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COMPETENCY BASED RE-REGISTRATION
Overview
To protect the public, the Pharmacy Board is required to ensure that all pharmacists maintain their professional competence and fitness to practise.
The Pharmacy Board of Tasmania believes that competency based registration offers the best protection to the public of Tasmania and assists Tasmanian registered pharmacists to maintain services at the highest standard. Similar schemes are operated in South Australia, Victoria, New Zealand and Ontario.
When re-registering, all pharmacists registered in Tasmania must complete a Statutory Declaration of Competency. Prior to signing the declaration each pharmacist must assess his/her own competency in his/her particular area of practice.
To assist in assessing competency as a pharmacist, the Board has developed a Personal Audit of Basic Competency form. This simplified checklist relates to the 8 basic units in the Competency Standards published by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) and the elements associated with each unit.
8 More About the Competency Standards
Maintaining A Professional Portfolio
Tasmanian pharmacists must be able to provide evidence of how they have maintained their competence to practice. Pharmacists are required to maintain a professional portfolio to assist in ongoing assessment of competency and to demonstrate commitment to professional development.
The professional portfolio can be used to record professional development goals based on assessment of competency against the competency standards. The portfolio records professional development achievements and evaluate progress.
8 Advice for pharmacists on how to maintain a professional portfolio
Competency Audit
Every year a random sample of 10% of pharmacists are audited to ensure that the evidence contained in their portfolio is sufficient to demonstrate how they have maintained their competence. The audit involves selected pharmacists being asked to provide evidence of what they have done to maintain/improve their competency to practise in their particular area of practise.
If a pharmacist is unable to provide this evidence or there are doubts about the pharmacist’s competency, the Board may then proceed with a peer review at that pharmacist’s own expense. Under the Pharmacists Registration Act 2001, the Board may grant conditional registration where there are concerns about a pharmacist's ongoing competency.