FAQ: Endorsement for scheduled medicines

The endorsement of your registration for scheduled medicines indicates that you are qualified to administer, obtain, possess, prescribe, sell, supply or use Schedule 2, 3, 4 or 8 medicines for the treatment of podiatric conditions, included in the National podiatry scheduled medicines list.

However, the endorsement does not authorise you to do so.

The authorisation for you to administer, obtain, possess, prescribe, sell, supply or use scheduled medicines in a state or territory will be provided by, or under legislation and regulations of, the state or territory in which you are practising. This may be different in each state and territory.

You must administer, obtain, possess, prescribe, sell, supply or use scheduled medicines within the scope of the state or territory authority at all times.

The National Podiatry Scheduled Medicines List specifies the Schedule 2, 3, 4 and 8 medicines that podiatrists and podiatric surgeons, whose registration has been endorsed for scheduled medicines, are qualified to administer, obtain, possess, prescribe, sell, supply or use for the treatment of podiatric conditions.

The National podiatry scheduled medicines list is attached to the Registration standard: Endorsement for scheduled medicines published on the Board's Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

The prescribing competencies required for endorsement for scheduled medicines are the prescribing competencies described in the NPS MedicineWise Prescribing Competencies Framework: embedding quality use of medicines into practice available on the NPS MedicineWise website.

The Registration standard: Endorsement for scheduled medicines and Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines are published on the Board’s Endorsements for scheduled medicines page.

There are two pathways set out in the registration standard.

1. Pathway A requires you to have an approved qualification for endorsement for scheduled medicines or another qualification that the Board considers to be substantially equivalent to, or based on similar competencies to, an approved qualification.

    

   The program of study leading to the approved qualification will be aligned to the NPS MedicineWise Prescribing Competencies Framework and includes education and training in podiatric therapeutics, as well as clinically-supervised practice related to prescribing to ensure that graduates have the required competencies for endorsement for scheduled medicines.

    

2. Pathway B provides a pathway for registered podiatrists and podiatric surgeons to meet the requirements for endorsement for scheduled medicines through a combination of an approved qualification in podiatric therapeutics; successful completion of approved online case studies relevant to the endorsement; a period of supervised practice, and development of a portfolio of evidence for assessment by the Board.

More information about the pathways is in the registration standard and guidelines published on the Board’s Endorsement for scheduled medicines page and in the FAQs below.

Yes, templates are published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

The application form for endorsement for scheduled medicines is published on the Forms page of the Board's website.

Other relevant forms for practitioners using Pathway B, including an application to commence supervised practice form are also published on the Forms page of the Board's website.

You must have an approved qualification for endorsement for scheduled medicines OR another qualification that the Board considers to be substantially equivalent to, or based on similar competencies to, an approved qualification. 

An approved qualification is obtained by completing a podiatry program of study that has been accredited by the accreditation authority for the podiatry profession, and subsequently approved by the Board as providing a qualification for the purpose of endorsement for scheduled medicines under Pathway A of the Registration standard: Endorsement for scheduled medicines. The program of study will be aligned to the NPS MedicineWise Prescribing Competencies Framework and includes education and training in podiatric therapeutics, as well as clinically-supervised practice related to prescribing to ensure that graduates have the required competencies for endorsement for scheduled medicines.

There are currently no approved programs of study for the new Pathway A.

The Board’s Registration standard: Recency of practice will apply to your application for endorsement for scheduled medicines under this pathway unless you are a recent graduate.

Recent graduate is defined in the Registration standard: Endorsement for scheduled medicines as:

A person applying for endorsement for scheduled medicines under Pathway A on the basis of an approved qualification for endorsement for scheduled medicines (as defined in this registration standard and the ESM guidelines) that was awarded not more than 12 months prior to the date of their application.

This means that if you don’t apply for endorsement for scheduled medicines under Pathway A within 12 months of successfully completing the requirements for the approved qualification for endorsement for scheduled medicines, you will have to meet the requirements of the Board’s Registration standard: Recency of practice with respect to recent practice related to the endorsement for scheduled medicines.

Further information about the new Pathway A can be found in the Registration standard: Endorsement for scheduled medicines and Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines, published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

The prescribing competencies required for endorsement for scheduled medicines are the prescribing competencies described in the NPS MedicineWise Prescribing Competencies Framework: embedding quality use of medicines into practice, which is available on the NPS MedicineWise website.

