PHARMACY practitioners should be positioned as "essential to Australian healthcare" in all practice settings, according to a new document released by the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) at its annual gathering on the Gold Coast.
Titled Advancing Australia's Pharmacy Workforce, the manifesto "ties together years of planning," according to SHPA President, Peter Fowler, in his opening address to Medicines Management 2019, the 45th SHPA National Conference.
"Pharmacy represents an under-utilised pillar of Australian healthcare at a time of rapidly changing demographic and economic challenges," he said, with the document showing "how SHPA supports members in their everyday work, while fostering a broader healthcare environment in which every pharmacist can maximise their impact on patient care".
The vision includes the Society's Practitioner Development Pathway which links the organisation's key initiatives and programs, "showing how SHPA supports growth in a pharmacist's skill, expertise and experience, connecting ambition and opportunity as they advance their practice," Fowler said.
Growth in a pharmacist's skill, expertise and experience is underpinned by the continual development of five core competencies: medicines management and patient care; leadership and management; education and research; professionalism and ethics; and communication and collaboration, according to the document.
A second concept showcased comprises SHPA's six "Pharmacy Innovation Principles" which demonstrate "how we intend to foster intra- and inter-hospital environments that fully harness the value and expertise of Australia's hospital pharmacy workforce".
The principles outlined were:
1. Position all pharmacy practitioners, across all settings and in all roles, as essential to Australian healthcare
2. Support and recognise pharmacists and technicians to operate at their fullest scope of practice
3. Embed an advancing practice approach to reflective life-long learning from earliest stages of career development
4. Establish equitable access to experiential learning for students, hospital pharmacy interns, and foundation and advanced training residents, across Australia
5. Progress advanced and specialty roles and career opportunities for pharmacists and technicians
6. Build and strengthen partnerships fostering innovation and research between practitioners, healthcare teams and organisations.
More from the SHPA conference on pages two and three.
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