It's all change on the CPD front. Laura Reed, head of professional development at Numark, explains revalidation and what you need to do.

This month sees the introduction of the GPhC revalidation process for all registered pharmacy professionals, including pharmacists and technicians. Previously pharmacy professionals would record nine CPD entries a year and submit these as and when they were called up, usually every five years.

However, from April you will now be required to record six entries a year and submit these annually at the time of renewing your registration.

So what is it?

Put simply revalidation is a process to help you to keep your professional skills and knowledge up to date and allow you to demonstrate that you are providing safe and effective care and meeting the standards expected.

For 2018 you will need to complete four CPD entries (two of which must be planned) and submit to them to GPhC
by 31 October 2018 (at the time of renewing your registration). Then from 2019 onwards you will need to submit six records annually when renewing. As well as the four CPD entries (at least two of which are planned) you will also need to add in a peer discussion and a reflective account.

Planned and unplanned

There are two types of CPD – planned and unplanned

• Planned: this is when you decide to develop your knowledge and/or skills in advance of carrying out the activity. It can be any form of learning, from attending a training session to reading a specific training module

• Unplanned: this is when an activity causes unscheduled learning without any prior thought or planning. This could include reading an article in a journal or having a discussion with a colleague. 

A peer discussion is a conversation during which you reflect on your current practice and can be carried out in person, online or by phone. You may choose to discuss your practice overall or focus on a particular aspect. And a reflective account is a summary of your practice over the past year, with specific examples of how you have met the specified GPhC’s standards for pharmacy professionals.

The standards to be demonstrated will be provided each year by GPhC.

So how will it work?

You should continue to complete and record CPD entries throughout the year. Numark has an online training platform which is a great way to record CPD and has hundreds of different articles and modules to choose from.

You will then be required to submit your six entries (four for 2018 only) at the same time of renewing your registration. GPhC will check to make sure you have submitted the right number and type of entries.

A percentage of registrants will then be selected for review each year. If you are selected for review, GPhC will tell you about it and afterwards you will receive personalised feedback. You can use the learning for your next submission.

The five key actions you should begin to take now to prepare for revalidation are:

1. Consider who your service users are: It may include patients, the patient’s family and carers, professional colleagues, students and trainees, organisations or direct and indirect reports. Your scope of practice will determine who this is. You will also need to ensure your CPD entries include examples of how these service users have benefited from the activity undertaken 
2. Print off any previous CPD entries you wish to keep: The current CPD system www.uptodate.org.uk became read-only on 1 April 2018. It will then be taken offline on 1 June 2018 and all content will be deleted. If you want to keep any CPD entries you will need to print them by 1 June 2018. Look out for your log in details to the new GPhC portal via email and post
3. Start recording your entries ahead of the date for your renewal of registration; don’t leave it till the last minute: You will now need to submit your revalidation records at the time of renewing your registration. Therefore it’s important that you begin to think about what you will be recording and start to make entries. You should continue to carry out as much CPD as you feel necessary for your practice. You can then select the four most appropriate entries to submit. Visit the Numark online training platform at for ideas and to record your entries.
4. Begin to think about who couldbe your peer next year: From 2019 you will be required to submit a peer discussion annually. Start to consider if there is anyone who could act as your peer.
5. Finally don’t forget to ensure patient confidentiality: When recording entries ensure you do not disclose any confidential information about patients without their consent. Never submit patient identifiable information as part of your records.

Got a question for the experts at Numark? Get in touch with us by emailing ICP@1530.com or tweet your questions to @NumarkNet, including the hashtag #ICPApril