Group 3 Goals
Group 3 Goals are significant learning goals that address identified learning needs, and follow the four steps
in the CPD cycle.
1. Reflection
2. Planning
3. Action
4. Outcomes
What is significant?
To some extent you must make your own personal and professional assessment of what is significant. This
may be different from what is significant for another pharmacist colleague. Significant can be described by
the following statements:

An identified learning need subsequent to a
reflective process that includes a structured review of
your practice.

NOT a “One Day Wonder”!

Learning activities are usually extended over a number
of months

Usually more than one type of learning activity

Requires major effort

Substantial gain in new knowledge, attitude or skill that provides evidence (= more than one
example!) of sustainable and beneficial change and improvement to practice

LIFT tool outcome of ‘HIGH’ or ‘SIGNIFICANT’ - see further information on the LIFT tool from the
LIFT TOOL section of the Reflection step of a Group 3 Goal
Pharmacists are required to discuss
the outcomes and application of the
structured review of their practice
with their Learning Partner
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Standard One
Elements of Competence Standard One (Practise Pharmacy in a Professional and Culturally
Competent Manner) must be incorporated into at least one of your Group 3 goals in each three year
period. This is not nearly as difficult as it sounds!
Examples of this could be:
Learning Activity and Outcomes
Undertake some learning (in any
professional pharmacy field) then learn
communication and computer skills to give
a presentation to your staff, Learning
Team (peer group) or community group
Complete MUR Training, or learn how
contract LTC patients are best managed,
then actively build relationship(s) with
local GP practices to ensure that patients
receive the support services they need
Identify the cultural diversity of your own
practice (e.g. identify area of significant
Indian population) then target your
identified clinical learning around this (e.g.
CV/Diabetes).
Find out what the local health initiatives
are for your DHB or PHO, then target
clinical learning and input into community
information programmes around this e.g.
asthma programme
Start to provide methadone dispensing learn about this & also extend your
learning to include updating your
knowledge of the legal requirements of
this service, especially your
responsibilities within the Privacy Code in
relation to your clients, their prescribers,
and the police.
Move to a pharmacy that provides
clozapine dispensing and as well as
learning how to dispense clozapine safely
and correctly, also work on learning how
best to support and communicate with
patients with mental health conditions
Become a manager, and decide to
undertake some further learning in conflict
management.
Become involved in a Quit Smoking
campaign and learn techniques of
motivational interviewing.
Standard One Elements and Activities
 Activity 1.1.6 - Shares professional strengths with others (Trains other
staff e.g. gives presentations relevant to pharmacy practice)
 Activity 1.3.1 - Listens effectively, and speaks and writes clearly in
English
 Activity 1.3.4 – Establishes and maintains effective working
relationships (Identifies and builds relationships with key partners within
one’s own practice; Collaborates with and includes others (pharmacy staff,
colleagues, other health professionals, cultural groups) in decision making)
 Activity 1.4.2 - Identifies the cultural diversity of one’s own practice
(Knows where and how to access local community support organisations)
 Activity 1.4.2 – Identifies the cultural diversity of one’s own practice
(Develops community profile to identify cultural mix; Uses knowledge of their
own community profile to better understand the impact of health disparities
in relation to that profile)
 Activity 1.4.5 – Identifies and works towards reducing factors that
contribute to disparities in health outcomes (Participates in
programmes targeted at reducing health disparities; Acts as an advocate for
patients in seeking provision of appropriate resources for treatment; Uses
evidence-based approach to advise/treat individual patients and to educate
community; Accesses local data on community health needs and uses
knowledge to contribute to improvements in health care)
 Element 1.2 – Comply with legal requirements and codes of ethics
especially Activity 1.2.2 Complies with those parts of the legislation
that apply to his/her pharmacy practice (Fulfils all legal requirements
that regulate pharmacy practice e.g.Methadone dispensing within the
Misuse of Drugs Act & Regulations; Complies with the HDC Code of Health &
Disability Services Consumers’ Rights; Complies with the Health Information
Privacy Code)
 Activity 1.3.4 - Establishes and maintains effective working
relationships (Treats patients and colleagues as equal partners, building
rapport, respect and trust in partnerships; Practises whanaungatanga
(establishing connections) in order to build connections and trust in
relationships with Maori; Works co-operatively with appropriate family,
whanau, and community resource people where this is desired by the patient,
and when it does not conflict with other clinical or ethical responsibilities)
 Activity 1.7.2 – Resolves conflicts (Identifies causes of conflict in the
workplace; Participates in conflict resolution processes; Uses negotiating and
problem-solving skills in shared decision making with a patient or colleague)
 Activity 1.4.3 – Respects the individual (Avoids stereotyping e.g.
recognises that culture/ethnicity is not necessarily reflected in an individual’s
physical appearance; Demonstrates awareness that general cultural