You need to be able to demonstrate that you meet each of the competencies described in the NPS MedicineWise Prescribing Competencies Framework and that you have the related podiatric-specific knowledge, skills and behaviours for each competency.

Pathway B provides a pathway for registered podiatrists and podiatric surgeons to meet the requirements for endorsement for scheduled medicines through a combination of:

• an approved qualification in podiatric therapeutics (or another qualification that the Board considers to be substantially equivalent to, or based on similar competencies to, an approved qualification in podiatric therapeutics) 
• successful completion of approved online case studies relevant to the endorsement 
• a period of supervised practice in Australia under the guidance of a mentor, and 
• development of a portfolio of evidence for assessment by the Board.

There are also steps you must complete before commencing your period of supervised practice and to progress during your period of supervised practice.

Information on the requirements for Pathway B can be found in the Registration standard: Endorsement for scheduled medicines and Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines, published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

An approved qualification in podiatric therapeutics can be obtained by completing an accredited program of study that has been approved by the Board as providing a qualification in podiatric therapeutics. The Board’s approved programs of study in podiatric therapeutics are published on the accreditation page of the Board’s website.

This program of study includes education and training in podiatric therapeutics but does not include the clinically supervised practice that is required for endorsement for scheduled medicines.

Approved online case studies are case studies relevant to endorsement for scheduled medicines delivered online by a university or other approved education provider and approved by the Board. These case studies include an assessable component.

The approved online case studies must be completed after you have obtained your approved qualification in podiatric therapeutics and not more than three years before first applying for endorsement for scheduled medicines.

Information about approved online case studies is in the Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines, published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

A list of the online case studies approved by the Board for Pathway B can be found on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

You need to apply to the Board to commence supervised practice. You apply by submitting the following documents for approval:

1. Evidence you hold an approved qualification in podiatric therapeutics or equivalent (that is not more than seven years old). You MUST attach a certified copy of your original academic transcript and testimony or certificate that indicates completion of the approved qualification or equivalent.
2. Evidence of having successfully completed 15 approved online case studies (completed not more than three years before). You must attach a certified copy of the evidence.
3.  A signed mentor agreement. You must attach a certified copy of the agreement.

You can’t start your supervised practice until you have been advised in writing that the Board is satisfied you have met the prerequisites for supervised practice.

There is a specific form to apply to commence supervised practice - Application to commence supervised practice - Endorsement for scheduled medicines Pathway B - AASP-70, which is available on the Forms page of the Board’s website.

Information about these requirements is in the Registration standard: Endorsement for scheduled medicines and Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines, published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page

 Supervised practice for the purpose of Pathway B is the minimum of 150 hours of supervised practice completed in Australia within a 12-month period under the guidance of a mentor. This minimum number of hours was set as a way to develop your capacity to carry out best practice in prescribing.

Supervised practice involves you attending observational clinical sessions with experienced health practitioners (also called the attending prescribing clinician in the Board’s documents) who can prescribe scheduled medicines in a range of health care environments.

Supervised practice also encompasses reflective practice and meetings with your mentor. These are all important elements which you are expected to use to build your portfolio of evidence.

The supervised practice must involve podiatric pathology and be sufficient to allow substantial exposure to podiatric conditions, interventions and their management through the use of scheduled medicines.

Information about the requirements for supervised practice under Pathway B is in the Registration standard: Endorsement for scheduled medicines and Guidelines:Endorsement for scheduled medicines, published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

You must complete at least 150 hours of supervised practice in a 12 month period. It must be completed within 12 months of the date that you are advised in writing that the Board is satisfied you have met the prerequisites for supervised practice.

The minimum 150 hours is made up of:

• the observational sessions with experienced health practitioners who can prescribe scheduled medicines (attending prescribing clinician) 
• meetings with your mentor 
• reflection, and 
• development of your portfolio of evidence.

The requirement for the minimum 150 hours to be completed within 12 months provides flexibility for practitioners and will accommodate those who are in a position to complete the minimum 150 hours in less than 12 months, as well as those who may need the full 12 months.

Information about the requirements for supervised practice under Pathway B is in the Registration standard: Endorsement for scheduled medicines and Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines, published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

The Board may grant an extension of time to complete the period of supervised practice in exceptional circumstances. A Board policy on when an extension may be granted is published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page of the Board’s website.

