- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
- Pharmacy Manager Training Program – Reminder and Maintenance Update
- Reminder: Upcoming Renewal Period and Mandatory Module Deadline
- Continuing Competency Matters
- Vacancy on the National Drug Scheduling Advisory Committee
- CPhM Office Closure Notice
- Professional Development Opportunities & Upcoming Events
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Each year on September 30th, Canadians observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day, a day to reflect on the painful legacy of residential schools, honour the Survivors, and remember the children who never returned home. It is also a day to acknowledge the ongoing systemic racism and inequities faced by Indigenous Peoples today.
The College of Pharmacists of Manitoba (CPhM) recognizes the deep and lasting impacts and the ongoing health disparities and social injustices faced by Indigenous Peoples. As healthcare professionals, pharmacy professionals have a critical role in building culturally safe, trauma-informed, and inclusive care environments. Reconciliation in pharmacy practice is not a one-time effort, but a continuous process that requires ongoing education, meaningful action, and accountability.
In recognition of this important day, CPhM would like to highlight educational resources:
- Indigenous Pharmacy Professionals of Canada (IPPC): Provides valuable resources for Indigenous pharmacy professionals and information on upcoming events.
- CPhM Professional Development: Mandatory programs for 2023 and 2024 explore Indigenous Peoples’ health, enabling pharmacy professionals to deliver culturally safe care.
- National Indigenous Cultural Safety Learning Series: A national webinar series provides an opportunity to share knowledge, experiences, and perspectives in support of collective efforts to strengthen Indigenous cultural safety across sectors.
Not only today, but on an ongoing basis, CPhM encourages everyone to actively participate in this journey. Enhance your cultural understanding, reflect on your role in promoting healthcare equity, and ensure every patient receives the respectful and high-quality care they deserve. Together, we can make a meaningful impact on the path to healthcare equity and reconciliation.
To read the full article, visit: https://cphm.ca/feature-story/national-day-for-truth-and-reconciliation/
Pharmacy Manager Training Program – Reminder and Maintenance Update
The Pharmacy Manager Training Program is a mandatory requirement for all pharmacy managers in Manitoba. Designed in collaboration with Manitoba subject matter experts and the University of Saskatchewan’s Continuing Pharmacy Education (USask CPE), the program supports managers in their leadership roles and promotes safe, consistent and effective pharmacy practice.
This self-directed program focuses on the legislative and operational responsibilities of pharmacy managers, including supervision, incident management, and pharmacy security. The CCCEP-accredited nine module program must be completed:
- By February 1, 2026, for those designated as pharmacy manager on or before February 1, 2025
- Within one year of becoming a pharmacy manager after that date
For more information regarding the Pharmacy Manager Training Program and to access the FAQ, visit: https://cphm.ca/pharmacy-manager-training-program/.
Additionally, CPhM would like to inform pharmacy professionals currently completing the program that scheduled maintenance will occur on Monday, October 27, at 4:00 p.m. CST.
This maintenance will affect participants in the middle of a module at the time of the update. Progress in that specific, uncompleted module will be lost. All previously completed modules will remain unaffected.
To avoid disruption and loss of any current work within a module, participants are strongly encouraged to complete any in-progress modules before maintenance begins on Monday, October 27, at 4:00 p.m. CST.
CPhM remains committed to supporting pharmacy managers through a proactive approach by offering practical tools and educational resources to help them succeed in their unique and important roles within the pharmacy environment to protect the public interest.
Reminder: Upcoming Renewal Period and Mandatory Module Deadline
The College of Pharmacists of Manitoba (CPhM) will open the renewal period for the 2026 Practice Year on Wednesday, October 1, 2025. CPhM would like to remind all pharmacy professionals to ensure your registrant profile is up to date to save time during the renewal process. For guidance on updating your profile, please refer to the https://cphm.ca/friday-five/friday-five-september-12-2025/#LearningPlan.
Additionally, please remember that both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are required to view this year’s mandatory webinar, Advancing Equity in Pharmacy: Supporting Gender Diversity and 2SLGBTQ+ Patients, by October 31, 2025.
Pharmacists (and pharmacy technicians using the online Professional Development (PD) Log) should complete the mandatory webinar prior to starting the licence/listing renewal process. Once the renewal form is completed (approved and paid), learning activities cannot be added.
For questions and concerns related to PD and receiving a statement of participation, please contact profdevelopment@cphm.ca.
Continuing Competency Matters
In previous Continuing Competency Matters, we reviewed how most pharmacy provincial regulatory authorities (PRA) have shifted their continuing education (CE) requirements towards continuing professional development (CPD), including more structured documentation. Although most PRA have minimum annual CE/CPD requirements ([i]), the Ontario College of Pharmacists (OCP) has taken a different approach, removing the requirement for registrants to complete a minimum number of CE/CPD on a yearly basis (OCP CE requirements). This does not mean completing CE is not expected. Instead OCP explains that individual learning needs are unique and variable, and that registrants are responsible for identifying their own learning needs, choosing the activities that help achieve their learning goals, and applying their learning to practice. OCP also still requires registrants to document their learning in a learning portfolio to assist registrants with tracking their progress and determining if their learning goals have been achieved (OCP Learning Portfolio Manual).
