A survey of state board of pharmacy members and continuing education providers' views on continuing education

Legally accountable to the public, state boards of pharmacy are continually confronted with the problem of maintaining the quality of pharmacy practice. One approach to accomplishing this task has been to implement mandatory continuing education requirements for relicensure. This study evaluated the perceived effectiveness and deficiencies of various states' continuing education regulations. A 40-question survey was mailed to 600 pharmacy board members and continuing education providers to determine their attitudes toward continuing education, support of mandatory continuing education, and their opinion of alternative methods for improving the quality of pharmacy practice. Responses from approximately one-half of those surveyed indicate board members and continuing education providers were positively disposed toward continuing education. However, there was room for improvement in most states' mandatory continuing education regulations. A relicensure examination was considered to be the best method to ensure competency, while mandatory continuing education was viewed as acceptable to pharmacists, and relatively easy to administer. The consequences of the study's findings for modifying state continuing education regulations is discussed.