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Abbreviation |
Term |
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APC |
Australian Pharmacy Council |
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CALD |
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse |
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ITA-act |
In-Training Assessment Activity |
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ITP |
Intern Training Program |
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WBA |
Workplace-Based Assessment |
This guide is to be used by pharmacist interns, preceptors, supervising pharmacists and Intern Training Program (ITP) providers.
This document outlines the In-Training Assessment Activity (ITA-act) on health promotion, health services and public health initiatives developed by the Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) for use in the assessment of pharmacy interns in Australia.
The ITA-act is intended to assist with the assessment of an intern’s achievement of one or more of the performance outcomes listed in the outcomes listed in the Performance Outcomes Framework 2020 which accompanied the 2020 Accreditation Standards for Pharmacy Programs in Australia.
Interns will use the tool and the templates for completing a health promotion or public health initiative or implementing a new health service in the workplace.
Preceptors and supervising pharmacists (collectively referred to as Supervisors) will review and approve the intern’s proposal, provide feedback to the intern before, during and after the project, and use the enclosed rubric to assess the level of performance demonstrated by the intern.
Intern Training Program providers will incorporate the tool into the Intern Portfolio, which is the compiled record of the intern’s achievements during the intern year, and which is used as the basis for determining whether the intern has achieved many of the performance outcomes. ITP providers may choose to use the completion of this project as part of the formal requirement of the ITP.
Familiarity with the following documents is recommended and they should be read in conjunction with this User Guide.
Standard 3.6 of the National Competency Standards Framework for Pharmacists in Australia (2016) indicates that the roles of pharmacists include those of health advocacy, health protection, health promotion and disease prevention. Enabling competency 3.6.2 is to “support health promotion activities and health services intended to maintain and improve health” and enabling competency 3.6.3 is to “support evidence-based public health programs”.
Performance outcome 3.22 of the Performance Outcomes Framework is mapped to these two enabling competencies and requires interns to demonstrate that they are independently competent in and committed to “endorsing and participating in … health promotion activities, health services and public health initiatives intended to maintain and improve health”. Interns must show that they have demonstrated performance outcome 3.22 as part of the process of achieving general registration.
Interns can meet this performance outcome in several ways, including health promotion activities, public health initiatives, programs aimed at promoting healthy lifestyle choices and managing risk factors for disease.
The purpose of this tool is to provide interns with structured guidance and templates on which to base the design, implementation and evaluation of a specific health promotion, service or public health initiative which is intended to maintain and/or improve the health of members of the public.
During the intern year, the intern should take personal responsibility, under the supervision of the preceptor or supervising pharmacist, for:
This tool facilitates the demonstration of achievement of performance outcome 3.22. It also can be used as evidence of achievement of other performance outcomes since it involves the application of other skills, attitudes, and behaviours necessary for competent professional practice.
The tool comprises the following elements:
The specific context of the intern’s workplace will be a significant determinant of the nature of the activity that is most appropriate. The intent is to contribute to public or preventative health in a manner that is relevant to the needs of the local community. Interns in community pharmacy may choose to carry out the activity in their workplace; interns in hospital pharmacy may choose to carry out the activity in the hospital setting (e.g., through outpatient clinics) or may need to consider carrying out the activity outside their immediate workplace, for example in community groups. Interns in community pharmacy may also choose to carry out the activity external to their workplace.
The intern and preceptor or supervising pharmacist should jointly determine an important need in the community for public or preventative health. While the activity is intended to provide evidence of the intern’s performance, it should also be useful and lead to the potential for improved health outcomes. An activity designed simply for the purposes of demonstrating the achievement of performance outcome 3.22 is inappropriate.
Activities should be planned and implemented in accordance with the principles outlined in the Clinical Governance Principles for pharmacy services. Activities should take account of the following:
In general, on completion of the activity, the intern is expected to have provided evidence of achievement of performance outcome 3.22. A more fine-grained description of this performance outcome includes aspects such as those outlined in enabling competencies 3.6.2 and 3.6.3, namely:
There are several key parts to the process, and the following section outlines some of the expectations of the level of involvement of the intern.
The Flowchart (Figure 1) details the steps which comprise the ITA health promotion activity.
Figure 1: Steps in the ITA health promotion activity
Needs analysis
The intern should already be familiar with Australian national health priorities and should also undertake some form of research into the health and/or disease demographics of the target audience of the activity. This research does not have to be formal but could involve observations of the pharmacy’s patient base and general demographic. Alternatively, interns could choose to use formal research methods to identify age and disease profiles of the local area or community. Interns are encouraged to familiarise themselves with resources such as department of health events calendars within their jurisdiction which list significant health awareness days/weeks and months, functions, and national events with which they may choose to align their activity.
