A modified Delphi study to establish consensus on continuing education requirements for pharmacists? relicensing in Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVE: Continuing educa-tion is a key priority for pharmacy workforce de-velopment and the achievement of the nation's health goals. The current study was conduct-ed to evaluate continuing medical education re-quirements for pharmacists' re-registration in Saudi Arabia. It also aimed at establishing a con-tinuous professional development (CPD) system that fills the gaps in the current continuing med-ical education (CME) system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A modified Del-phi method was utilized. Data extraction and statement development (review of key docu-ments) was initially conducted by benchmarking the current CME requirements for pharmacists' re-registration in Saudi Arabia to continuing pro-fessional development models from 3 countries: the UK, Ireland, and Australia. This stage identi-fied the gaps in the current model and was used in developing the data collection tool (11 state-ments). A 3-round Delphi, with 15 expert panel members, was used to reach consensus and to establish a suggested guideline document for a national CPD model for pharmacists' re -registra-tion in Saudi Arabia. RESULTS: A CPD model for pharmacists' re-registration was developed. Panel members reached consensus on the need to shift the cur-rent CME system to a CPD model and individu-alize CPD plans according to the pharmacists' identified knowledge gaps and areas of practice. They agreed on the incorporation of unplanned activities and non-accredited CPD activities in-to the new model if they improve pharmacists' practice. They also noted that the current bien-nial re-registration is appropriate, considering pharmacists' busy work schedules.CONCLUSIONS: This study used the modified Delphi technique to develop a suggested CPD model for pharmacists' re-registration in Saudi Arabia. Expert panel members reached consen-sus on shifting from a CME model to a CPD mod-el, increasing CPD credits to 40 per annum and incorporating unplanned CPD activities, while keeping re-registration to every two years.