An application form for an extension to the period of supervised practice is available on the Forms page of the Board's website.

No. It is essential you are exposed to a variety of settings to ensure a mix of clinical experiences.

The clinical studies and other evidence you include in your portfolio must clearly demonstrate you have dealt with a diverse range of patients with different medical conditions and complexity, in a variety of settings.

The observational clinical sessions must give you exposure to a variety of podiatric conditions, interventions and their management incorporating the use of scheduled medicines.

You should have the opportunity to observe and review clinical encounters with patients across the continuum of care in various settings, involving the use of a broad range of scheduled medicines for the management of podiatric conditions from the National Podiatry Scheduled Medicines List.

The Board encourages you to spend time with more than one prescribing clinician as this will assist you to obtain exposure to a mix of clinical experiences. It will also enable you to benefit from different perspectives on prescribing, according to different contexts.

Your mentor should be able to facilitate or guide you in finding a variety of suitable observational clinical sessions with different clinicians.

The attending prescribing clinician for the clinical sessions you are observing must be an experienced health practitioner who can prescribe scheduled medicines. This may be your mentor or another health practitioner.

Examples of clinicians include a podiatrist or podiatric surgeon whose registration is endorsed for scheduled medicines, a GP or another medical specialist, specialist nurse practitioner, hospital medical officer, or a pharmacist.

The use of more than one clinician is encouraged as this will help you to obtain exposure to a mix of clinical experiences. It will also enable you to benefit from different perspectives on prescribing, according to different contexts.

Information about the attending prescribing clinician is in the Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines, published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

The Board expects that rather than just being a passive observer for these clinical sessions you will actively observe the clinical decision-making for the patient and then discuss with the attending prescribing clinician after the consultation. You will also have a subsequent discussion and reflection on each observational session with your mentor.

Each clinical study you develop for your portfolio of evidence will be based on your reflection of the relevant observational clinical session and subsequent discussions with your mentor.

Your mentor oversees your period of supervised practice and has a key role in ensuring you understand the requirements for safe and effective prescribing of scheduled medicines for the treatment of podiatric conditions.

Your mentor provides support for the development of your skills to safely prescribe scheduled medicines through their knowledge and experience.

Whilst your mentor does not have to be involved in the observational clinical sessions you attend (although they may be involved in some), your mentor should provide guidance to you during subsequent discussion of, and reflection on, those clinical experiences. Your mentor should also facilitate and/or guide you in finding a variety of suitable observational clinical placements with different prescribing clinicians. This is essential to ensure you are exposed to the required diverse range of patients and podiatric conditions in a variety of settings.

It is essential that you have regular meetings with your mentor. Whilst it is preferable that these meetings are face-to-face, if this is not possible, due to unavailability of a suitable mentor in your area, they can be conducted by teleconference or other means of communication, such as web conferencing.

The purpose of the meetings is to discuss every observational clinical session you have attended and review and discuss the evidence that you wish to include in your portfolio. Each piece of evidence for your portfolio should be reviewed by and discussed with your mentor as soon as practicable after you have completed it. This will enable your mentor to provide constructive feedback on any identified prescribing errors or other errors. It will also enable your mentor to be confident that your clinical experience relates, or is relevant, to podiatric interventions and contributes to the diverse scenarios required for the Board to consider your application for endorsement for scheduled medicines.

Your mentor may also assist you to determine what additional evidence you may need to include in your portfolio and discuss any problems or issues relating to your period of supervised practice in a supportive environment.

Your mentor is required to progressively sign and date each piece of evidence in your portfolio. Verification by your mentor of the content of the evidence in your portfolio will help ensure that your portfolio accurately reflects that you have completed the Board’s requirements for supervised practice and have met the required prescribing competencies.

Once you have completed your period of supervised practice, your mentor is required to review your portfolio of evidence and if satisfied that you have sufficient evidence to demonstrate that you have the required competencies for endorsement for scheduled medicines, your mentor will complete the Certification of completion of supervised practice (Pathway B).

The template Certification of completion of supervised practice (Pathway B) is available on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page of the Board’s website.

