Courses and Events

MCQ - Multiple Choice Question

The aim of this training is to enable pharmacists to:

• Diagnose and treat hypoglycaemia
• Refresh their knowledge on the properties and usage of glucagon
• Supply and administer glucagon in emergency situations in line with SI 449 of 2015
• Manage possible side effects or adverse events resulting from administration of glucagon
• Store glucagon in line with the SmPC
• Make appropriate records following supply and administration of glucagon in an emergency
• To provide pharmacists with the knowledge to provide emergency care to patients with diabetes

The aim of this training is to enable pharmacists to:

• Diagnose and treat a severe angina attack
• Refresh their knowledge on the properties and usage of glyceryl trinitrate
• Supply and administer glyceryl trinitrate in emergency situations in line with S.I. No. 449/2015
• Identify exclusion criteria and precautions associated with glyceryl trinitrate use
• Manage possible side effects or adverse events resulting from administration of glyceryl trinitrate
• Store glyceryl trinitrate in line with the SmPC
• Make appropriate records following supply and administration of glyceryl trinitrate in an emergency

The Training Programme contains five modules;

1. Quality management Principles
2. Quality management Systems
3. Quality Improvement
4. Applying Quality Improvement methods in a Pharmacy Setting
5. Running a Quality Improvement in your practice

Aim

To support pharmacists returning to practice during the COVID-19 pandemic.

1. Understanding Cancer in Ireland

This module focuses on some background information on cancer suitable for healthcare professionals working in a primary care setting. At the end of this module, pharmacists will be able to;

• • Describe cancer including causes, prevention and incidence in Ireland
  • Outline the roles and implications of national advisory bodies in the prevention, early detection, treatment and management of cancer e.g. NCCP, ICPN, NCPE, Healthy Ireland
  • Identify sources of guidance for obtaining information on specific treatments and side effects.
  • Describe pathways for referral of patients from primary to secondary care
  • Identify education and patient information leaflets patients and carers should receive from their treating hospital/ other sources

2. Cancer Treatment Options

This module highlights the different treatment modalities available for cancer but focuses on the use of OAM. At the end of this module, pharmacists will be able to;

• Describe the use of systemic therapy (including chemotherapy / immunotherapy / hormonal therapy / monoclonal antibodies etc.), radiotherapy, surgical oncology and supportive care to achieve treatment goals.
• Differentiate between curative, adjuvant, neo-adjuvant and palliative treatment goals, when these each apply and the clinical implications of same
• Describe classification of OAM and hormonal agents
• Discuss common OAM regimens used and awareness of national NCCP chemotherapy regimens
• Identify sources of further guidance for obtaining information on specific treatments and side effects

3. OAM Prescribing and Dispensing

This module focuses on the aspects involved in the prescribing and safe dispensing of OAM. At the end of this module, pharmacists will be able to;

• Accurately verify OAM prescriptions within scope of practice
  • • Use of national NCCP chemotherapy regimens and other reference sources
• Perform pharmaceutical dosing calculations accurately, e.g.

• Weight or Body Surface Area calculations
  • Demonstrate awareness of dose banding, capping and rounding
  • Demonstrate basic understanding of occupational hazards of exposure to;
    •  Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy drugs including oral anti-cancer medicines (OAM)
    • Waste
      • including basic safe handling procedures i.e. disposal of chemotherapeutic waste

Explain the processes for acquisition, storage and supply of Oral Anti-Cancer Medicines

4. OAM - Patient Counselling including Toxicity

This module focuses on some key points in relation to patient counselling for patients on OAM. At the end of this module, pharmacists will be able to;

• • Identify ways to support patient adherence to OAM regimens
    • Include importance of adhering to dosing schedule
  • Describe issues surrounding adverse events and toxicity management in relation to OAM
• Identify symptoms and management of toxicity
  • • Awareness of the requirement for monitoring blood counts with some OAM  (at hospital level)
    • Dose reductions in renal and hepatic impairment
    • Knowledge on  identification, monitoring and appropriate reporting of adverse drug events
• Recognise the clinical significance of drug-drug and drug-food interactions with OAM and drugs used to prevent and alleviate symptoms
  • Outline the effectiveness, safety and potential for interactions of OAM with complementary and alternative medicines
  • Identify sources of further guidance for obtaining information on specific treatments and side effects

