By Siobhan Dobie, Medical Hospital Pharmacist at NHS Lanarkshire, supported by NES as a Training provider in Scotland and credentialed by RPS

As an early career pharmacist, I began the RPS Post-Registration Foundation Credentialing journey when I first qualified. This greatly aided my transition to hospital after completing my foundation training year in the community sector.

Structured training and gathering evidence

Gathering varied evidence for my portfolio linked well with my rotational post and gave me a structure to support my initial training. As part of the first cohort to undertake this credentialing, I worked closely with my education and training team to plan suitable activities, develop strong evidence for myself and to plan for the next pharmacists coming through this course. For example, within an aseptic specialist placement, I consolidated my knowledge of product assessments by teaching this process to a pharmacy technician which demonstrated my education competencies.

Professional development

This credentialing journey proved very beneficial for my professional development, particularly within the non-clinical domains as I was prompted to participate in research and leadership. Having my pharmacy team aware that I was undertaking this course, they were great at highlighting opportunities for me to use as evidence. An excellent idea for a quality improvement project was brought to me, which I was able to use as strong evidence for my portfolio and resulted in my first publication in the International Journal of Pharmacy Practice. This allowed me to gain a diverse range of experiences early on in my career which strengthened the foundation upon which I built my practice as a pharmacist.

Learning from a multidisciplinary team

Supervised learning events prompted me to spend time with a variety of colleagues, including specialist pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and doctors, which aided my integration into the wider pharmacy and multi-disciplinary team. Learning from different disciplines allows greater understanding of each other’s roles, improving upon collaborative working and allowing a refreshing different outlook.

Reflecting for future practice

The development of a portfolio with a focus on reflection worked to transform my perspective overall in the workplace. I found that it became innate to take positive from any negative, as not only would demonstration of handling challenging situations make good evidence for my portfolio, but I would be able to reflect upon and reframe experiences in a way that would benefit my future practice.

I would recommend undertaking this credentialing journey as it offers a structured and systematic approach to training. The domains holistically incorporate the four pillars of pharmacy, and to do so at an early stage in my career has given me a lot of confidence in getting involved with new experiences going forward. I am now looking to undertake my Advanced Pharmacist portfolio and I am excited to further build upon the knowledge and skills that this course has offered me to develop.

For more information on RPS Post-Registration Foundation Credentialing. 

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