A review of the continuous professional development system for pharmacists

Background The Portuguese Pharmaceutical Society (PPS) implemented a system of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for pharmacists in 2004. This system has evolved throughout the years, and currently all active pharmacists in Portugal are required to participate in the CPD program. Each CPD cycle takes 5 years. In each cycle, pharmacists must collect 15 CPD points, through participation in educational activities. The PPS accreditation process is managed via an online platform, where education/training providers, as well as pharmacists themselves, can submit educational activities for accreditation. Pharmacists may access their CPD status and assess their development at any point. The objective of this study was to analyze and review the educational activities submitted by providers over a 11-year period (2009–2019). Methods Data from activities were retrieved from the PPS CPD online platform. All educational activities were labeled according to the area of pharmaceutical professional focus, type of promoter, and activity type. Results During the study 3685 activities were analyzed. Over the last decade, submitted activities for accreditation increased in 52.6%. A significantly high proportion (98.9%) of these activities has been accredited. Promoters of activities were mostly pharmacies sectoral associations (29.6%), consultancy/training companies (19.6%), the PPS (18.5%), pharmaceutical industry (17.7%) and wholesalers’ consortia (9.0%). Academia represented only 2.3% of the total amount of educational activities. The most frequent topics were related to “pharmacology & pharmacotherapy” (9.9%), followed by “counselling” (9.8%) and “management & administration” (7.2%). The most accredited type of activities was face-to-face (68.9%) and e-learning trainings (13.1%). Conclusions This study shows increasing interest in submitting CPD activities for accreditation between 2009 and 2019, but it also demonstrates that Academia could play a more interventive role in the lifelong learning education of Portuguese pharmacists.

Nurses’ stress and resilience before and after evaluation for hospital accreditation

ABSTRACT Objectives: to analyze and compare levels of stress and resilience in nurses before and after the assessment for maintenance of the Hospital Accreditation Certification. Methods: quantitative, observational, and longitudinal research, with 53 nurses from a philanthropic hospital, in the Rio Grande do Sul. Data collected in two stages, March, and July 2019, before the assessment visit and 60 days after, using the Bianchi Stress Scale and Resilience Scale. Descriptive and analytical statistics were employed. Results: the majority of participants showed an average stress level before and after the evaluation. The highest stress scores were related to Domains E (coordination of unit activities) and C (activities related to personnel administration). In both moments of the study, the participants had medium and high resilience. Conclusions: managing people, processes, and assistance are stressful activities in the Accreditation process and increase the nurses’ stress levels.

The Role of Accrediting Agencies

Accrediting agencies are autonomous bodies commissioned mainly to grant accreditation to academic institutions that meet the prescribed quality standards. The accreditation process takes through a detailed systematic procedure that considers reviewing of the academic institution operations, whether teaching and learning offered to meet the quality standards, and encourages improvement to international standards. All accreditations offered by accrediting bodies call for institutional accreditation before any other type of accreditation is granted. Accreditation can be classified as international and national, where the process in both the methods have some common and different steps. Each accrediting body under the designated government authority has prescribed procedures, terms, and conditions to be fulfilled by institutions for the accreditation process. OAAA, CAA, and the NCAAA are the more active accrediting bodies operational in the GCC region commissioned in Oman, UAE, and KSA, respectively.

Hospital accreditation processes in Saudi Arabia: a thematic analysis of hospital staff experiences

BackgroundHospital accreditation by an international organisation can play an important role in health quality and safety. However, little is known about how managers and front-line employees experience and perceive the effects of accreditation. Their views could inform quality improvement processes and procedures.ObjectiveTo explore perceptions of employees at the managerial level on the Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation process and its impact on quality of patient care in Saudi Arabian JCI-accredited hospitals.MethodsWe undertook a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews to explore the perspectives of senior staff from three accredited public hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Interviews were transcribed prior to thematic analysis.ResultsTwenty managers participated in the interviews. The following inter-related themes emerged concerning the JCI accreditation process and its impact on quality of patient care: drivers for the change; the plan for the change; the process of the change; maintaining changes post-accreditation and patients’ issues. Participants were positive in their accounts of: drivers for the change; planning for the change needed to achieve accreditation and managing patients’ issues. However, participants reported less favourably on: the process of the change; and maintaining changes post-accreditation.ConclusionThe planning stage was perceived as the easiest component of JCI accreditation. Implementing and maintaining changes post-accreditation that demonstrably promote patient safety and quality of care was perceived as more difficult. When planning for accreditation, institutions need to incorporate strategies to ensure that improvements to care continue beyond the accreditation period.

Recognizing and mediating bureaucratic barriers: increasing access to care through small and medium-sized private providers in Kenya

Background: Equitable access to health services can be constrained in countries where private practitioners make up a large portion of primary care providers. Expanding purchasing arrangements has helped many countries integrate private providers into government-supported payment schemes, reducing financial barriers to care. However, private providers often must go through an onerous accreditation process to enroll in these schemes. The difficulties of this process are exacerbated where health policy is changed often and low-level bureaucrats must navigate these shifts at their own discretion. This paper analyzes one initiative to increase private provider accreditation with social health insurance (SHI) in Kenya by creating an intermediary between providers and “street-level” SHI bureaucrats. Methods: This paper draws on 126 semi-structured interviews about SHI accreditation experience with private providers who were members of a franchise network in Kenya. It also draws on four focus group discussions conducted with franchise representatives who provided accreditation support to the providers and served as liaisons between the franchised providers and local SHI offices. There was a total of 20 participants across all four focus groups. Results: In a governance environment where regulations are weak and impermanent, street-level bureaucrats often created an accreditation process that was inconsistent and opaque. Support from the implementing organizations increased communication between SHI officials and providers, which clarified rules and increased providers’ confidence in the system. The intermediaries also reduced bureaucrats’ ability to apply regulations at will and helped to standardize the accreditation process for both providers and bureaucrats. Conclusions: We conclude that intermediary organizations can mitigate institutional weaknesses and facilitate process efficiency. However, intermediaries only have a temporary role to play where there is potential to: 1) directly increase private providers’ power in a complex regulatory system; 2) reform the system itself to be more responsive to the limitations of on-the-ground implementation.

