By Meenakshi Sharma, Advanced Pharmacist
My name is Meena, an experienced pharmacist working in primary care for Central Watford Primary Care Network (PCN). My unique role progression has given me the competency to be able to work at an advanced level to holistically support the assessment and management of patients with complex needs, but I wanted this to be officially recognised. This is why, with complete backing from my PCN, I first applied for the e-portfolio route through Health Education England but eventually went through the Royal Pharmaceutical Society because that meant I would ultimately be recognised by both bodies.
Clinical expertise and leadership in primary care
My day-to-day role involves undertaking clinics in the assessment and management of conditions of both diagnosed and undiagnosed undifferentiated illnesses. I am the diabetes lead for my PCN and have led new pilot initiatives to support the Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic populations. I am also responsible for the training and development of all Allied Health Professionals across the PCN, as well as managing an expanding pharmacy team. I have even had the opportunity to hone my leadership skills with formal training at the HULT business school as part of my appointment as a Diabetes UK Clinical Champion.
I was displaying examples of evidence that could support my credentialing journey across all five domains on a daily basis but I wasn’t sure how to collate this information best to showcase my ability. RPS assigned Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) to support this.
Navigating the challenges in a new credentialing process
The first part of my journey was to complete a learning needs assessment, which meant I was loosely collating evidence for review with an education supervisor from CPPE. After this meeting, I was reassured that I was working at the right level. I was in the first pilot cohort and as a result, the whole process was new to everyone including CPPE and RPS. This meant we were all a little in the dark and nobody knew what was expected of us, which created initial challenges and delays.
Overcoming initial concerns and creating a path to success
After our first CPPE group workshop, I realised just how much work was involved and this caused some serious worry and trepidation. How was I going to be able to complete all this work in less than four months alongside my work and family commitments? After four weeks of procrastination, I sat down and finally worked out a plan of action. I contacted all potential collaborators and expert mentors to ensure they were able to support me and started compiling my portfolio. The process showed me how to perfect the art of reflection and use it to support my ongoing professional development.
Celebrating achieving advanced pharmacist status
In conclusion, completing the portfolio wasn’t easy and required a lot of man hours but it was definitely worth all the hard work. I feel such a great sense of pride in my achievement.
However, most importantly, I now feel secure in the knowledge that I am officially credentialled as an advanced pharmacist and best of all…. I have a digital badge to prove it!
Read more about the RPS Core Advanced Pharmacist Curriculum.
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