Pharmacists ‘muddying the waters’ by using resident and registrar titles, doctors claim
A new pharmacy college offering resident, registrar and consultant titles is running the risk that patients believe pharmacists are medically trained, says a former RACGP president.
The Australian and New Zealand College of Advanced Pharmacy (ANZCAP), launched in October, lets pharmacists apply for recognition based on their existing training and experience under its time-limited ‘foundation program’.
For example, until 30 June 2024, pharmacists with over eight years’ general experience and three years’ experience in a specialty area — such as compounding, addiction medicine, primary care or leadership and management — can apply for recognition as ‘consultants’, using the postnominal ‘FANZCAP’.
More than 1500 pharmacists have already successfully applied for recognition as a resident (ANZCAP-Res), a registrar (ANZCAP-Reg) or FANZCAP, says the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia, which jointly set up the new college.
