A Survey of State Board of Pharmacy Members and Continuing Education Providers' Views on Continuing Education
Legally accountable to the public, state boards of pharmacy are continually confronted with the problem of maintaining the quality of pharmacy practice. One approach to accomplishing this task has been to implement mandatory continuing education requirements for relicensure. This study evaluated the perceived effectiveness and deficiencies of various states' continuing education regulations. A 40-question survey was mailed to 600 pharmacy board members and continuing education providers to determine their attitudes toward continuing education, support of mandatory continuing education, and their opinion of alternative methods for improving the quality of pharmacy practice. Responses from approximately one-half of those surveyed indicate board members and continuing education providers were positively disposed toward continuing education. However, there was room for improvement in most states' mandatory continuing education regulations. A relicensure examination was considered to be the best method to ensure competency, while mandatory continuing education was viewed as acceptable to pharmacists, and relatively easy to administer. The consequences of the study's findings for modifying state continuing education regulations is discussed.
Continuing professional development in Texas: survey of pharmacists' knowledge and attitudes: 2008.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the knowledge and attitudes of Texas pharmacists regarding continuing professional development (CPD).


DESIGN
Descriptive, non-experimental cross-sectional study.


SETTING
Texas during 2008.


PARTICIPANTS
4,954 pharmacists were contacted via e-mail.


INTERVENTION
Survey incorporating demographic and informational questions about CPD was sent to the pharmacist membership of two large pharmacy organizations in Texas. All responses were included in the data collection. The results of the survey were compiled into a spreadsheet for analysis.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Determining pharmacists' attitudes and needs for CPD versus a traditional continuing education (CE) system, as well as identifying educational opportunities for lifelong learning for pharmacists.


RESULTS
471 pharmacists completed an online survey (9.5% response rate). The respondent population contained similar numbers of men and women; however, men respondents tended to be older and had been in practice longer. Most respondents worked in either hospital or community pharmacy settings. The most common stimulants for learning were self-reflection, patients, literature, and regulatory requirements. The most highly rated sources of education were live followed by printed CE programs. Nearly one-third of respondents felt that a change to a CPD model would be beneficial to their professional development. More than one-half of respondents (53%) indicated that they were unsure of the benefits of CPD.


CONCLUSION
Overall, the pharmacists surveyed understood their need to maintain professional competence. A minority of the pharmacists (12%) maintained a written record or planned to document their progress. Many pharmacists felt that CPD as it is understood by the respondents may not assist them in improving their professional development.
The Malpractice Commission Report: controversy unabated; the findings.
THE first comprehensive national investigation of the "crisis" in medical-practice litigation in the United States has now been completed and the Report has been officially published.1 In the news release on the Report, Health, Education, and Welfare Secretary Weinberger greeted it as an important work of research and study and asserted that the findings and recommendations will "serve as a beginning for further public discussion of the problem of malpractice...."2 That it undoubtedly will be. However, it may also be a center of severe, quite bitter controversy. It is difficult to satisfy anyone in this field, let alone to achieve . . .