Information about mentors, including the role and responsibilities of a mentor, is in Appendix 1 of the Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines. The guidelines are published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

 Your mentor must be experienced and knowledgeable in the use of scheduled medicines for the treatment of podiatric conditions. They must have a minimum of two years clinical experience in the use and prescribing of scheduled medicines.

Your mentor can be either:

• a podiatrist or podiatric surgeon whose registration has been endorsed for scheduled medicines for at least two years, or
• a registered medical practitioner.

The relationship between you and your mentor must be professional. Whilst you mentor is not a supervisor in the strict sense, the same principles that would apply with regard to a supervisor apply to your relationship with your mentor. As indicated in the Board’s Code of conduct, good practice includes avoiding any potential for conflict of interest in supervision relationships that may impair objectivity and/or interfere with the supervised person’s learning outcomes or experience. For example, do not mentor someone with whom you have a pre-existing non-professional relationship.

Your mentor must understand the requirements for Pathway B as set out in the Registration standard: Endorsement for scheduled medicines and Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines, as well as the National podiatry scheduled medicines list (Attachment A to the registration standard) and the NPS MedicineWise Prescribing Competencies Framework and Quality Use of Medicines (QUM).

You cannot have a mentor whose registration or endorsement is subject to a restriction (such as condition(s) or an undertaking) which restricts their prescribing scope of practice, and limits access to the full range of medicines in the National podiatry scheduled medicines list.

If a mentor has restrictions of this nature placed on their registration during the period of supervised practice a new mentor must be engaged. You must have a signed mentor agreement in place with a new mentor and submit the new agreement to the Board as soon as possible after it is signed by the mentor. A change of mentor form is available on the Forms page of the Board’s website.

Further information about the requirements for a mentor is in Appendix 1 of the Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines, published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

If you need to change mentors because your mentor is no longer available or no longer suitable to be your mentor, you must have a signed mentor agreement in place with a new mentor.

The new mentor agreement must be submitted to the Board as soon as possible after it is signed by the mentor.

A change of mentor form is available on the Forms page of the Board's website.

Clinical studies are an important means of demonstrating your knowledge and skills and your clinical reasoning in relation to a particular case.

During your period of supervised practice, you will develop clinical studies to reflect a variety of observational clinical placements. You must include at least 15 of these clinical studies in your portfolio of evidence. Hypothetical or simulation based clinical studies cannot be submitted as part of the minimum 15 clinical studies. However, they can be submitted as additional evidence in your portfolio.

Each clinical study you include in your portfolio of evidence must be prepared as though you were the prescribing practitioner. It must be comprehensive and clearly show your patient assessment and clinical decision making processes and demonstrate your knowledge and critical thinking about the use of scheduled medicines in your clinical practice.

The clinical studies must meet the specific requirements for clinical studies which are described in detail in Appendix 2 of the Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines.

A template for a clinical study is published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page together with guidance on how to complete each clinical study.

It is important that you refer to the guidance when completing each of your clinical studies as this will help ensure your clinical studies meet the Board’s requirements.

All clinical studies must be accompanied by a sample completed prescription that you have prepared for that individual patient for all medicines you have prescribed, with the exception of local anaesthetic. This includes S2, S3 and unscheduled medicines. The sample prescription must clearly and unambiguously demonstrate your ability to prescribe the relevant scheduled medicines in the National podiatry scheduled medicines list.

Sample clinical studies together with sample prescriptions are included in the sample portfolio of evidence published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

A clinical study may be used as evidence of a number of the required prescribing competencies.

Yes. Your clinical studies should reflect the observational clinical sessions you have undertaken in a number of practice settings. Your clinical studies must reflect the variety of your observational clinical sessions, such as (but not restricted to) high-risk foot clinics, teaching clinics, emergency departments, the operating room, rheumatology clinics, endocrinology clinics, general medical practice or aged care facilities.

This variety will ensure you have the breadth of knowledge required for safe prescribing for a diverse range of patients and conditions.

Yes. The clinical studies you include in your portfolio must clearly demonstrate you have dealt with a diverse range of patients, podiatric conditions, interventions and management strategies through the use of scheduled medicines.

