NEW: AFPC Advanced Primary Care Pharmacist Training Program
A first in Canada! An innovative approach that trains you alongside and in collaboration with the whole primary care team. Apply now for this government funded training – space is limited to 15 pharmacists across Canada. Deadline to apply is August 18, 2023.
As scope of practice expands, the more opportunities there are for pharmacists in primary care. This intensive training can help get you there with skills and confidence.
The Advanced Primary Care Pharmacist Training Program is a combination of online and in-person training over a period of up to 20 weeks (October 2023 to February 2024). It is 1 of 4 Pharmacist Training for Comprehensive Primary Care (PT4CPC) projects led by the Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada (AFPC). The projects are part of a large national initiative to accelerate transformative change in the way primary care practitioners work together: Team Primary Care: Training for Transformation.
This unique program will enhance your ability and confidence to provide comprehensive, collaborative primary care in clinics or community pharmacy settings. Further develop your clinical and interprofessional skills through a series of activities at your current workplace, followed by a 4-6 week paid experiential rotation at an external site. You will also develop your clinical teacher and leadership skills to educate and guide patients, peers, students and interprofessional colleagues, while demonstrating the value of pharmacists within primary health care.
Given the limited enrollment, there is no cancellation policy. Before starting, all accepted pharmacists must ensure they can commit to completing the entire program and have the available time, including while working at their regular practice site and a full-time external experiential placement for 4-6 weeks. For more details please see the Training Schedule in the Program Overview.
If you are ready for this exciting opportunity, apply now!
Be part of the change.
Program summary:
Phase 1: Begin the training in your own practice site. You will be involved in various learning activities over 12 weeks (October 2–December 22, 2023).
Phase 2: Continue the training at an external interprofessional primary care clinic with the guidance of a team pharmacist or other primary care provider. It runs for a minimum of 4 weeks (January 2-26, 2024) and up to 6 weeks (including January 29-February 9, 2024). The last 2 weeks are optional based on your preference and needs. If you choose not to participate in the optional 2-week training, you will return to your practice site and start Phase 3 in week 19.
AFPC will provide an income replacement of $1,700 per week during the Phase 2 experiential rotations, which can be paid directly to you or via your employer. There is an opportunity for 2-3 pharmacists to train outside of their community, so if you express an interest in this option, there may be funding available for travel and accommodations.
Phase 3: Finish the training over 2 weeks (February 12-23, 2024) with your return to your own practice site. This part will consist of applying what you learned, self-directed initiatives for reflection, learner assessment, program evaluation and planning for change.
After successfully completing all 3 phases, you will receive a certificate of completion and a $500 honorarium.
For full details please see the Program Overview.
Why take this training?
- Gain more job satisfaction with the skills and techniques you learn to provide even better patient care
- Increase your confidence and competence to perform to the full extent of your scope of practice, as you become more efficient and capable with enhanced skills
- Become more competitive in the job market with advanced skills
- Receive an income replacement while on your external rotation and a $500 honorarium upon successful completion of the program – take the program at no cost to you
- Develop your clinical teacher and leadership skills to educate and guide patients, peers, healthcare students and interprofessional colleagues, while demonstrating the value of pharmacists as part of the primary care team
- Learn how to apply skills and techniques gained through the program to your own practice site, to facilitate your ability to prioritize and manage your more complex patients in a comprehensive way
- Develop the ability to identify and influence the changes your practice may need to further improve primary care
- Prepare for practising in an interdisciplinary or pharmacist-led primary care clinic
More about the AFPC PT4CPC project:
PT4CPC stands for Pharmacist Training for Comprehensive Primary Care. It is one of the projects of Team Primary Care: Training for Transformation, funded by the Government of Canada's Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program.
Team Primary Care: Training for Transformation is a unique and timely initiative that aims to accelerate transformative change in the way primary care practitioners train to work together. To do so, it brings together an extensive network of partners to enhance the capacity of interprofessional comprehensive primary care through improved training for practitioners, supports for teams, and tools for planners and employers.
Team Primary Care is an interprofessional initiative of the Foundation for Advancing Family Medicine. It is co-led by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Canadian Health Workforce Network, in partnership with over 65 health professional and educational organizations across Canada.
The Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada (AFPC) is leading PT4CPC in collaboration with Team Primary Care partners, other pharmacy organizations, faculties and pharmacists on advisory working groups.
This is the first pharmacist training program in Canada that is occurring at the same time as the training of numerous other primary care providers, including midwives, nurses and nurse practitioners, occupational therapists, physicians and physician assistants, physiotherapists and more. Primary care providers across Canada are aligning within Team Primary Care to train and enhance their skills to meet the healthcare needs of Canadians, now and in the future.
PT4CPC has 4 parts:
Project 1 — Advanced Primary Care Pharmacist Training: starts with assignments and activities over 12 weeks at your workplace, then an experiential rotation at an interprofessional primary care clinic site for 4-6 weeks, followed by 2 weeks back at your own site. You are supported by a coach/mentor throughout the process.
Project 2 — Primary Care Skills Training: a 5-module self-directed, case-based training program focusing on key skills such as assessment, communication, documentation and interprofessional collaboration. It will be online and available to all pharmacists. Coming late fall 2023.
Project 3 — Academic Electronic Health Record: case-based, interactive learning with AFPC’s aEHR platform that simulates clinic-based electronic medical records, and supports interprofessional collaboration and clinical documentation.
Project 4 — Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenous Training: for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and students, working in and with interprofessional primary care teams. Comes with training and practice resources for improving equitable access to care. Coming winter 2024.
For more information on AFPC’s PT4CPC initiative, contact: Janet Cooper, AFPC Executive Director (jcooper-afpc@bell.net). For Projects 1 & 2 specifically, contact Christine Papoushek, Project Manager (christine.papoushek@uhn.ca). For Project 3, aEHR, contact Jason Min, Technical and Academic Lead (Jason.Min@ubc.ca).
Team Primary Care is an interprofessional initiative of the Foundation for Advancing Family Medicine. It is co-led by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Canadian Health Workforce Network, in partnership with over 65 health professional and educational organizations across Canada.
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Funded by the Government of Canada's Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program - Financé par le Programme de solutions pour la main d’oeuvre sectorielle du gouvernement du Canada |
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