Target audience
The activity should involve direct contact with the public and deliver outcomes directly to individuals or groups within the community or broader society. In other words, activities which involve only staff training are not appropriate for demonstrating the achievement of performance outcome 3.22. Staff training activities are more appropriately associated with demonstration of the achievement of performance outcome 5.2.
Choice of activity
Interns may choose from different types of activities such as:
Please note that this list is not exhaustive. Some useful resources to support the choice of activity include:
Once the activity has been identified and agreed with the supervisor, the intern is expected to take a lead role in the design, implementation, and evaluation. The intern is not expected to run the activity alone but should act with responsibility and a degree of autonomy in ensuring it is appropriately delivered.
Nature of activity
Depending on the details of the activity, interns may choose to implement activities such as:
Other types of activity may also be appropriate.
If the activity is to be included as a formal part of an ITP, providers may choose to require submission of a detailed plan for the activity prior to its commencement.
In conjunction with the preceptor or supervising pharmacist, the intern should plan and design the activity from preparatory stages through to evaluation. Aspects which should be considered in the planning phase include:
Some activities may not be delivered in the workplace (for example a presentation to a community group). It may not always be necessary that the preceptor or supervising pharmacist be present at such activities to provide physical oversight, but processes should be in place to ensure that the activity is undertaken appropriately, and an appropriate level of supervision is in place. The appropriate level of supervision should be decided based on a risk assessment for the individual activity. This is likely to involve agreements between the pharmacy and the group for which the activity is designed, or other measures designed to ensure appropriate risk management and mitigation.
It is critical to be aware that where an activity is conducted at a site other than the normal workplace, any advice given to the audience must be general in nature, and specific advice to individuals should not be provided.
The intern should undertake a significant role in the implementation of the activity. This may or may not encompass “hands-on” involvement, but the intern should take responsibility for the conduct of the activity.
Evaluation of the impact of the activity is an essential part of the process and the intern should take primary responsibility for ensuring this is completed. The activity should be evaluated by both the intern and the participants in the activity. The evaluation should be designed to address relevant aspects of the activity, including:
The evaluation could be carried out using surveys, written feedback, verbal feedback and/or other measures of relevance. An essential part of the evaluation process is a written reflection by the intern on the activity.
There are two types of feedback which should be provided by the supervisor as part of the process of using this tool.
Firstly, the supervisor should provide feedback to the intern on how they designed, implemented, and evaluated the activity. This feedback should be provided during the lead-up to the activity and potentially during the activity. Some feedback may be formally documented, but informal verbal feedback and guidance should also be provided as appropriate.
Secondly, the supervisor should give formalised feedback to the intern after the activity concludes. An assessment and feedback template and rubric are included to structure this process.
Purpose of the template
This template is designed to support and guide interns through the process of deciding upon an appropriate and relevant activity (health promotion, health service, public health initiative) to undertake. It guides interns through a series of questions to prompt them to consider significant aspects and decisions which need to be made to create an effective activity.
When it should be used
Interns should work through this template as they consider which activity to undertake. It may be used iteratively to identify both positive reasons for a particular activity as well as any constraints that may make it unviable.
Completing the template
Interns do not need to complete the template in order of the sections but should use them to guide the research and reflection which leads to the choice of the final activity. Interns should share their findings from use of this template with their supervisor as a means of structuring discussions and refining the proposed activity. The template should include information relevant to the activity but does not need to be overly detailed.
Purpose of the template
This template is intended to structure the summary of the activity as it was implemented. It is also designed to summarise the feedback received about the activity, particularly from participants. In addition to providing a summary of the activity itself, it should also serve as the basis for reflection by the intern. This reflection should be based on the feedback received as well as the intern’s own perceptions of the activity.
When it should be used
Completion of the template can be started before the activity occurs and should be completed soon after the activity and after receiving and compiling the feedback received.
Completing the template
Interns do not need to complete the template in order of the sections but should use it to structure the key aspects of implementation of the activity. Again, the template should include information relevant to the activity but does not need to be overly detailed. Content which was included in the design template can be copied directly into the report and evaluation template where relevant and appropriate. Interns should share and discuss the report and evaluation with their supervisor.
Purpose of the template
This template is designed to structure the assessment of intern performance by the supervisor.
When it should be used
The intern and supervisor should discuss the report and evaluation report, in addition to any comments that the supervisor might have about the performance of the intern and the implementation of the activity more generally.
Completing the template
The template is designed to be completed by assessing each element as Demonstrated satisfactorily or Needs improvement and ticking the box in the relevant column. The final section should be used to provide more detailed feedback, including both aspects where the intern’s performance was appropriate and reasons why the supervisor assessed elements as Needs improvement. The focus is to guide the intern towards more effective performance on subsequent occasions.