The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) has recently published a Knowledge and Skills Reference Guide for Professional Development in Diabetes. FIP says it has been championing the role of pharmacists in preventing and treating chronic diseases, including diabetes, since 2006, and this latest guide, which is intended as a companion to the FIP diabetes handbook for pharmacists published in 2021, will help pharmacists to identify and acquire the competencies, such as screening and clinical management, they need to provide services for patients with diabetes, said the Federation.
As well as supporting pharmacists to upskill themselves as their careers develop, the new FIP publication is intended to guide the design and delivery of education and training programmes by continuing professional development providers. The guide acknowledges that there are some barriers to and regulations around providing diabetes-related services in some countries, but emphasises that “the incorporation of pharmacists into multidisciplinary diabetes care teams should always be strongly considered by clinicians and health policy-makers”.
The authors wrote: “By expanding the full potential of pharmacists in the delivery of diabetes care and associated services, we get closer to offering optimal health services to patients, making sure that no-one is left behind.
“Diabetes is a serious and complex health condition affecting millions of people worldwide.
“Pharmacists are uniquely positioned to support patients on their health journeys, supporting screening, prevention, treatment and medication management as part of multidisciplinary care teams. This FIP publication is an important resource to support pharmacists in identifying the knowledge and skills needed to upskill for improved care and management in diabetes. The guide can also be used by educators and providers of continuing education to cross-reference content and learning outcomes to the information included in the guide,” said Dr Astrid Czock, FIP Workforce Development Hub Lead for FIP Development Goal 8 and a member of the knowledge and skills guide advisory group.
The full guide is available at https://www.fip.org/file/5181.
