Continuing Education for Non-Practicing Professionals: a Case Study of a Program for Pharmacists

Abstract

This study deals with the development and evaluation of a continuing education course designed specifically for temporarily non-practicing pharmacists. The course consisted of a one-hour audio cassette tape and a printed supplement covering materials based on needs expressed by non-practicing pharmacists in a previous study. This study shows that non-practicing pharmacists tend to become isolated from their profession, fail to participate in formal and informal methods of continuing education, and are ap parently unable to keep up with changes within pharmacy. How ever, when provided with continuing education materials designed to fulfill their particular needs, these non-practicing professionals can regain a level of knowledge comparable to their practicing colleagues. Although the study involves only pharmacists, the authors feel the results could be applicable to other professions.