| Abstract: | Postgraduate continuing education for community pharmacists in England has undergone a radical change since the establishment of the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) in 1992. The present study was undertaken to assess the impact of the introduction of the CPPE on levels of participation and attitudes towards continuing education. Comparisons are drawn with an analysis made in 1991. Results showed that 76.8 per cent of respondents had participated in CPPE-based continuing education, as either workshops or distance learning. This level of participation is far higher than that previously recorded. Those pharmacists who attended the workshops also tended to request distance learning packages, while a significant proportion of users of distance learning declined to attend workshops. Owners of community pharmacies were significantly more likely than managers to use computer assisted learning material. Attitudes concerning restraints against participation in continuing education focused on the value pharmacists place on their spare time and the absence of a postgraduate education allowance for community pharmacists. |
