The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has updated its Competency Framework for all Prescribers, which sets out what good prescribing looks like across all health professions.
The framework is for all regulators, professional bodies, education providers, prescribing professions and patients/carers to use. It can be used by any prescriber at any point in their career, regardless of their professional background or setting and applies equally to independent prescribers, community practitioner nurse prescribers and supplementary prescribers.
The framework can be used as a self-assessment tool, to inform standards and education of health professionals and by prescribing trainees to evidence they are delivering the competencies required of their role.
After a six week public consultation, the scope of the framework has been expanded, 12 new supporting statements have been included and new information sections added. An online version of the framework is also now available along with a Welsh version, examples in practice, a presentation, help on how to evidence your competency and further supporting resources.
Sue Johnson, SCoR Professional Officer Clinical Imaging, said: 'Hazel Boyce, a therapeutic radiographer independent prescriber from University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust represented the SoR on the revision of the competency framework for all prescribers. The SoR would like to thank Hazel for her work on this.
'The framework is crucial for patient safety in prescribing. All members, whether prescribers or not, are requested to make themselves familiar with this document. It describes best practice for all those who have a role in prescribing and allows those who administer medicines on receipt of a prescription or patient-specific direction to understand the prescribing process.'
RPS lead for the competency framework Regina Ahmed said: 'A common set of competencies should underpin prescribing, regardless of professional background, to enable all prescribers to practise safely and effectively. It applies equally to independent prescribers, community practitioner nurse prescribers and supplementary prescribers.
'Multi-professional input has been essential to manage the update of the framework on behalf of all the prescribing professions in the UK and I’d like to thank those who have worked with is to produce this new version.'
Read the RPS Competency Framework for all Prescribers
You can also attend an RPS webinar explaining the updated framework on Thursday, 23 September 7.30 - 8.30pm. The webinar will be recorded for watching later.