The first cohort of the College of Pharmacy’s Primary Care Certificate Training Program completed the program June 24. The 12-week program included 17 learners in the first cohort. They each received a certificate and badge of completion.
“As the role of the pharmacist continues to expand and evolve, the primary care certificate program prepares pharmacists to engage in direct patient care and develop the skills and expertise necessary to succeed in the outpatient primary care setting,” said James Wheeler, PharmD, BCPS, associate dean for the Knoxville Campus and director of Continuing Professional Development.
The ACPE-accredited program includes 30 hours of didactic and experiential training, providing learners with 30 hours of continuing pharmacy education (CPE) credit. The curriculum is a blended approach of didactic, simulation, and one-on-one coaching sessions with clinical care coaches, pharmacists serving as mentors in the program and practicing in primary care settings. The next cohort will launch in May 2022.
Two of the participants, Joanna Buxkemper, PharmD, and Kayla Agee, PharmD, answered questions about their experience and the value of the program.
Q: Why is the Pharmacist Primary Care Certificate Training Program valuable?
Joanna: This program provides a link for pharmacists who have been away from formal education for a while, giving them a chance to reconnect with changes to practice and find new opportunities for ways to practice that may not have existed, or existed in as accessible of a format, when they were in pharmacy school.
Kayla: The Pharmacist Primary Care Certificate Training Program is valuable in that it enhances pharmacists’ knowledge in direct patient care. As the role of a pharmacist is continually changing, it is crucial to be adequately prepared to serve our patients in a more clinical role. This program included didactic learning that was a good review of the most common disease states addressed in the primary care setting. Additionally, the program took the learning process a step further by including experiential training that allowed us to practice what we had learned. Overall, I feel much better equipped to care for my patients and provide services outside of the scope of the traditional dispensing role.
Q: Explain what you are doing now. How has the program facilitated your success or prepared you for your transition and new role?
Joanna: I am transitioning into a hybrid role where I will wear many hats – as a dispensing pharmacist, a manager, and as a leader in implementing new services. This program truly equipped me with an arsenal of updated information to present to my employers. A presentation that I made leaning heavily on resources gleaned from this program became a turning point in my career so far. It was the final puzzle piece in paving the way forward for my transition from full-time traditional community pharmacist to my new role where a significant portion of my time will be spent collaborating with primary care clinics to implement pharmacist services within their operations. I’m still at the very beginning of this transition, so it remains to be seen where the road ahead leads, but I cannot deny that this program came along at just the right time for me, and it was invaluable in convincing stakeholders at my once PRN, now fulltime employer, of the value pharmacists can bring to their practice.
Kayla: As pharmacist-in-charge of an independent pharmacy in a rural area, one of my dreams has always been to initiate diabetes education classes. While completing the Pharmacist Primary Care Certificate Training Program, I was paired with a clinical coach who was already performing these education classes in his independent pharmacy. He was able to direct me on the right path for how to get the process started. Additionally, he allowed me to join his classes to see how he conducted them. I am currently still working through the weeds of getting things up and running, but I feel adequately prepared to not only teach the classes, but bill for my services. Overall, I can confidently say this course helped me find ways to better serve my patients.
