ANZCAP turns one: Thousands  recognised as renewal framework revealed
Fri 25 October 2024

ANZCAP turns one: Thousands recognised as renewal framework revealed

Training Programs expand across care settings and more than 2,500 pharmacists are now recognised through the Australian and New Zealand College of Advanced Pharmacy (ANZCAP).

Advanced Pharmacy Australia (AdPha) today is celebrating the incredible response from pharmacists to ANZCAP’s landmark recognition programs, which have supported practitioners from pharmacy practice settings across Australia and New Zealand to demonstrate and display their experience and expertise.

Unveiled on World Pharmacist Day last year at the 81st FIP World Congress, more than 2,500 Australian pharmacists have now been formally recognised for their prior professional experience; Training Programs leading to ANZCAP recognition are now available at more than 60 hospitals and health care sites; and the first practitioners have been recognised through the portfolio-builder Independent Pathway.

President Tom Simpson FANZCAP (Lead&Mgmt) says AdPha is marking the milestone by confirming details of recognition renewal, while celebrating Pharmacy Residency Training Program expansion into community pharmacy.

‘ANZCAP is the largest, most inclusive and most innovative program of its kind in Australian pharmacy, and we’re pleased today to share details on the renewal and revalidation process.

‘With annual, ‘midcycle’, and five-year milestones, the renewal framework ensures recognitions are appropriately maintained as per the robust governance of the College.

‘We’re also pleased to announce Ramsay Pharmacy has opened the first AdPha Primary Care Resident Training Program at Ramsay Pharmacy Mt Pleasant in Qld. We’re proud to build on AdPha’s long-history of early career hospital pharmacy residencies by offering fast-tracked education programs in this primary care setting.'

Ella Raguz, Medication Safety & Quality Manager at Ramsay Pharmacy and the first Ramsay hospital pharmacist to complete a residency in 2020, says the program – which sees Tyron Hochmuth enrolled as its first community resident – marks a significant step forward for early career community pharmacists.

‘This Pharmacist Resident Training Program offers crucial career progression and recognition for community pharmacists.

'Having been the first hospital resident at Ramsay, it’s a lovely full-circle moment to launch this initiative for Ramsay pharmacy.’

Earlier this month, ANZCAP also announced its inaugural Pharmacy Student of the Year award winner as Thaddeus Chai – a driven and passionate fourth-year pharmacy student at Monash University who was awarded for demonstrating his diverse skills through ANZCAP’s portfolio building platform.

AdPha Chief Executive Kristin Michaels says it’s wonderful to see many students like Thaddeus adopting ANZCAP’s portfolio-building platform, echoing the strong uptake and desire for recognition across the pharmacy profession.

‘For students especially, ANZCAP is invaluable in supporting them to take full ownership of their career progression by providing them with a platform to track and reflect at each stage of their professional journey.

‘It’s incredible how much ANZCAP has achieved in its first year and we have been blown away by the broad participation, which speaks to the widespread desire for recognition in Australian and New Zealand pharmacy.’