London Pharmacy Education and Training LPE

1
The Individual Knowledge and Skills Analysis
(IKSA) Pack Developing a new learning resource
to support the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework
(KSF)
Helen Middleton and Sneha Varia London
Pharmacy Education Training
Introduction London Pharmacy Education and
Training (LPET) has supported NHS organisations
with Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
since 1999 by training CPD Facilitators and
providing learning resources to support CPD. In
1998 the government set a requirement for all NHS
staff to have Personal Development Plans (PDPs)
by April 20001. A PDP involves identifying
learning needs and planning how to meet them.
LPET developed the Personal Skills Analysis and
Development (PSAD) Pack in 2002. This tool kit
enabled pharmacy staff to analyse knowledge and
skills and identify learning needs for their PDP.
In 2004 the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework
(KSF)2 was published. All staff will have a KSF
outline by 2006 which defines the KSF dimensions,
levels and competencies (KSF indicators) that
apply to their post. Development of a PDP is
part of the KSF development review cycle.
Therefore when considering learning needs for
their PDP, individuals must now take into account
competencies specified in their KSF outline. The
PDP helps individuals to determine the gap
between where they are and where they need to be
with regards to their KSF outline, and prepare a
PDP using a technique called Gap Analysis.
The outcome An evaluation of the PSAD Pack
highlighted that it was not suitable to support
the KSF PDP. Therefore the PSAD Pack was
withdrawn and the new Individual Knowledge and
Skills Analysis (IKSA) Pack was developed.
The structure of the IKSA Pack ensures that
pharmacy staff are guided through the whole
personal development planning process as it
follows the same structure as the KSF PDP and is
written in sections which guide the user through
each section of the KSF PDP.
With the introduction of the KSF, was the PSAD
Pack suitable to help pharmacy staff develop a
PDP to meet their KSF outline?

• Objectives
• By December 2003 Test the usefulness of the
  PSAD Pack to help develop a PDP
• By May 2005 Determine whether the structure of
  the PSAD Pack is suitable to use with the KSF
  PDP
• By May 2005 Determine whether the tools in the
  PSAD Pack can be used with the KSF
• By December 2005 Modify the PSAD Pack or
  develop a new resource to help staff develop a
  PDP to meet their KSF outline

• Method
• In 2003 LPET gathered feedback from CPD
  Facilitators on the structure, usefulness and
  user-friendliness of the PSAD Pack
• In 2005 LPET compared the overall structure
  of the PSAD pack with the structure of the KSF
  PDP to look for compatibility. The tools in the
  pack were tested against the KSF to see if they
  could be used with a competency framework

Discussion (including conclusion) The IKSA Pack
aims to support staff to identify learning needs
in relation to the competencies specified in
their KSF outline and develop a PDP to meet these
needs. The IKSA Pack complements the KSF
Portfolio which was designed to help staff
understand the KSF development review process and
navigate their way through evidence
collection. In conclusion the IKSA Pack will
support the introduction of the KSF for the
benefit of all NHS pharmacy staff. We will
evaluate the IKSA Pack by questionnaire by the
end of 2006.
References (1) The New NHS A first class service
HSC 1998/113 (2) Department of Health. The NHS
Knowledge and Skills Framework (NHS KSF) and the
Development Review Process. Department of Health
2004 (3) Ashridge www.ashridge.com Want to know
more? Contact Helen Middleton - CPD Manager -
London Pharmacy Education Training 020 8237
5262 helen.middleton_at_chelwest.nhs.uk
Acknowledgements LPET would like to thank Kim
Brackley, Alison Gifford, Chris John and Malini
Haria who developed the original PSAD Pack,
Louise Fielding for her involvement in the
preliminary stages of the new IKSA pack and Sneha
Varia for her help in developing this poster