The ePortfolio Review is the process by which pharmacists are required to submit an extract from their ePortfolio which demonstrates that they are appropriately engaging in CPD. Pharmacists can expect to be called to participate in an ePortfolio review once in every five year period.
The standards for each ePortfolio Review have been set by a group of pharmacists from a diverse range of practice backgrounds who responded to a profession-wide expression of interest to be involved. The group was tasked with setting minimum standards for the review, incorporating both the legislative requirements and what would reasonably and practically indicate appropriate CPD engagement.
The IIOP ePortfolio has been specifically designed to meet the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) needs of Irish pharmacists. This online tool allows you to plan, record and reflect on all aspects of your (CPD). It has been designed in line with the IIOP CPD model and the PSI’s Core Competency Framework.
The ePortfolio is an easy way of keeping track of your continuing professional development. The different stages of the system will guide you to record your learning in the format of the IIOP five-stage CPD cycle.
The IIOP ePortfolio can be accessed only by Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Assistants who are registered with the PSI. You should use your IIOP username and password to log in to the secure access area of the IIOP website. Once logged in, you will only be able to access or view your own ePortfolio.
Your ePortfolio also gives you access to a Core Competency Self-Assessment Tool (CCSAT). This tool will help you to consider your development in the context of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland’s Core Competency Framework (CCF) for Pharmacists. It is not intended to be used for each CPD cycle. Instead, it should be used regularly as a means of self-assessment. As with all aspects of the IIOP ePortfolio, the information that you put into CCSAT is secure and private to you.
The CCSAT is intended to help you with your self-appraisal, one of the five stages of the IIOP CPD cycle. By answering a series of questions, the CCSAT allows you to identify the competencies that are most relevant for your development. These competencies can be exported to your ePortfolio where they initiate CPD cycles you can work on.
Completing the CCSAT is just one of a number of approaches you can use for identifying your development needs.
Other means include self-directed reflection or self-assessing against other competency frameworks.
In January 2016 new legislation came into effect setting out the system of continuing professional development (CPD) for pharmacists.This legislation requires that all registered pharmacists are now required to maintain an electronic CPD portfolio with the IIOP, known as an ‘ePortfolio’, as part of their engagement with the CPD system.
Each year the PSI will randomly select a cohort pharmacists from the Register of Pharmacists. These pharmacists will be requested to submit an extract of their ePortfolio to the Irish Institute of Pharmacy (IIOP) for review.
The IIOP ePortfolio is not like other ePortfolios e.g. it does not measure the accumulation of learning hours or CPD points. It has been developed specifically to meet the needs of Irish Pharmacists and their CPD system. Therefore pharmacists will be required to use the IIOP ePortfolio as part of their demonstration of engagement with CPD.
Your ePortfolio is personal to you. For this reason, access is via a unique username and password. You will only be able to see or access your own ePortfolio. If you are selected to submit an extract of your ePortfolio for review, you will be able to choose the information you submit.
The IIOP will not communicate your name to peer reviewers or quality assurance reviewers, and your submission will be identified by a review number only. However pharmacists should consider both their own privacy and patient confidentiality when reviewing the content of their cycles prior to submission.
Your submission will not be shared with the PSI.
Once you have access, you can begin creating new CPD cycles in your ePortfolio. We advise that you access your ePortfolio on a regular basis so that you can identify, plan, carry out, document and evaluate your learning. This will allow you to build your portfolio gradually so that when you are called for review it will be easier for you to demonstrate your engagement in CPD.
Currently there is no functionality to allow you to share your ePortfolio with others. However, you can export self-assessments from your CCSAT tool and individual CPD cycles from your ePortfolio as PDF documents which you are then free to share with others if you wish.
As with all new systems, there may be compatibility issues with certain browser types and browser versions. We recommend you use the browser types listed below to avoid issues that can occur with incompatible browser types such as issues ticking boxes, saving text in boxes, uploading files as well as slow performance. For information, you can download most browser types from the internet free of charge.
Recommended Browsers:
PC Browsers in order of preference
- Chrome version 30 onwards
- Firefox version 30 onwards
- Internet Explorer (IE) version 10 onwards
- IE9 - however this version does not support file drag-and-drop functionality.
Mobile browsers:
- iOS version 7 onwards
- Android version 4 onwards
Yes, you can upload documents to the Document your learning stage of any cycle you create in your ePortfolio. You can also delete files if you wish.
The system allows you to upload most file formats and these are listed in the Document your learning stage as a guide.