The Ontario College of Pharmacists (OCP) have committed $400,000 in support of the School of Pharmacy’s Pharmacy5in5 online education tool. Developed by Professor Kelly Grindrod, Pharmacy5in5 is an interactive, online teaching tool that houses self-assessment quizzes and other educational resources.
Marshall Moleschi, former OCP registrar, Dr Kelly Grindrod, and Dr David Edwards
“We are excited to be contributing to the ongoing development of this new initiative developed by the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy,” said Anne Resnick, Acting Registrar of OCP.
“Improving pharmacy practice 5 minutes at a time” is the platform’s tagline, and Dr. Grindrod takes that message seriously.
“Many pharmacists see hundreds of patients a day in addition to having busy lives outside the workplace,” says Dr. Grindrod. “It can be difficult to find time to complete continuing education modules or to attend conferences."
Pharmacy5in5 is being designed to be adaptive: you can use it on your phone, your tablet, your computer, and the content is packaged tightly and concisely.
Hallman Director David Edwards describes how OCP’s support will benefit the project:
"With OCP's funding, Pharmacy5in5 will be made available to pharmacists, pharmacy students, and pharmacy technicians across Ontario, enabling them to better understand their scope of practice and how to move forward delivering services to patients."
OCP's support also provides Dr. Grindrod and her team with the resources to explore new and innovative strategies for presenting educational content.
"As we increasingly make use of digital tools like smartphones, the way we learn is changing,” says Grindrod. “We're working to incorporate new and emerging learning strategies such as simulations, game-theory, and persuasive technologies so that we can expand the types of exercises offered on Pharmacy5in5."
iPhone and Android app versions of the platform will be tested by pharmacy students, after which it will be available to pharmacists across the province.
Learn more about Pharmacy5in5:
Why develop Pharmacy5in5?
In recent years, the pharmacist role in Ontario has expanded to include adaptations, renewals, select prescribing, and influenza immunizations with more changes likely to come. Couple these with evolving government-funded services like MedsCheck, smoking cessation, and professional opinion programs, and pharmacists have a plethora of novel ways to support patients.
Despite these changes, many pharmacists work in relative isolation and face challenges in taking advantage of the added aspects of their role. In a community pharmacy, there is often only one pharmacist scheduled to work at a time with little overlap and limited contact with colleagues in other workplaces. With OCP support, Pharmacy5in5 can fill in these gaps and provide learning opportunities.
"Building on our mandate to protect the public interest, our vision is to lead the advancement of pharmacy to optimize health and wellness through patient-centred care,” says Anne Resnick, Acting Registrar, OCP. “The data generated from the participation of pharmacy professionals in Pharmacy5in5 will assist the College to identify gaps in practice and guide the development of strategies to close those gaps and ultimately enhance practice.”
What is Pharmacy5in5?
Pharmacy5in5 was initially developed with start-up funding from the Ontario Pharmacists Research Collaboration with a goal of creating convenient, interactive, and useful resources. The platform uses a modular design which allows participants to navigate content at their own pace.
Though content continues to be developed for the platform, a wide variety of topics are currently covered. Often, these topics are informed by current events like the ongoing opioid crisis.
Content also draws from the evolving nature of practicing pharmacy in Ontario. Responding to an increasingly diverse patient population, Grindrod and her team developed resources on medication safety for Muslim patients who fast during Ramadan.