Recommended support

There are three broad types of support that are recommended for pharmacists working towards core advanced pharmacist credentialing:

• Educational supervision 
• Practice supervision 
• Mentorship 

Educational supervisors 

Pharmacists working towards core advanced credentialing should have a named educational supervisor who is responsible for supporting them to manage their overall progress through the programme.

This role can be delivered remotely. The educational supervisor should help guide the pharmacist with their personal and professional development; they should also understand best practice in educational theory and developing advanced level healthcare professionals. They are expected to support the pharmacist to review the overall quality of their evidence of learning and help the pharmacist reflect on their overall progress. They should help guide the pharmacist to identify areas for further development and support them in organising educational interventions or additional experience to address these both within and outside of their organisation. The educational supervisor should be a positive role model, provide pastoral support and have an awareness of their responsibilities for promoting equality and diversity.

In summary, the educational supervisor has overall responsibility for holistically supporting the pharmacist undertaking this programme with their professional development.

The educational supervisor should:

• understand the range of learning, assessment and support opportunities for learning in the workplace to cover the curriculum.
• support the pharmacist to access appropriate support, training and teaching.
• foster the pharmacist's autonomy. 
• support the pharmacist to review their learning and develop their reflective practice. 
• have a good understanding of any supporting information technology (IT) tools e.g. e-portfolio and of what is considered acceptable progress.
• assess formal work-place evidence against the curriculum.undertake and record formal review meetings with the pharmacist to review progress through the curriculum.
• identify and support pharmacists experiencing difficulties, including liaising with relevant colleagues.

Practice supervisors 

Practice supervisors are responsible for day-to-day supervision in the workplace setting. This doesn’t mean they need to physically work alongside the individual, but they should be available to support the learners and provide feedback to them on a frequent basis. Practice supervisors integrate workplace learning with service provision by enabling the pharmacist to extend their scope of practice whilst managing risk to patient safety through effective clinical governance. They provide a safe and confidential environment for pharmacists to reflect on and discuss their work. Practice supervisors should be positive role models and should themselves have appropriate experience to effectively supervise the pharmacist. To effectively deliver the curriculum, practice supervisors should be available to the pharmacist, provide teaching, learning and development opportunities based on the needs of the individual, provide regular and effective feedback, undertake supervised learning events, and be present to support the pharmacist when issues arise. Some elements of practice supervision may be delegated to suitably experienced members of the multidisciplinary team and practice supervision may be delivered remotely.

The practice supervisor should:

• understand how people learn, how this relates to the current area of development, and how to adapt their own style accordingly.
• understand how best to teach application of knowledge or a skill and adapt according to the learning style of the pharmacist.
• support a personalised and proactive approach to learning through learning needs analysis. • use a variety of effective teaching methods delivered in a work-place setting.
• understand the importance of reflecting on and evaluating their own teaching/training. •
• tailor and provide effective feedback to individual pharmacists.
• use reflective discussion to support the learner to explore and manage challenges, complexity, and other pressures in their roles.
• identify and support pharmacists experiencing difficulties, including liaising with relevant colleagues.

Mentors

Mentors are responsible for providing targeted support in the workplace across the five curriculum domains; it is recognised that the nature of the support required for each of the domains will vary dependent on each individual’s needs and it is unlikely to be fulfilled in the workplace by a single person. Mentors share their expertise and support the pharmacist to identify solutions and approaches for managing challenging situations and support the pharmacist to identify their learning needs in their area of expertise. Mentors act as positive role models and demonstrate an awareness of their responsibilities for promoting equality and diversity. They should themselves have appropriate experience to effectively support the pharmacist in the area in which they are seeking mentorship. To effectively deliver the curriculum, mentors should be available to support people to identify learning and development opportunities based on the needs of the individual in their respective area(s) of expertise, provide regular and effective feedback and be present (either in person or virtually) to provide support when issues arise. Whilst local mentorship may increase the availability of the mentor for in person support, the use of a mentor from outside of the organisation, facilitated by virtual meetings, provides an opportunity for access to additional perspectives and steer. Mentors do not necessarily have to be drawn from the pharmacy team; indeed, suitably experienced members of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) may be more appropriate mentors for certain areas at this more advanced level of practice.

Some individuals may be able to provide mentorship across a number of domains/areas of practice; this will depend on the nature and level of the support or supervision required as well as the prior experience of the individual undertaking the programme.

 As well as having expertise in the area of practice for which they are providing mentorship, each mentor should:

• Understand how different individuals learn best, the relevance of this to teaching and training, and is how to adapt their own mentoring style accordingly.
• Use a variety of effective mentoring methods delivered in person and/or remotely in a workplace setting.
• Understand the importance of reflecting on and evaluating their own approach to mentoring.
• Tailor and provide effective feedback to individuals.
• Use reflective discussion to support individuals to explore and manage challenges, complexity, and other pressures in their roles.
• Undertake and record regular reviews with the pharmacist on their progress in their area(s) of expertise to inform intermediate decisions about progress.
• Identify individuals who are struggling, instigate initial steps in supporting them, working closely with the individual’s educational supervisor and other expert mentors/practice supervisors, where appropriate, so they are aware of any agreed steps / actions and their responsibilities with respect to these.