On successful completion of this programme pharmacists should be able to competently and safely:

• Prepare the pharmacy setting for a vaccination service
• Perform relevant assessment of patients in order to administer the correct medicine

On successful completion of this programme participants should be able to competently and safely:

• Respond to, and prepare for, a request for Herpes Zoster (Shingles) vaccination in the pharmacy setting
• Perform relevant assessment of patients in order to administer the correct medicine
• Administer Herpes Zoster (Shingles) vaccine in adults

On successful completion of this programme participants should be able to competently and safely:

• Respond to, and prepare for, a request for pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination in the pharmacy setting
• Perform relevant assessment of patients in order to administer the correct medicine
• Administer pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine to adults

The programme contains three modules of learning content;

• Residents and settings
• Medicines Management
• Operation’s and Inter-professional Collaboration

With a fourth module containing practice scenarios to allow pharmacists to consider their learning in a practical way.

At the end of this programme you will be able to:

• Identify the consultation skills required during interactions with patients, carers or healthcare professionals
• Develop effective consultation skills to competently gather information from and about patients, and interpret this information appropriately
• Understand the importance of consultation skills to other areas of the pharmacist: patient interaction, including;
  • Patient management and education
  • Patient communication (counselling) skills
• Identify and use consultation skills appropriate for the following;
  • Medication-related consultations
  • Public health related consultations
• Evaluate and reflect upon your consultation skills in a simulated or practice setting

The training programme is designed to ensure achievement of the learning outcomes which are as follows:

a) Identify the general factors that must be considered in the management of benzodiazepines and z-drugs in the primary care setting; 

b) Understand the implications of the introduction of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 on the prescribing and dispensing of benzodiazepines and z-drugs; 

c) Articulate the specific factors that should be addressed by Practitioners in the prescribing, supply and ongoing review of patients who are taking benzodiazepines and z-drugs; 

d) Identify the potential risks associated with benzodiazepines and z-drugs in the primary care setting and strategies to mitigate these; 

e) Describe strategies that could be employed in a collaborative approach to patient care in the management of benzodiazepines and z-drugs.

At the end of this programme you will be able to:

• define harm reduction and its role in treating people who use drugs;

• describe the role of pharmacy in implementing harm reduction services;

• identify the legal requirements and practice guidance from the PSI relevant to opioid substitution treatment (OST) that will help you practice legally;

• describe the pharmacology of OST;

• describe the elements of an OST programme to ensure safe and rational supply of opioid agonist medication;

• identify actions to enhance the provision of harm reduction services in the pharmacy.

Four learning outcomes have been identified for this programme.  At the end of this programme you will:

• be able to describe what is meant by brief intervention and its role in pharmacy harm reduction services (such as Opioid treatment provision or needle and syringe programme (NSP);

• be able to identify elements required for delivery of a safe, quality pharmacy NSP;

• have the necessary knowledge and skills to support the development of policies and procedures required for implementation of a NSP;

• be able to identify actions to enhance the delivery of a NSP in the pharmacy.

Aim

To promote effective management of hypertension and dyslipidaemia thereby assisting patients to reduce their risk of CVD.

Following completion of this course, you should be able to:

• define CVD, disease burden and public health policy in Ireland
• promote role of pharmacists in identifying and assessing CV risk factors
• use evidence-based guidelines and resources to conduct medication reviews and optimise treatment of hypertension and dyslipidaemia
• educate patients about CVD prevention, self-management and lifestyle strategies
• provide accurate and safe information to patients and HCPs on the drug management of CV risk factors
• encourage and facilitate patient adherence to medicines
• prevent/resolve problems that patients experience with medicines
• identify the need for, plan and implement new services relating to CVD prevention with a focus on optimising disease management.

