About this CPD Activity & Research Involvement
Title: CPD Opportunity: Understanding Clinical Decision-Making in Community Pharmacy
Using sleep-related scenarios to explore and enhance professional judgement
This research is led by Adrian Zacher as part of his PhD at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), in collaboration with the British Society of Pharmacy Sleep Services (BSPSS), the UK charity he founded to advance sleep health in community pharmacy.
You are invited to take part in a free CPD-accredited learning activity focused on how clinical decisions are made in community pharmacy.
This activity explores the factors that influence decision-making in real-world settings – including professional judgement, confidence, guideline use, commercial pressure, and access to referral pathways. The case scenarios used in this activity involve sleep-related concerns (e.g. insomnia, suspected sleep apnoea) to help anchor these decisions in realistic practice, but the findings will be relevant across many other areas of clinical care.
What is the purpose of this CPD activity?
This learning activity aims to explore how pharmacy professionals make clinical decisions in day-to-day practice.
While the scenarios focus on sleep-related presentations, the core objective is to understand broader decision-making processes – how you balance evidence, protocol, and patient needs when faced with uncertainty or commercial pressure.
Your input will inform future training programmes, Clinical Decision Support Systems, and national policy recommendations to support safe, confident, and consistent decision-making in UK community pharmacy.
Who is this activity for?
This activity is designed for community pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy contractors practising in the UK. Your professional experience is essential to improving evidence-based decision-making in pharmacy.
Is participation voluntary?
Yes – participation is entirely voluntary. If you decide to take part, you’ll complete three short CPD-accredited activities (total time: around one hour). You can withdraw at any point without giving a reason and without any consequences.
Taking part is not a test of your clinical knowledge or job performance. The focus is on understanding how pharmacy professionals make decisions in practice – including the pressures and constraints you face.
What does the CPD activity involve?
You will complete three structured learning activities:
- Part 1: Now (~25 minutes)
- Part 2: In approximately 3 days (~15 minutes)
- Part 3: Final reflection 3 days after that (~25 minutes)
Each part contains real-world clinical scenarios and reflective questions. These activities form part of a validated research tool: the INFORMED Instrument. You may be invited to take part in an optional follow-up interview. At the end of the three parts, you will receive a personalised CPD certificate via email. If you prefer to be contacted via a different method (e.g. phone or work email), please indicate this in the final question of the activity.
CPD Accreditation
This activity is accredited by the British Society of Pharmacy Sleep Services (BSPSS) and is aligned with the General Pharmaceutical Council’s CPD requirements. You will receive a certificate of participation that can be used as part of your reflective CPD portfolio.
Will my responses be linked across activities?
Yes – your responses will be securely linked using an anonymous code. This allows us to validate learning progression and instrument performance. Your identity will not be linked to any published outputs.
What are the benefits of taking part?
- Sharpen your awareness of how you make clinical decisions
- CPD certification for your professional portfolio
- A practical, scenario-based learning experience
- Contribution to national research improving support for pharmacy-led care
- Insights are relevant beyond sleep – with lessons for other clinical areas
- A plain-language summary of the study findings will be available upon request. You can opt in at the end of the final activity.
Are there any risks or disadvantages?
There are no anticipated risks. Some questions ask you to reflect on real-world decisions and workplace pressures.
Almost all questions are mandatory in order to reflect the types of decisions pharmacy professionals make in practice. Your responses will help us understand how decisions are made under typical constraints. While questions cannot be skipped, you may withdraw at any point without giving a reason.
How is my data handled?
Your data will be anonymised and stored securely on an encrypted, offline device. Your name, email, and GPhC number will only be used to issue your CPD certificate and (if you consent) to invite you to an optional interview.
To protect data integrity:
- Your email address will be validated via an external API to confirm authenticity and prevent duplication.
- Your postcode will also be validated and used only for non-identifiable data stratification purposes (e.g. regional analysis).
The email and postcode validation is automatic and used solely to confirm valid details and better understand the reach of the study. No third-party marketing or tracking is involved.
If you consent to be contacted for a follow-up interview, your contact details will be stored separately and securely. Participation in the interview is entirely optional. Interview participants will receive a Research Participation Certificate.
We follow the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and the data protection policies of Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Newcastle University.
Cookies and privacy
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Who is organising this activity?
This CPD activity forms part of Adrian Zacher’s PhD at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. It is supported by the British Society of Pharmacy Sleep Services (BSPSS), and has been granted ethical approval by Newcastle University (Ref: 61689/2023).
What will happen to the findings?
Insights will be published in peer-reviewed journals and shared in CPD and policy forums. No participant will be identified. You can request a summary of findings after the study concludes.
Contact for further information
Researcher: Adrian Zacher, PhD Researcher
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
📱 WhatsApp: +44 7769 187168
Principal Investigator: Dr Adam Rathbone
Newcastle University
📧 adam.rathbone@newcastle.ac.uk
Thank you for your interest in this CPD opportunity and your support for advancing evidence-based practice in community pharmacy.
