On the EDGE of change
L-R: Associate Professor Steven Walker and Professor Kirstie Galbraith.
In 2017, the Monash Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences rebranded their postgraduate studies unit to focus more specifically on learning in the workplace. Known as the Experiential Development and Graduate Education unit (or “EDGE”), it offers postgraduate education focused on practice advancement. Under the leadership of Professor Kirstie Galbraith and Associate Professor Steven Walker, the EDGE portfolio has been completely renewed to focus on the 'pharmacist of the future' with short courses and microcredentials.
New microcredentials are preparing pharmacists for advanced practice roles
This is an exciting time for the pharmacy profession, says Associate Professor Steven Walker, who has been EDGE Director since 2023.
"New roles and expanded scope roles are emerging, particularly in community pharmacy and aged care," he explains.
"We’re trying to make sure the EDGE programs are preparing pharmacists for those realities and new roles, and we want to reach a broad range of pharmacists with our offerings."
In 2023, Kirstie Galbraith took on the role of Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Education, after leading EDGE since its inception. In her new position, she focuses on strengthening the links between education and practice, locally and globally.
“We’re working with interns and registered pharmacists on developing the opportunities they need to advance their practice,” explains Kirstie. “It’s more robust than CPD (continuing professional development); it’s lifelong learning that is integrated within the workplace”.
“My role acknowledges the importance of practice in informing the education we offer here,” she explains. “We’re forging links between the faculty and what is happening locally and globally”.
“Our programs are integrated and relevant to the workplace, focused on what the workforce needs and what our patients need,” she explains.
“Ultimately, we’re working to improve healthcare - what additional knowledge and skills do our pharmacists need to optimise patient health?”
Training the pharmacist of the future; A strong focus on linking education with practice
One of the most important milestones in EDGE’s history has been successfully collaborating with the Victorian Government to allow intern pharmacists to vaccinate.
Previously in Victoria, vaccination training for pharmacists was completed post-registration. However, Steven Walker says a successful pilot program born out of necessity during COVID-19, showed interns were capable of stepping up.
“Following the success of the temporary emergency orders allowing interns to administer COVID-19 and influenza vaccines under supervision, we advocated to the Victorian Government to make the necessary changes to allow interns to vaccinate more permanently,” Steven Walker explains. “We were able to offer one of the first accredited training programs.”
“It’s been quite well recognised that pharmacies are a very accessible place to be vaccinated,” he says, “We ran a pilot in 2024 for 50 interns and will offer it as an elective in our Intern Foundation Program from 2025.”
EDGE has also introduced and developed several other courses, which Kirstie describes as being focused on practice advancement. She says that those teaching this new suite of courses are all experts in their fields.
“We work alongside practitioners to deliver the teaching; the experts sharing their knowledge and skills are working regularly in practice,” she says.
Enter the microcredential: Flexible upskilling for registered pharmacists
Microcredentials are short, focused courses designed to provide in-demand skills and meet employer and industry needs.
“They are short courses that are targeted and focused on an outcome that allows the learner to demonstrate a skill, task or role,” Kirstie says.
“Microcredentials are focused on the learner, they’re needs-based, skills-based, work-integrated and demonstrate the learner can do things in the here and now”.
“At Monash, we use the term microcredential to refer to a short course, which has assessed components,” Steven adds. “It may stand alone or be able to be credited towards a higher degree, like a Graduate Certificate, or a Masters.”
He says that one of the challenges, particularly since the pandemic, has been that the way people want to engage with post-registration education has changed.
“People have more competing priorities than ever before, alongside a different relationship with the idea of a work-life balance,” Steven explains. “Learners expect a course to be tied to a tangible job outcome, that they can complete while working, and in a cost-effective or affordable manner.”
“The changing EDGE vision is a response to this, and we are shifting to prepare people for specific roles and opportunities”.
“Lifelong learning is a core principle for pharmacists,” Kirstie adds. “Postgraduate education is a way to formalise that and ensure quality. Microcredentials allow us to respond in a more nimble manner.”
The first microcredential: Medication Management Review
In 2024, the Faculty introduced the first microcredential, with the launch of a Medication Management Review (MMR) program. Over 80 learners have enrolled since June 2024, showing the strong demand from pharmacists to credential in this area (elements of this microcredential have also been offered to interns as an elective opportunity in the Intern Foundation Program).
“Completion of an Australian Pharmacy Council accredited MMR program, such as the faculty's microcredential, allows pharmacists to be paid by the government for providing this service,” Steven explains.
The course is designed as a three-step scaffolded model that begins with a self-directed online learning component, followed by simulation workshops and assessments, then a real life visit with a qualified MMR pharmacist. This process builds the learners competence in performing MMRs from knowing what is involved to actually applying their skills into practice.
Pharmacists who gain this credential can be referred by a specialist or GP to conduct a visit to someone's home or an aged care facility to complete a medication review and make recommendations on how to optimise their medications and patient care.
“We’re now scoping and exploring more opportunities based on the success of our existing microcredential,” Steven says.
A second microcredential in Pharmacy Administration and Leadership was launched in November 2024, in conjunction with the faculty’s PharmAlliance partner at the University of North Carolina.
“It’s designed to stimulate thinking about leadership and human resources within an evolving healthcare landscape and is targeted at team leaders in hospital settings: upskilling them in leadership skills, business planning and managing staff, using international and local expertise,” Kirstie says.
“We’re also working towards launching a number of other microcredentials, with a focus on aged care and practice based research skills,” Steven says.
Kirstie explains that these new microcredentials demonstrate how EDGE is adapting its offering to the new and interesting roles for pharmacists that will improve patient outcomes.
“We’ve tapped into what is happening globally, and are delivering these microcredentials in a bespoke model,” she says.
The future of EDGE / Postgraduate pharmacy education for the future
Some of EDGE’s work is in response to needs in the profession, while other initiatives have been driven by government policy and accreditation standards. However, the EDGE team is also working hard to shape the scope of practice.
“We’re looking at what is happening in our professional environment and strategising from there,” Kirstie says. “The recent release of the Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce – Scope of Practice Review will provide an excellent framework for next steps, and will ensure we maintain our focus on developing pharmacists fit for purpose for our future workforce”.
“We have an eye on the bigger picture and what our pharmacists need to do to provide better healthcare”.
“Pharmacists practising at the top of their scope is a topic of intense conversation right now, including a focus on prescribing,” Kirstie says. “We’re working with our other PharmAlliance partners in the UK at University College London, who are preparing all graduates to be independent prescribers by 2026, as well as with colleagues in Monash’s Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences”.
“This helps us embed a focus on interprofessional practice in our learners, acknowledged as a key skill required of healthcare professionals.”
“Pharmacists are being embedded as a core part of the patient care team, across all settings, with a heightened focus on the role of pharmacists in primary care,” she says.
“We’re also looking at how the building blocks of microcredentials fit together for future award courses,” Steven adds.
Two new award courses have recently been approved to recognise more advanced pharmacy practice: a graduate certificate and a professional certificate.
Steven Walker says that these align with EDGE’s strategy to help pharmacists advance their practice and will incorporate traditional units that prepare pharmacists to assist with prescribing decisions in aged care, primary care and hospital practice. These will sit alongside a choice of electives from microcredentials and other units to allow specialisation in a particular area.
“If you’re a pharmacist thinking of upskilling in new expanded scope opportunities then watch this space,” Steven says. “There are going to be even more exciting things coming from EDGE”.
