Intermittent Coaching for Practice Improvement
The Intermittent Coaching for Practice Improvement program uses the principles of continuing professional development (CPD) to guide and support pharmacy professionals in using structured feedback to improve specific areas of practice.
External coaches will be provided to support members through this process. The program provides external feedback on practice quality, as well as external coaches to support members in applying the feedback for improvement.
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Members (individually or within teams depending on the practice setting) will be selected to participate in the program intermittently (at least once every five to seven years).
Pharmacy professionals will collect and receive feedback on the quality of their practice.
To start, SCPP is proposing to focus on collecting patient feedback on their experiences receiving care and services at community pharmacies via Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREMs, see tab on above).
The next phase will include feedback from pharmacy peers and non-pharmacy colleagues, which will be first piloted for pharmacy professionals working in inpatient and publicly funded settings. (Peer/Non-Peer Feedback, see tab above)
Pharmacy professionals will be supported and guided through structured practice improvement (PI) modules provided by external coaches to analyze the feedback received and to develop PI plans, including setting SMART goals, selecting improvement strategies, and identifying learning opportunities for completion.
External coaches review members’ PI plans to ensure plans are feasible, manageable, and engaging. Assistance will be offered to members when needed to modify plans or at member request.
Members undertake their PI plan, which may include targeted learning, implementation of new procedures or policies, or other strategies to improve performance.
Repeat measurement of the PREMs, Peer/Non-Peer Feedback, or other practice quality data may be used to evaluate the impact of the PI plan.
A positive impact is not a requirement for success. A lack of change or a negative impact also provides members with valuable insights to guide future strategies to improve practice quality.
Members will document their participation in the program and submit the documentation towards fulfilling their CPD requirements. SCPP will follow up with members who do not complete the program as required.
Members will use feedback from various sources to improve practice quality through the Intermittent Coaching for Practice Improvement program.
Structured feedback will be provided from patients, pharmacy colleagues (peers), and colleagues from other health professions (non-peers).
Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) will be initially designed for community practice settings, and Peer/Non-Peer Feedback will be initially designed for inpatient (and other publicly funded) practice sites.
Peer/Non-Peer Feedback and PREMs align with strategies used in many settings, often referred to as multi-source feedback (MSF). MSF aims to improve a professional’s competency by offering feedback from diverse sources and perspectives.
MSF is intended to provide feedback that is geared towards improving performance (formative feedback) rather than evaluating performance against a standard. In MSF programs, patients, peers, and other health care professional colleagues provide feedback on various aspects of care, and this feedback is often measured against the professionals' self-assessment.
Traditionally, patient feedback has focused on the range and manner of care provided, placing emphasis on communication skills, professionalism, and advocacy. Peers and other health care professionals typically provide feedback on these skills as well as collaborative care skills and care provision. A coach will help facilitate reflection and use of the feedback through the Intermittent Coaching for Practice Improvement program.
Patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) are patient-provided feedback about their experiences when receiving health care and health care services. PREMs are provided directly by patients and reflect their perceptions of whether they receive the care and services important to them, in the way that they want.
PREM questions will relate to the pharmacy team that patients interact with rather than individual professionals. Patients will focus their feedback on staff members working in the professional services area of the pharmacy, including regulated and non-regulated team members. Ensuring the quality of interactions with professional services staff is the responsibility of the on-duty pharmacist and pharmacy manager, as it impacts a patient's overall experience.
Patient feedback will be collected in a questionnaire format that focuses on competencies that patients are positioned to provide feedback about (e.g., communication skills, professionalism, etc.). Questionnaire responses will be collated and reported to the pharmacy. Teams will use this data to plan for practice improvement at their pharmacy, aided by coaching and support from USask CPE in the Intermittent Coaching for Practice Improvement program.
SCPP will pilot this process in community pharmacies in Saskatchewan prior to wider roll-out.
Getting feedback from both peers and non-peers can offer valuable and distinct perspectives on performance that differ from traditional methods like feedback from a supervisor or manager. This type of feedback is suited for evaluating competencies such as communication, professionalism, collaboration, and care provision. Collecting feedback from pharmacy colleagues (peers) and other health care professionals (non-peers) is an effective way to gather data and feedback on the quality of practice.
Pharmacy peers and other licensed health care professionals (e.g., technicians, pharmacists, nurses, physicians, etc.) who work closely with the member will provide feedback in a questionnaire format. Feedback will focus on competencies that peers and non-peers frequently observe in practice (e.g., communication skills, professionalism, care provided, etc.). Questionnaire responses will be collated and reported to the pharmacy professional who will use this data to complete the Intermittent Coaching for Practice Improvement program.
Pilots of Peer/Non-Peer Feedback will be conducted with hospital pharmacy professionals who work within inpatient and other publicly funded collaborative sites across Saskatchewan.