'Recognition for every pharmacist, everywhere': ANZCAP Independent Program opens in Australia
The second major program of the Australian and New Zealand College of Advanced Pharmacy (ANZCAP) was launched today, with Learning Experiences (LXs) now live as the building blocks of recognition portfolios, which can be started by any Australian pharmacist, across all career stages and practice settings.
The opening of the Independent Program in Australia marks the second pathway for recognition as an ANZCAP Resident, Registrar or Consultant (Fellow), following the October launch of the Foundation Program, which recognises prior professional experience and is now also available in New Zealand.
SHPA President Tom Simpson FANZCAP (LeadMgmt) says ANZCAP provides an intuitive, career-long home for planning and managing workplace-based assessments, the basis for specialisation and progression in pharmacy practice.
‘Learning Experiences (LXs) are at the core of ANZCAP’s independent recognition pathways. They are mapped to relevant competency standards in Australia and completed through one of three forms of validation – solo, in partnership with a peer or through an external third-party body – neatly balancing robustness and accessibility of experiences.
‘I encourage all Australian pharmacists to explore LXs and begin building their personal LX Library, available to all practitioners through Direct ANZCAP Membership or free through SHPA membership, on their way to ANZCAP recognition.’
Supporting the new concepts of the Independent Program, the ANZCAP Info Hub and Help Centre has been significantly extended, with new glossaries, additional FAQs and ‘how-to’ guides to help practitioners as they earn ANZCAP post-nominals: ANZCAP-Res., ANZCAP-Reg. and FANZCAP.
Mr Simpson says the uptake of ANZCAP recognition continues to build across Australia and New Zealand, with upcoming releases to expand access for pharmacists and technicians in both countries next year.
‘We’ve enjoyed seeing recognition photos spread organically on social media since the launch of ANZCAP on 2023 World Pharmacists Day.
‘Now, a dedicated section on “Sharing your achievements” will help ensure pharmacists make the most of their digital badge, certificate and short recognition summaries, designed for multiple personal and professional purposes.’
‘The Independent Program will be followed be Resident and Registrar Training Programs – guiding fasttrack recognition portfolio completion in two years – plus recognition for pharmacy technicians and pharmacy students in 2024.
‘As well as recognising progression in each pharmacist and technician career, ANZCAP recognises the specialty practice areas that practitioners are focusing on, aligning recognition as Registrars or Consultants with one or two of 40 specialty areas.
‘ANZCAP is built for the future on an intuitive digital platform and we look forward to recognising more practitioners from across care settings as the College continues to grow.’
Full information on recognitions, specialties, post-nominals and ANZCAP access, pricing and policy is available via the Info Hub and Help Centre.