The Australian College of Pharmacy (The College) is one of two providers of continuing professional development programmes for pharmacists in Australia—the other being the The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA). The College has been educating Australian Pharmacists' since 1978.

Members of The College are entitled to use the postnominal MACP, Associate Fellows AFACP, while Fellows of the College are entitled to use the prestigious FACP.

History and Vision

The Australian College of Pharmacy (The College) was established 1 July 2004 with the amalgamation of the Australian College of Pharmacy Practice (ACPP) and the Australian Institute of Pharmacy Management (AIPM).

Both the ACPP and AIPM had a long and distinguished existence, with both organisations established in 1983 and 1978 respectively. The new "College" combines the ideals and services of both former entities to members with the purpose to develop and promote excellence in the practice of clinical pharmacy and business management. The College’s vision is:

"To create a Learning Organisation that is the centre of excellence for education and research relating to the profession and industry of pharmacy. An organisation that is the leader in the field, promoting continuing education with a commitment to cutting edge clinical and retail practices and positive health outcomes for all Australians."

Structure

The College is a company limited by guarantee, and is governed by a board of seven directors, five elected from the general membership and two appointed by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia. The Board officially meets quarterly, a smaller Executive meets monthly to deal with more administrative matters. The Executive comprises the following representatives elected from the Board:

• National President
• National Vice-President
• Chair Finance and Audit
• National Young Pharmacists' Chair

The College's constitution provides for the establishment of various "Chapters" in or around a city, state or country when a set number of members place an application with the board. The College currently has the following chapters

• The Australian College of Pharmacy New South Wales Chapter
• The Australian College of Pharmacy Queensland Chapter
• The Australian College of Pharmacy North Queensland Chapter
• The Australian College of Pharmacy Victorian Chapter
• The Australian College of Pharmacy West Australian Chapter

The College is also divided into three faculties

• The Australian Faculty of Compounding Pharmacy
• The Australian Faculty of Pharmacy Management
• The Australian Faculty of Clinical Pharmacy

The Young Pharmacists' Group

The Young Pharmacists' Group of Australia (YPG) is a wholly owned subsidiary of The College. The YPG is governed by The College's only standing committee of the board. The YPG Committee comprises a representative from each Chapter and is Chaired by a representative of the executive.

Academic Board

The educational offering of The College is overseen by an Academic Board chaired by Prof Mike Roberts. Other member's of the Academic Board include the Dean's of The College's Faculty's together with the President of The Pharmacists' Division of APESMA (Association of Professional, Engineers, Scientists' and Managers of Australia).

Registered Training Organisation

The College is one of the profession's limited number of training organisations registered with the Commonwealth of Australia's Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. National Training Information Service College Registration

The College is accredited to provide nationally recognised training, including the awarding of Diploma's in both the Retail Services and Business Management Training Packages. The College's "jewel" Diploma of Retail Management was initially established under the AIPM, and is industry renowned for nearly twenty years. From 2011 The College has offered the following nationally recognised courses

• Diploma of Management
• Diploma of Business
• Diploma of Human Resource Management
• Diploma of Marketing
• Diploma of Retail Management

Clinical Education

The College is one of only a handful of organisations is Australia to offer an accredited Medication Management Review Stage 1 course that enables graduates to apply for the Association of Australian Consultant Pharmacists' (AACP) Stage 2 accreditation. Pharmacists' wanting to increase or update their pharmacotherapeutic and pathophysiological knowledge may be interested in enrolling in Patient Care modules, each module is based around a major organ group, eg Cardiovascular and Renal Therapeutics. Pharmacists wishing to complete a set number of units may qualify for the Award of ‘Fellow by Examination’ of the College.

Annual Conference

The College's Conference is an annual event attended by hundreds of members and industry representatives. The conference runs concurrent business management and Consultant Pharmacist streams, delegates have the option of either stream or a combination of both. The College prides itself on its practical and workshop based learning.