SHPA’s two-year Registrar Training Programs (previously known as Advanced Training Residencies) are targeted towards pharmacists with general foundation level expertise and experience in hospital practice seeking to advance their practice towards ANZCAP Registrar recognition and provide expert care and service delivery in their defined practice area.

The Registrar Training Program (Reg-TP) is ideal for pharmacists with three to seven years of foundation hospital experience. Prospective Registrar candidates may have:

• completed an SHPA Resident Training Program (previously know as a Foundation Residency), or

• equivalent experience, defined as at least two years' post-registration hospital pharmacy experience, in an environment that provides suitable broad foundation experience for the relevant Reg-TP practice area.

Pharmacists with more than 7 years' experience may also be suitable for a Reg-TP if they are moving into a defined or specialised area of practice that is new for them.

Pharmacists may be interested in undertaking a Reg-TP if they:

• have prior experience in a defined practice area and are seeking to specialise or advance their practice, or

• have been recently recruited to a senior pharmacist/leadership role without significant experience in the area and are in a position to undertake a Registrar Training Program to support their professional practice and development in their new role (the workplace may design a Reg-TP specifically for the pharmacist and their new appointment).      

The above reasons are examples only. SHPA anticipates there will be other circumstances to which a Reg-TP is suited.

Each Reg-TP must have a defined practice area which can be generalist or specialist in scope. Pharmacy departments developing their Registrar Training Programs should align any specialty areas to the SHPA Specialty Practice Streams (Specialty Practice). It is up to the individual pharmacy departments to determine the Reg-TP pathways they wish to implement (based on organisational needs) and the recruitment processes.

Each individual’s Reg-TP will be based upon one of the following documents:

• SHPA Registrar Training Program Common Framework: This is a generic developmental pathway that can be adapted to any practice area

• SHPA Practice Area Framework and Knowledge Guide: This is a suite of documents that contextualizes and expands the Common Framework to defined practice areas

The SHPA Registrar Training Program Common Framework can be applied to any Reg-TP practice area to facilitate advancement. Where a Reg-TP pathway maps to an existing SHPA model Practice Area Framework and Knowledge Guide, these should be used in lieu of the Common Framework to inform and develop the local Reg-TP.

Registrar candidates may not necessarily have defined rotations – their workplan will align strongly with the defined practice area and have a minimum of 18 months of the two-year program spent in a working environment directly linked to this area. Registrar candidates will also be supported by a pharmacist mentor (Registrar Training Program Mentor) with expert practice in the area and have input from an external mentor (e.g. specialist medical practitioner, senior nursing staff, etc) to provide external support and insight into their role and performance.

Assessment and evaluation of Registrar candidate performance development over time will be in accordance with the evaluation tools outlined in the SHPA Registrar Training Program evaluation and assessment matrix.

The Registrar Training Program Mentor for a given Reg-TP pathway is required to demonstrate performance at ANZCAP Registrar level or above in a practice area highly relevant to the Reg-TP. If ANZCAP credentialing has not been obtained, the proposed mentor will need to submit evidence demonstrating equivalent experience, which will be assessed by SHPA for approval.

The mentor is likely to be a senior pharmacist currently engaged in the practice area within the organisation, who will be directly supervising the Registrar candidate. One Registrar Training Program Mentor may provide support to more than one Registrar candidate if appropriate and practicable. If the organisation does not have a suitable senior pharmacist to lead the Registrar candidate, a mentor can be identified from another health network in Australia (preferably within the same state). Any sites unable to identify a suitable mentor should contact the SHPA for guidance.