| 2.28.1 | Criteria for approval of tutors of pharmacist interns |
Council applies the following criteria in the approval of tutors and premises for the training of pharmacist interns:
| (a) | in terms of the Pharmacy Act, an internship can only be undertaken at a pharmacy or institution approved by Council; |
| (b) | the prospective tutor must have had at least three years’ experience as a pharmacist. This requirement may be relaxed in circumstances where the prospective tutor or organisation submits an acceptable motivation. In such cases the prospective tutor must have at least two years’ experience (pharmaceutical community service included); |
| (c) | the prospective tutor must convince the Registrar that he/she is abreast of professional knowledge in order to maintain a high standard of competence relative to his/her activity; |
| (d) | a pharmacist with a suspended sentence may not act as a tutor; |
| (e) | the prospective tutor must demonstrate that sufficient activities relating to the scope of practice of pharmacists are performed in the pharmacy, in order to ensure sufficient exposure of the intern to the practice of the profession; |
| (f) | the approved tutor must practice full-time at the premises where the internship will take place; |
| (g) | pharmacists who practice part-time in a pharmacy (e.g. 5/8 positions) cannot act as tutors of pharmacist interns; and |
| (h) | if the approved tutor is going to be absent from a pharmacy/institution for more than four (4) weeks, the training of the intern must be delegated to another pharmacist for the period of absence of the tutor. The approved tutor remains responsible for the training of the pharmacist intern, even though delegation has taken place. |
Reasons why a pharmacist may not be approved as tutor among others include the following:
| • | non-participation in Continuing Professional Development; |
| • | incomplete forms e.g. section F to be filled by Commissioner of Oath; |
| • | non-payment of evaluation fees; |
| • | pharmacist who practice part-time in a pharmacy; and |
| • | pharmacist with a suspended sentence. |
| 2.28.2 | Criteria for approval of premises |
The following are considered in the evaluation of an application for approval of a pharmacy for purposes of training:
| (a) | whether sufficient activities relating to the scope of practice of pharmacists are performed in the pharmacy, in order to ensure sufficient exposure of the intern to the profession; |
| (b) | compliance with the requirements of good pharmacy practice: |
| (i) | the presence of a private and semi-private counselling area(s) where one of the key functions of the pharmacist, namely the provision of advice on the safe and correct use of medicines, can be carried out; |
| (ii) | the presence of a consultation room for the provision of supplementary services; |
| (iii) | the presence of a waiting area which is situated near the dispensary; |
| (iv) | the temperature control of both the fridge and/or the pharmacy; |
| (v) | the availability of written Standard Operating Procedures; |
| (vi) | evidence of controlled access of the public to scheduled medicines (including Schedule 2 medicines), and compliance with the legal requirements for record-keeping; |
| (vii) | the availability of sufficient literature sources and/or electronic access to such information; |
| (viii) | the availability of appropriate apparatus and equipment; |
| (ix) | sufficient space in the dispensing area for safe dispensing; and |
| (x) | the general appearance of the pharmacy; |
| (c) | in the event of the pharmacy moving to new premises or changing ownership, the approval of the tutor(s) and pharmacy lapses. The tutor(s) involved must re-apply for approval as a tutor and for the approval of the pharmacy for training purposes. |
| 2.28.3 | Internship programme in hospital complexes (public sector hospital complexes) |
Interns may be allowed to rotate in hospital complexes (i.e. where hospitals have been grouped together in health care complexes and/or provide health care services in collaboration with community health care centres or primary health care clinics) under the following conditions:
| (a) | there must be at least one approved tutor to be responsible for the effective practical training of the pharmacist intern concerned; |
| (b) | facilities (hospital pharmacies) where the intern will be rotating must be approved and recorded by Council and each facility must have a pharmacist to supervise the internship; |
| (c) | the facility (hospital pharmacy) where such rotation would take place for purposes of practical training, the period(s) that such services would be provided, as well as the name of the pharmacist under whose supervision the intern would work, must be clearly indicated/described in the contract to be approved by Council before the internship commences; |
| (d) | the rotation must be for purposes of practical training only; |
| (e) | community Service Pharmacists may be used to supervise training of an intern where rotation takes place; and |
| (f) | (See section 2.28.1(h) on the delegation of training by an approved tutor). |
An approved tutor may not delegate his supervisory responsibilities to the Community Service Pharmacist.