Like a number of PRA, OCP requires registrants to complete a self-assessment to identify their learning needs (OCP QA Program). OCP has also introduced online, open-book assessments for practicing pharmacists that evaluate their current core knowledge and ability to apply clinical knowledge, current legislation, ethics and scope of practice to patient care scenarios (OCP Knowledge Assessment). Such an assessment can both serve as the assurance PRA require that individual registrants have maintained their core knowledge and their ability to apply this knowledge, and as an aide for registrants to identify their learning needs for CE.
For OCP, practising pharmacists must complete the online assessment approximately every five years when requested by OCP (OCP Connections Nov 2021). Over the past two years, nearly 3500 pharmacists completed the assessment annually (OCP Annual Report 2024), (OCP Annual Report 2023).
OCP is not alone in using such assessments within their regulatory programs. In the USA, medical regulators have historically used high stakes testing to provide evidence of CC([ii]). This testing approach in the US continues although it is transitioning to a model of longitudinal testing vs testing every 10 years (see family medicine as an example: ABFM longitudinal exam option). Note that these tests are in addition to ongoing CE and professional development requirements within both family medicine and the medical specialities in the USA.
Historically in Canadian pharmacy, the College of Pharmacists of BC included clinical knowledge assessments as one option for pharmacists to select as part of their RxCare Professional Development and Assessment Program in the early 2000s. Interestingly, in the early stages, approximately 60% of pharmacists chose the single knowledge assessment over completing a Learning and Practice Portfolio (BC Council minutes 2003). Over time, BC and other PRA transitioned their clinical knowledge assessments to performance-based assessments via on-site practice reviews. The next Continuing Competency Matters will review these formats of assessments.
As mentioned in the last Continuing Competency Matters, CPhM is looking for practising community pharmacists to participate in one of two Focus Group discussions with our consultant (Nancy Winslade) on potential revisions to the CCP. We are looking for a range of pharmacy types and locations and would like to obtain the viewpoints of both staff pharmacists and managers/owners. Dates being considered are Oct 22, 23, 27 and 28 and each session will run for two hours in the evening. Thank you to those pharmacists who have already indicated their interest in participating. We are continuing to seek participants, in particular managers / owners, so if you are interested in participating, please use this link to submit your information for consideration: https://forms.office.com/r/vj7qwA6j0F
i. Some PRA, including CPhM, currently have legislated requirements for minimum CE/CPD requirements. ii. Hawkins R, Ogrinc G, Ramin SM. American Board of Medical Specialties and New Standards for Continuing Certification. JAMA. 2022:327(17):1645-6.
Vacancy on the National Drug Scheduling Advisory Committee
The National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA) is currently recruiting for one vacancy on the National Drug Scheduling Advisory Committee (NDSAC) and is inviting applications for the following position:
A practising pharmacist or physician with experience in a collaborative practice setting such as a family health team clinic.
Candidates must have:
- An appreciation of the health, pharmaceutical, and marketplace contexts in which the Committee’s recommendations will have impact;
- Objective analytical skills;
- No personal stake in the scheduling recommendations of the Committee;
- A high degree of integrity and respect for the confidential nature of the proprietary information under study;
- Effective interpersonal skills relevant to committee dynamics;
- An ability to serve in the best interests of the Canadian public; and
- Canadian residency.
Potential applicants can visit Invitation for Applications for NAPRA’s National Drug Scheduling Advisory Committee – NAPRA for more information and the application. The deadline for applicants is Wednesday, October 15, 2025.
CPhM Office Closure Notice
Please be advised that the CPhM office will be closed on Tuesday, September 30, 2025.
Regular office hours resume on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Professional Development Opportunities & Upcoming Events
Optimizing Prescription Writing: Essentials and Updates in 30 Minutes
- Click here to access the prerecorded webinar
- 1.0 CEU
2025 Mandatory Professional Development – Advancing Equity in Pharmacy: Supporting Gender Diversity and 2SLGBTQ+ Patients
Pharmacy professionals who were unable to attend the live webinar on February 5, 2025, must view a recording of the 2025 mandatory continuing education session by clicking here.
Targeting Social Isolation and Loneliness
- To register for the self-paced e-modules and for further information click here.
- 2.0 CEU
Manitoba Immunization Program New Training Module – Immunizing Young Children – Best Practices
- The Manitoba Immunization Program Module and has released an unaccredited training module to support pharmacists in immunizing children under 5. As respiratory illness season approaches, this resource helps build confidence and competence in pediatric immunization.
- Non-accredited
- Access the training module via Manitoba Health’s Online Training for Pharmacists: Immunizations or under Section 8: Immunization Training of the Manitoba Immunization Program Manual | Health | Province of Manitoba.
- Email PPHTraining@gov.mb.ca if you need assistance with access.