Quality Assurance of Pharmacy Education

Background

As the practice of pharmacy has become more complex and more accessible and as medical therapies have been used in more and diverse patients, patient safety and accountability for outcomes of therapy have become a greater focus of attention. Consumers and governments are demanding higher standards and seeking assurances of quality. Likewise, greater attention is being paid to the quantity and quality of pharmacist and pharmaceutical human resources, including the systems in place to assure the quality of education and training and the ongoing competence of practitioners. Consequently, many countries are introducing, expanding or undertaking major reform of pharmacy education. Such developments must be accompanied by robust systems to assure the quality of the educational structures, processes and outcomes; the latter primarily being graduates who are competent and capable of performing safely and effectively in their practice setting and contributing to the delivery of healthcare.

Introduction 

To promote and facilitate international dialogue and collaboration in the area of quality assurance of pharmacy education, the International Forum for Quality Assurance of Pharmacy Education was established in 2001. It operates under the auspices of the Academic Section of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), primarily as an informal network of individuals interested in the quality assurance and quality advancement of pharmacy education. The Forum has identified that countries seeking to establish or improve their quality system would benefit from an internationally‐developed and adopted QA framework. The Quality Assurance Project Team of the Pharmacy Education Taskforce was convened to continue the development of this “global framework”. The framework incorporates core principles and elements considered essential for an effective approach to quality assurance.

The objectives of the Quality Assurance Project Team are to: 1. Validate and further develop the Global Framework for Quality Assurance of Pharmacy Education. 2. Examine accreditation and quality assurance models and systems in country case studies 3. Provide guidance for the development of national and regional quality assurance systems