Aim

To provide health professionals with the knowledge to deliver evidence-based care to patients with diabetes.

Having completed this course you should be able to:

• identify risk factors associated with developing diabetes
• distinguish between type 1 and type 2 diabetes
• describe evidence-based practice in managing patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes
• recognise the various parameters that are used to judge metabolic control
• make recommendations to prevent the complications of diabetes or manage them should they occur and educate patients in relation to this
• provide guidance on monitoring diabetes in special cases, such as pregnancy
• provide accurate, quality and safe information to patients and healthcare professionals regarding pharmacological management of diabetes
• encourage and facilitate patient adherence to medicines.

The learning objective of this training programme is to help pharmacists reflect on and develop the way in which they respond to medicines-related queries in practice. Through the learning on this programme and the use of practice opportunities, the pharmacist will become familiar with the use of evidence-based reputable information resources to help formulate responses to medicines-related queries that they would encounter in their practice. Participants are encouraged to reflect on their current practice when answering medicines related questions in practice by interacting with practice scenarios, developed from questions received by the NMIC and presented to reflect a typical interaction pharmacist would experience on a daily basis in practice. 

The learning objective is achieved through the achievement of four learning outcomes:

1. Reflect on their own behaviours and outcomes when responding to medicines related questions in current practice
2. Identify essential information required to answer a medicines-related question;
3. Research a medicines-related question using appropriate information resources
4. Understand the principles of formulating an answer to a medicines-related query and apply to practical examples.

Module 1: Respiratory Illness in Ireland (30 min approx.)

Aim: To provide an overview of common respiratory illnesses and direct pharmacists to sources of further information.

At the end of this module, pharmacists will be able to;

· Describe the burden of respiratory disease in Ireland

· Define the most common respiratory illnesses in Ireland (COPD and Asthma) including causes, risk-factors, prevention (where applicable) and incidence in Ireland

· Identify patient support groups for each of the illnesses

· Identify education and patient information leaflets patients and carers should receive from their treating hospital/ other sources on diagnosis and for ongoing management of their illness

Module 2: Medicines Management (45 min approx.)

Aim: To further build on pharmacist’s knowledge of medicines used to treat respiratory illness and devices used for delivery of these medicines.

At the end of this module, pharmacists will be able to;

· Describe the GINA (asthma) and GOLD (COPD) statements in relation to control of each chronic respiratory illness

· Describe the different medications used to treat respiratory illnesses

· Identify medications to prevent exacerbations and control symptoms and those to treat an exacerbation of the illness

· explain the benefits, side-effects and interactions of inhaled medications and oral medications to treat respiratory conditions

· identify the role of relievers and preventers in respiratory illness

· detail the equivalent doses of inhaled corticosteroids

· relay the benefits and issues with combination inhalers

· be able to describe the types of inhalers currently available, their underlying principles, design and functionality, and highlight the similarities and differences between them and demonstrate the correct use of each of these devices

· provide advice regarding the most appropriate inhaler device for a particular patient group and advise on the use of spacer devices and nebulisers where appropriate

· have insight into the factors contributing to the effectiveness of inhaler therapy (including common mistakes made by patients) and ways to optimise treatment outcomes

· be equipped with the knowledge and resources to explain and demonstrate the importance of a correct inhaler technique to patients

· understand the patient requirements for an ideal inhaler device and support a personalised approach to inhaler therapy.

Module 3: Supporting Patient Self-Management (30 min approx.)

Aim: To provide guidance to pharmacists on how they can support patient’s self-management of their respiratory illness.

At the end of this module, pharmacists will be able to;

· Describe what patient self-management is including self-care plans

· Provide advice to patients on living well with a respiratory illness e.g. the importance of vaccination, smoking cessation (if applicable) exercise and diet

· identify tools which can help patients determine if their respiratory illness is well controlled (Asthma and COPD) how to monitor control and steps to take if control deteriorates

· explain the complications that may develop due to poor control

· Describe pulmonary rehabilitation and when it is used

The course is laid out in six lessons followed by case-based scenarios.

