With the expansion of patient-centered pharmacy education worldwide, there is critical need to train and develop qualified and competent clinical faculty members. In addition to being a clinical practitioner with expertise in pharmacotherapeutic knowledge and clinical skills, the pharmacy practice or clinical faculty member often assumes multiple roles as educator, researcher and scholar, and leader.
High-quality continuing professional development programs are essential for the successful integration and development of the clinical faculty member and the enhancement of satisfaction, retention, and productivity of the pharmacy practice faculty member. The ACCP White Paper titled “Essential Components of a Faculty Development Program for Pharmacy Practice Faculty” delineates essential components of professional development and mentoring programs designed for the training and advancement of the clinical faculty member. These components fit under the areas of practice abilities and the practice site, teaching abilities, scholarship and research abilities, and professional abilities (Figure). The paper further delineates each area and provides a framework for a comprehensive pharmacy practice faculty development program that can be used by schools or colleges of pharmacy.1
Figure: Essential components of a comprehensive clinical faculty development program.1
The same components can be used for the professional development of clinical pharmacists and clinical pharmacy preceptors. As stated in the ACCP Standards of Practice for Clinical Pharmacists, in addition to providing direct patient care, clinical pharmacists “serve as educators, researchers, clinical preceptors/mentors, administrators, managers, policy developers, and consultants.”2 Individual clinical pharmacists designing plans for their own continuing professional development can refer to these components and select those that best meet their professional needs and that are best applicable to their roles and professional aspirations.
- American College of Clinical Pharmacy; Boyce EG, Burkiewicz JS, et al. ACCP white paper. Essential components of a faculty development program for pharmacy practice faculty. Pharmacotherapy 2008;28:245e-268e. Available at www.accp.com/docs/positions/whitePapers/FacDevWPFinal_nd.pdf. Accessed August 4, 2015.
- American College of Clinical Pharmacy. Standards of practice for clinical pharmacists. Pharmacotherapy 2014;34:794-7. Available at www.accp.com/docs/positions/guidelines/standardsofpractice.pdf. Accessed August 4, 2015.