What is a common training framework?
The Common Training Framework (CTF) is a legal tool to achieve automatic professional qualification recognition across EU countries, meaning that learning outcomes and competencies received in one European country are recognized throughout Europe.
A common training framework for hospital pharmacy will represent an important international agreement on the competencies, knowledge, skills and attitudes required by the profession to deliver on the 44 European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy. Thereafter, it is intended that the common training framework will be initially used as a flexible tool for hospital pharmacy development across Europe, fully reflecting national and regional realities. This includes being:
- an inspiration for the development of competency-based education and training programmes for hospital pharmacy, especially in those countries where formal structures of this kind may be under consideration.
- an opportunity for cross-border cooperation in the provision of hospital pharmacy education and training.
- a European benchmark to which existing national programmes of hospital pharmacy education and training can be compared.
- a reference tool for those with responsibility for the provision of workplace based systems of training and development.
In the longer term, it is hoped that ongoing and enhanced agreement between countries on the competencies required for practice of hospital pharmacy may present new opportunities for labour mobility.
Why a common training framework in hospital pharmacy?
The 44 European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy, agreed via EAHP’s national member country platforms, and in partnership with European patient and healthcare professional organisations, set out the vision of what hospital pharmacy should aspire to achieve in all countries.
What is now required are the tools for the profession to achieve this vision, and uppermost among these is the educational background to fulfill tasks that go above and beyond that provided for in the initial MPharm qualification. These include such areas as medicines production and compounding, interface management, rare diseases, advanced therapies and the conduct of clinical trials.
By agreeing at a pan-European level the framework of competencies required to achieve the European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy, all countries can have clarity, and a benchmark, as to what education is necessary to underpin the highest performance of their hospital pharmacy profession. In short, the path to improvement is further illuminated.
An eventual common training framework of legal standing will achieve a step towards change in hospital pharmacist labour mobility and open new doors to the sharing of best practices, knowledge and improvement opportunities.
The ultimate guiding mission of all involved in the common training framework project is to enhance the quality of, safety of, and equity of access to, patient care in every European country. The hospital pharmacist’s role in achieving this mission cannot be realised without fundamental educational underpinning to advanced practice.
Who develops the project?
The common training framework is an initiative led by the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists and conducted from amongst its membership, the 35 country platforms representing hospital pharmacists at the national level.
Further information about the governance structure of the project is available here.