Lesson 1: Biological Medicines – an Introduction

• Understand why biological medicines are important for you and your patient
• Outline the history of the development of biological medicines
• Understand the key differences between small molecule medicines and biological medicines

Lesson 2: Development of Biological Medicines

• Understand that the living organisms used to produce a biological medicine are naturally variable
• Understand how the product is defined by the manufacturing process for biological medicines
• Outline the scientific principles used to ensure that quality, safety and efficacy is consistently maintained
• Discuss the concept of immunogenicity and its importance

Lesson 3: Biosimilars

• Define a biosimilar
• Outline key differences between biosimilar and novel biological medicine regulatory pathways
• Understand how scientific principles used to ensure batch to batch similarity for the reference medicine are used to confirm biosimilarity
• Potential advantages biosimilars bring for the patient

Lesson 4: Interchangeability

• Define interchangeability, switching and automatic substitution
• Outline current regulations and legislation in Ireland
• Knowledge of recommendations relating to switching in the Irish health service
• Knowledge of the management of biological medicines on the High Tech Hub

Lesson 5: Pharmacovigilance

• Understand that the safety considerations for a biosimilar and its reference medicine are the same
• Understand all newly approved biological medicines are “black triangle”
• Understand that traceability is essential for pharmacovigilance of biological medicines

Lesson 6: Education

• On successful completion of this section, you will be able to discuss the importance of education and the role of pharmacists

Lesson 7: Case-based Scenarios

On successful completion of this programme participants should be able to:

• Respond to, and prepare for, an emergency in the pharmacy setting
• Perform relevant diagnoses on patients in order to administer the correct medicine in an emergency situation
• Treat a patient (post drug administration) who is suffering from an adverse reaction or delayed adverse reactions
• Diagnose and treat anaphylaxis in both adults and children
• Supply and administer adrenaline to both adults and children in emergency situations

This training programme must be completed if you wish to offer a salbutamol emergency medicine service to your patients. You will also need to complete the Responding to an Emergency Service and the Management of Anaphylaxis and keep your CPR training up to date.

Learning Objectives 

• Diagnose and treat an acute asthma attack
• Refresh knowledge on the properties and usage of salbutamol.
• Supply and administer salbutamol in emergency situations
• Manage possible side effects or adverse events resulting from administration of salbutamol
• Store salbutamol in line with the SmPC
• Make appropriate records following supply and administration of salbutamol in an emergency

On successful completion of this programme participants will be able to:

• Describe the coagulation cascade
• Describe the currently available anticoagulants and their indications for use
• Describe the role of anticoagulants in preventing stroke and the current available data on underutilisation
• Describe the role of regular INR monitoring including:
  • what is meant by INR, why and how it is used to manage patients on warfarin
  • how often patients should be monitored
  • how INR is recorded and communicated to patients
  • the key factors influencing INR

• Describe and implement the pharmacist’s responsibilities in relation to the dispensing, therapeutic review and safe and rational use of anticoagulants
• Identify and utilise relevant evidence-based guidelines and sources of information on the use of anticoagulants
• Provide accurate, quality and safe information to patients and healthcare professionals regarding the safe and appropriate use of anticoagulants
• Identify, prevent, minimise, resolve and follow-up medication safety issues associated with anticoagulants
• Educate patients regarding the safe and appropriate use of anticoagulants to optimise their care
• Encourage and facilitate patient adherence to medicines
• Describe the services provided by anticoagulation clinics and how this relates to the delivery of pharmaceutical care
• Have an awareness of the options available for the management of bleeding in patients on anticoagulation
• Describe specific actions which can be implemented into practice to enhance the pharmaceutical care of patients using anticoagulants
• Identify their additional individual learning needs

This event will give an overview of: 

• the background to the Institute of Pharmacy
• the CPD system for Irish pharmacists
• the quality assurance system for Irish pharmacists 
• A practical demonstration of how to use the IIOP ePortfolio and CCSAT
• A practical demonstration of how to access the IIOP online courses