Pharmacy Act, 1974 (Act No. 53 of 1974)Board Notice2018 Competency Standards for Pharmacists in South Africa6. Development of the Competency Standards |
The 2006 SAPC competence standards were developed using a competence approach that focused only on knowledge and skills. Behavioural aspects and attitudes were not considered.
The 2018 SAPC competency standards for pharmacists were developed in line with the FIP global competency framework (2012).
The SAPC panel of experts held three meetings to develop a draft document. During the first meeting, the panel identified a number of inadequacies in the 2006 SAPC competence standards for pharmacists. The panel identified that:
| (a) | cultural aspects were either disregarded or not clearly evident; |
| (b) | the standards were mostly task driven with a focus on capabilities and outcomes, and behavioural aspects were absent or not apparent; |
| (c) | no consideration was given to aspects of multidisciplinary practice; |
| (d) | new developments since 2006 were not addressed, such as preparations for the National Health Insurance, and the National Core Standards; |
| (e) | the standards failed to provide a process to encourage practising pharmacists to incorporate changes in the undergraduate curriculum into daily practice; and |
| (f) | there was a general lack of inclusion of pharmacoeconomic principles and practice. |
The panel of experts agreed that the competence standards (2006) should be developed into competency standards based on the following principles:
| (a) | accommodate all sectors of the profession of pharmacy, including, academia, administration, community, institutional (hospital), managed care, manufacturing and wholesale practice; |
| (b) | recognise the current BPharm qualification is a four year professional degree; |
| (c) | inform the ELOs of the BPharm qualification; |
| (d) | consider the National Qualifications Framework level (NQF) descriptors; |
| (e) | contextualise the content for South African resources and needs; |
| (f) | align with South Africa’s policies and plans, e.g. the National Health Insurance (NHI) and the National Development Plan (NDP); |
| (g) | support the implementation of the National Core Standards (NCS) and NHI; and |
(h) guide the CPD of pharmacists.
A mapping tool, developed from documentation from selected countries that had drafted competency standards using the FIP global competency framework (2012), was used for benchmarking purposes. Information from the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, the European Union, Singapore, Canada and USA was also used.