing. We would also like to have more in person events. Planning a live CE event starts with having an idea for a topic and a presenter. We’ve contacted potential speakers to ask about their willingness to provide education on cannabis, heparin, mentoring, and smart pump technology, to name a few topics. Do you have ideas for topics you would like to learn more about? Or, do you know of a pharmacy technician who would like to present at a Techs in Touch event? Presenters can be located anywhere across the province.
Offering sessions online makes education more accessible to members across the province. Planning is underway for an online webinar later this month. The education committee is also considering new ways to engage more pharmacy technicians in learning. Stay tuned for the details on these opportunities.
If you have ideas for education topics, or have suggestions for speakers or CE authors please email education.director@ptsa.ca or add a comment below.