information may not apply to specific patients; Shows consideration for the
patient’s knowledge of their own condition and preferred course(s) of
treatment; Negotiates terms of the therapeutic relationship with the
individual where appropriate; Recognises the right of individuals to have
health beliefs and practices different to one’s own; Respects the right of the
individual to exercise autonomy in decision making; Treats the individual as
an equal partner)
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Learning goals should be measured using S M A R T criteria
Learning Goals need to be clear, well-defined and concisely
state what you want to learn.
For example “I want to learn about complementary medicines
used for the treatment of sleep disorders, their indications, side
effects and interactions.” rather than “I want to learn more
about complementary medicines”
You should be able to test whether you have actually learned
what you set out to learn. If your goal has been stated in
specific terms, then this should be straightforward. Think about
how you will know when you have completed it.
Take into account constraints such as time, cost and the support
you have available. Be realistic. You must have the appropriate
knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to achieve the goal. Goals
should stretch you slightly so you feel challenged, but should
not be extreme. If the goal is out of reach or becomes too hard,
it’s easy to become demotivated and give up leaving it
uncompleted. For example, deciding to lose 5kg each week for
six weeks is not realistically achievable but setting a goal to lose
250 - 500g this week and then, when that’s been achieved,
aiming to lose a further 250 – 500g the following week keeps it
achievable. Success creates the motivation to keep going.
It’s important to choose goals that are meaningful. A
pharmacist’s goal to "make 50 peanut butter sandwiches by
2pm." may be specific, measurable, attainable, and time-bound,
but lacks relevance to their work (unless a lot of non-allergic
people were hungry!!). If you have appropriately identified
your learning need then your learning will almost always be
relevant. You can check this by completing the ‘reflection’
section of a group 3 goal – if you cannot identify any anticipated
outcomes for your learning, it may not be relevant to your
practice right now. Goals should add useful value within the
context they are set.
Set yourself some deadlines for completing your learning. A goal
should be grounded within a time frame that adds an
appropriate sense of urgency and importance and ensures that
the objectives are not extended over an unreasonably long
timescale. If you seriously want to lose that 5kg, when do you
want to lose it by? “Someday” never arrives! But if you anchor it
within a timeframe, “by May 1st”, then you’ve got something
concrete to work with and plan around.
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How do you identify your learning needs?
It is important to follow a robust process to identify your learning needs. The initial step in the Group 3 goal
process is to think about what you do and how you do it. Reflect on your practice to clearly identify what you
need to learn. This is a crucial foundation step because learning will only be meaningful and bring
sustainable, beneficial change to your practice if it relates to your identified learning needs, and can be
incorporated into your practice.
Learning needs can be divided into two categories: those required for maintaining competence and those
required to advance professionally. There are always regular opportunities to keep up-to-date, such as
attending courses & lectures and reading journals. Practice issues arising on the job also provide learning
opportunities – these situations require reactive (and usually more immediate) learning solutions. However,
a structured reflection process makes your learning more personally and professionally meaningful and
therefore more likely to improve what you do and how you do it.
Reflection is an on-going process and it is expected that you will continue to think about your practice by
considering other events or practice issues you encounter that you want or need to learn more about.
You need to answer two basic questions:
1. What do I need to learn?
2. How do I know that’s what I need to learn?
Self assessment or ‘self diagnosis’ of your learning
needs can be challenging, especially as sometimes
you don’t know what you don’t know, and it’s
impossible to identify this by yourself.
This is where your Learning Partner will be
invaluable to support, advise or even challenge you.
When?
1. Now! (the start of the current 3 year learning cycle)
2. Later – if your practice changes, or if you are currently learning something identified from a recent
Practice Review
How?
It can be difficult to decide the most important areas to focus on. Using the objective tools we have provided
(Practice Review, Clinical Knowledge Assessment) can significantly help this process.
Think about what you do, what you know, what you know you don’t know and plan to fill the gaps!
i.e. Review your practice! Measure your knowledge and/or performance against standards and objective
assessments.
1. The Practice Review (see separate green booklet, or online @ ENHANCE 1.0 website) allows you to
review your current practice against the Pharmacy Council’s Competence Standards for Pharmacists,
and identify which areas will benefit from further professional development. This is required every three
years, but you should determine whether you need to do a full review. A modified or abridged review
may be appropriate, and supported using other standards and guidelines. For example, you may decide
to:

Place greater focus on key standards, for example, a standard identified for professional
development in previous reviews

Supplement your review against other standards, for example, Medicines Management
Standards, Pharmacy Services Standard

Complete assessments to identify knowledge gaps
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2. Clinical Knowledge Self-assessment
The ENHANCE 1.0 website provides interactive quizzes and associated learning resources to enable to
you to identify your strengths, weaknesses and learning possibilities. It may help you identify particular
clinical areas you want to focus on for your CPD. This self-assessment process is optional for you to
use.
You can access this from the blue index column of the ENHANCE 1.0 website after you have logged
on.
Triggers for the need for extended learning could come from the following pharmacy experiences:
Source
Specific practice problem or
issue/s
Management/organisation
issue/s
Example
A specific practice problem or a patient issue or series of issues
may have triggered an awareness that you need more
information and skills to address the issue for the future
e.g. you become aware that you no longer know about the
current guidelines for Type 2 Diabetes treatments, and neither
do you know about the new types of drugs that see being
prescribed more regularly e.g. GLP-1, DPP-4 inhibitors.
Organisation or planning issues that (indirectly) improve the care
provided to patients
e.g. learning how to effectively chair a peer group or
interdisciplinary meeting.
An article you read could highlight an issue that you consider
would impact on your practice – you may decide to focus your
Reading: article/journal/magazine learning on this issue
e.g. you see an article on a particular topic relevant to your
practice in which you want to update and extend your knowledge.
From participating in continuing
education (CE)
Discussion with colleagues
Attending CE programmes may make you aware of a potential
area/issue relating to your practice of pharmacy.
eg OMRO, Symposia
Discussions with peers or other health professionals may identify
issues that impact on your practice and that you need to gain
more information about.
Don’t overlook the value of discussing your practice and learning
needs with colleagues – often our perception of ourselves can be
very different from that of others.
Feedback from others (external,
customer survey, complaint)
Your customers or others may help you identify potential areas
for learning that could improve or expand your practice.
From preparing teaching tools
Preparing talks, presentations and teaching often identifies
potential areas for increased learning.
New professional service
identified
A potential service prospect could provide a learning opportunity
eg Medicine Management Services, ECP or Trimethoprim
accreditation, CPAMS, vaccinator training
The PSNZ LIFT tool (Learning Impact Frequency Tool)
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What records do you need to keep?
Pharmacists are encouraged to keep a learning portfolio to record all their professional development. Your
Practice Review (structured review of your practice using what ever standards are appropriate), and Groups
1, 2 and 3 documentation together are ‘evidence’ that you are participating in ENHANCE.
The ENHANCE 2.0 website allows you to meet all the documentation requirements for groups 1, 2,and 3.
Examples of further evidence you could keep:
There are many ways of demonstrating your learning outcomes, either directly or indirectly. It is better to
have direct evidence of your outcomes.

Work samples i.e. written copies of: drug information enquiries, interventions, primary health care
evidence forms, other records (with patient identification removed), guidelines/articles/patient
information sheets you have prepared etc

Copy of a presentation you have prepared

Policy or procedure or staff training material you prepared

Feedback from your manager, colleagues or other health professionals you work with

Feedback from patients or those that your practice impacts on

Video or audio tape demonstrating your practice
Remember:
Documenting specific examples from your
practice in the Outcomes section of how you
actually applied your learning is the most
effective way of providing evidence
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