The Pharmacy Guild of Australia has announced a partnership with iCollege Ltd to provide comprehensive and targeted infection control training for eligible pharmacists and pharmacy staff.
The training is part of the National Training Fund that has been established by the Federal, State and Territory Governments to support customer-facing businesses nationwide. It is available to all pharmacy staff who are customer facing with funding available in several States and Territories.
National President of the Pharmacy Guild George Tambassis said there were numerous and significant challenges facing community pharmacists during a standard working day, and these were magnified during COVID-19.
"This training will assist you to better understand the minimisation of potential exposure to not only COVID–19, but other infectious diseases and ensure you are prepared to handle any dangerous or community safety situations, as and when they arise," he said.
"The Infection Control Skill Set training, which can be accessed through GuildEd, has been prepared jointly by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and iCollege, and covers standard operating procedures already in place in community pharmacies.
"We are delighted to work with iCollege on this initiative and have made every effort to customise the training to ensure it meets the standard operating procedures and protocols that should be utilised in the operation of a community pharmacy."
The training offers a set of skills to follow organisational infection prevention and control policies and procedures, including implementing standard and transmission-based precautions and responding to infection risks in organisations operating in the retail industry. Participants will learn skills including:
- Hand hygiene practices
- Effective surface cleaning
- Use of personal protective equipment
- Disposal of contaminated waste
- Hazard identification, control and reporting
- Appropriate protocols and responses in the event of an incident
- Knowledge regarding the basis of infection and transmission
The training is free for eligible students and can be delivered online or face to face if required. Pharmacists can self-record CPD. Look out for local promotion of this opportunity via the relevant Branch.