Effective Implementation of Outcome-based Education: The Role of Faculty Awareness

Accreditation of technical institutions is very important to guarantee the quality of technical education that is being offered. Outcome based education (OBE) is followed in the delivery of technical education across all Institutions in India and the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), which is the nodal accreditation body for technical institutions in India follows outcome based accreditation (OBA) in the accreditation of technical programs. In the OBE and OBA, faculty constitutes the most important component and plays an important role in facilitation of the same. In this regard, the authors felt that there is a need to understand the level of awareness of faculty about the same and accordingly a survey was conducted among the faculty of the authors’ institution, which is an autonomous Institution and comes under Tier I scheme of NBA accreditation process. From among 285 faculty members, about 96 participated in the survey. This paper discusses the significance of faculty’s awareness and involvement in the accreditation process and implementation of OBE. The results of the survey indicate some interesting findings, which is discussed in detail. Some suggestions and guidelines are given at the end to increase the level of awareness and their involvement in the OBE and OBA processes respectively.

Investigation of Instructors' Views on the Accreditation Process of Schools of Foreign Languages

The main purpose of this study is to determine the views of instructors who work at accredited schools of foreign languages about the accreditation process that they have been through. This study follows the qualitative case study research design. The participants were 31 English instructors working at 12 different foreign language schools in Turkey. A set of semi-structured interview questions created by the researchers were used as the data collection tool. The collected data were then subjected to content analysis. It was found that documentation was the most problematic area for the institutions during the accreditation process, so it was the most labor-intensive area for the instructors. Also, it was found that there were significant improvements in the learning and teaching process at these institutions, which resulted in a higher quality of instruction. In addition, it was observed that the accreditation process triggers creation of a culture of quality and continuous development among the instructors. It can be recommended that all teaching staff should be well informed about the accreditation purpose and process, ensuring staff readiness. Furthermore, the burden of work involved in accreditation should be shared by all the staff, with a well-planned and balanced division of labor among them.

Refining the Content of the AGEC Accreditation Handbook

The AGEC Accreditation Handbook and Self-Evaluation Guide has been revised several times since the first drafts were produced in 2016 and 2017. The Handbook contains information for accreditation applicants, AGEC reviewers, and members of the Board of Governors responsible for administering AGEC policies and procedures. It includes the accreditation standards, eligibility for accreditation, timelines, and self-study and site visit guidelines. It is the central document for the AGEC accreditation process. Handbook revisions, drawn from the experience of accrediting programs, have been for the purposes of clarifying expectations and simplifying the application process. This presentation highlights modifications included in the 2020 Handbook, which simplify the self-study outline and site visit guidelines, and the 2021 modifications, which clarify the “Mapping Course Matrix” (displaying AGHE competencies covered in program courses) and add an “Assessment Matrix” for measuring acquisition of the competencies and improving the program as needed.

Involvement and skepticism towards the JCI Accreditation process among hospital’s four sectors employees: suggestions for cultural change

Background Implementing the JCI Accreditation process as an organizational culture may face resistance. However, the skepticism and involvement of different hospital sectors (medical, nursing, paramedical, and administrative/logistic) in the process may vary. Conducting organizational change needs tools to decrease resistance. Objectives To investigate the attitudes, cultural norms, and satisfaction of the different sectors regarding the accreditation process, and to suggest ways to integrate the process as part of the organizational culture. Materials and methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 462 respondents (187 nurses, 95 physicians, 92 administrative, 88 paramedical) at Rambam Health Care Campus, a tertiary hospital in Israel. The hospital employees' attitudes, cultural norms, and satisfaction were assessed. ANOVA tests were used to examine the differences among the different sectors. The association between the satisfaction from the process and the preferred type of training was examined using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results Significant differences were found among the sectors in the scores related to attitude, cultural norms, and satisfaction from the accreditation process (F (3, 456) = 17.95, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.10). Gabriel post-hoc test revealed significantly lower scores between the medical and paramedical sectors. A positive correlation was found between the degree of satisfaction with the process and the satisfaction with the training type. Frontal education and video demonstrations were rated significantly higher among all 10 training types. Conclusions More efforts should be made to increase involvement among physicians and paramedical teams in the accreditation process. Each sector leadership involvement is essential for their involvement too. Early involvement of the Israeli Medical Association in the process might have achieved better physicians’ collaboration. Frontal education and video demonstrations may help decrease skepticism and increase positive attitudes.

Dashboard Business Intelligence Vusialisasi Data Akreditasi Sekolah Pada SMP Negeri 1 Sembawa

This study aims to create a business intelligence dashboard to support school accreditation at SMP Negeri 1 Sembawa in the form of data visualization. In this study, several business intelligence dashboards were produced with the aim of providing convenience for schools in supporting the school accreditation process. Business intelligence is a tool to manage data and perform data analysis that can support school accreditation which will be collected into a data mart and the analysis process is carried out in the form of a cube. For the ETL process using the help of SQL Server Management Studio and SQL Server Development software and as a design for the dashboard creation using the Power BI software. This research has several dashboards including student achievement dashboard based on achievement level, student achievement dashboard based on year of achievement, and student achievement based on graduation which can be seen by year and gender of students.