A qualitative assessment of an education programme for advanced pharmacy practice
Keywords:
Advanced Practice Framework, APF, MSc in Advanced Pharmacy Practice, Competency Development, Advanced PracticeAbstract
Objectives: To understand graduates’ perceptions about an advanced education programme for pharmacist practitioners (MSc. in Advanced Pharmacy Practice).
Methods: A purposive sample was chosen and participants were contacted by email. The inclusion criteria were pharmacists of any background who had graduated from the Programme. A semi-structured interview was conducted and a matrix coding approach was used for data analysis.
Results: Most of the participants were working in clinical environments before enrolling in the Programme. Data revealed similar levels of impact from graduates with different years of practice and specialisations.
Conclusion: This study concluded the Programme has a positive impact on career progression and was recognised by candidates for the opportunities and flexibility to different sectors, job roles and experiences. Similarly, graduates indicated they were able to apply their competency development for greater benefit in the workplace. Therefore, the programme appears to be fulfilling its objective to progress advanced practice.
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