UKCPA support the work of the Competency Development and Evaluation Group (CoDEG) who have pioneered the development of professional development frameworks for pharmacy in the UK.
CoDEG have developed the General Level Framework (GLF) and the Advanced Level Framework (ACLF). The GLF is a development and support framework for pharmacists in their early years of practice or for use in routine performance management. It was developed in 2004 and has been extensively piloted and validated in different specialties of pharmacy, at all levels of practice, and in hospital, community and primary care sectors. There is an extensive bibliography available here.
A survey conducted in 2009 revealed that an estimated 81% of Band 6 NHS pharmacists across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are using the GLF to support their professional development. It is also used as a key assessment tool in many HEI postgraduate programmes. The GLF has been adapted for use in Australia, Singapore, Croatia and Serbia. It has also been used as a basis to develop the Framework for Pharmacy Technicians.
As a developmental tool, the GLF has additionally been mapped against the HAG Competency & Training Frameworks (representing a topic specific “syllabus” for advanced services) to provide a complete training and support package for community pharmacists – see here.
The ACLF is a professional development framework for pharmacy practitioners working at more advanced or complex levels of practice. It was used as a framework guide for the creation of NHS Consultant pharmacists via the Department of Health.
The ACLF was designed by practitioners, for practitioners, using a grounded approach and evidence from other professions and literature. It is often used as an enabling framework to ‘host’ professional curricula and is an integral part of the pharmacy professional recognition processes. The ACLF is not intended to be adapted for each pharmacy speciality, and does not constitute a “curriculum” for specialities.
A survey in December 2009 revealed that 31 organisations in England use the ACLF as either a practitioner development tool, a performance management tool, and/or for appointment to Consultant Pharmacists posts. The ACLF is now being adapted for use by Australian and Singapore authorities.
More information about professional development in pharmacy is available here.
