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Pharmacy Magazine and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Faculty are working together to help you with your professional development. In this month’s column, the RPS Faculty development lead, Lesley Johnson, explains the assessment process

When was the last time you were recognised for a key achievement in your professional career? Until the RPS Faculty was established there was no universal way of recognising a pharmacist’s development and progression post-registration. Put simply, the RPS Faculty is the first professional recognition programme for all pharmacists in all sectors and all stages of their careers.

What is the Faculty assessment?

If you want to be recognised as a member of the Faculty, you will need to undertake an assessment to determine your stage of development. This comprises three elements:

• A practice-based portfolio

• Supported by peer assessments or testimonials

• An assessment of your expertise.

Once you have built your portfolio (something we will look at in more detail next month) you will be ready to apply for an assessment. This will let you know what stage your development is at and what areas to focus future development on. The Faculty assessors will assess your submission and you will receive post-nominals (see table below) to reflect your stage of advanced practice, feedback on your assessment and a personal development plan to guide your next steps in the Faculty, whether that is consolidating within a stage or moving towards the next stage.

Important date: The next Faculty submission date is April 26.

When building your portfolio you will provide evidence of your practice that covers key areas such as:

• Expert professional practice

• Collaborative working relationship

• Leadership

• Management

• Education and training

• Research and evaluation.

The Community Pharmacy Faculty Handbook will tell you more about the types of evidence you can use in your portfolio. You can also attend a monthly Faculty webinar – an interactive way to learn more about building your portfolio. To book a place go to the Events page on the RPS website. Pharmacy Magazine CPD modules Studying the CPD modules and reading other features within Pharmacy Magazine is one of the best ways to help you to develop and advance your skills and knowledge in different therapeutic areas. Advancing your professional development with essential knowledge can be considered alongside other practical activities, such as developing and delivering a service or tutoring your support staff, and used as evidence in your Faculty portfolio.

How to start

To start, you need to access the Faculty’s portfolio and tools. Log onto the RPS website and go to the Faculty section: rpharms.com/development/faculty.asp