Your clinical studies must:

• reflect a variety of placements
• include at least five high-risk cases, for example, diabetes-related cases or foot pathologies related to other chronic conditions – see FAQ What is a high risk case in this context below
• include cases where patients have a range of co-morbidities and are at risk of adverse outcomes related to polypharmacy
• demonstrate complexity in patient cases – you must include at least five cases which involve more than one class of medicines. These cases must include at least one medicine from the National podiatry scheduled medicines list and may also include the medicines that the patient is already taking
• involve podiatric pathology in at least 12 of the clinical studies and be related to a podiatric condition, intervention or management. Clinical studies that don’t involve podiatric pathology must deal with conditions that would allow the knowledge and skills to transfer to podiatry.

High risk clinical studies describe clinical presentations that often result in higher health care requirements. These clinical studies may or may not also involve polypharmacy. High risk cases should be considered where a patient may present with any of the following:

• known past or present complications relating to the lower limb vascular or neurological status
• immunocompromised
• a recent change in their mobility placing them at risk
• a health condition with known impact on their vascular, mobility, immunity or pain status
• have other social or lifestyle factors that elevate vulnerability.

This list is not exhaustive and is just provided as an example. High risk clinical studies should contain information that allows for clear justification of why the patient is considered high risk. For example, an adult with well controlled diabetes, without established vascular disease, neuropathy, past or present wounds, is generally not considered high risk in this context, unless there are additional elements of risk described.

When you have completed at least 25 hours of supervised practice, you must submit three clinical studies for assessment by the Board.

This provides a valuable opportunity for you to get feedback in the early part of your period of supervised practice so that you can address any concerns before you complete your period of supervised practice.

It is highly recommended that the three clinical studies you submit reflect different types of cases, different classes of scheduled medicines and levels of complexity to benefit most from this opportunity for early feedback.

It is important that you carefully consider the feedback that is provided, reflect on it and discuss it with your mentor. You can then apply what you’ve learnt from the feedback to other clinical studies.

The clinical studies must meet the requirements set out in Appendix 2 of the Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines and be accompanied by a brief report from you which outlines which of the prescribing competencies are demonstrated in each clinical study.

Further information about the initial assessment is in the Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines (see 2.2.7 Assessment - Initial assessment of clinical studies), published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

The form for you to submit your clinical studies for initial assessment is available on the Forms page of the Board’s website. You must use this form every time you submit clinical studies for assessment.

Clinical studies that have been assessed as satisfactory by the Board will be returned to you, and you must resubmit them in your portfolio to the Board when you apply to have your registration endorsed for scheduled medicines at the end of the period of supervised practice. These clinical studies are counted towards the minimum of 15 that you are required to submit in the portfolio.

Further information about the clinical studies and the initial assessment is in the Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines, published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

Any clinical studies that are assessed during the initial assessment as unsatisfactory will be returned to you with a clear statement about why the particular clinical study was unsatisfactory.

This provides you with a valuable opportunity to reflect on the feedback you have received, discuss it with your mentor and then apply that learning to another clinical study.

You will be given an opportunity to submit one further clinical study to replace each unsatisfactory clinical study. You can only present up to three new clinical studies for initial assessment.

You cannot re-submit any clinical study you have previously submitted for initial assessment.

A total of three clinical studies must be assessed as satisfactory by the Board before you finish your period of supervised practice.

Further information about the requirements for clinical studies is in Appendix 2 of the Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines, published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

No. The use of local anaesthetic falls within the capability of all registered podiatrists. A clinical study with local anaesthetic only does not demonstrate the additional capabilities required for endorsement for scheduled medicines.

While you can include local anaesthetic in a clinical study, the clinical study should also include other scheduled medicines from the National Podiatry Scheduled Medicines List.

For example, an antibacterial may be prescribed in conjunction with the administration of local anaesthetic for the management of an infected ingrown toenail.

No, you don’t need to include local anaesthetic in the written prescription that accompanies your clinical study.

Clinical studies should be reflective of podiatry clinical practice. Local anaesthetic is administered as part of podiatry clinical practice without a written prescription.

All the necessary elements of safe practice relating to the use of local anaesthetics, including dosage calculation, counselling/education, and storage must be included as part of your clinical study.

Appropriate resuscitation facilities would have adequate processes and equipment to perform advanced life support, should it be needed during or after administration of methoxyflurane. 

Endorsed prescribers should be aware of the safety issues associated with the administration of methoxyflurane.

The purpose of the portfolio of evidence, which is submitted with your application for endorsement for scheduled medicines, is to demonstrate to the Board that you have the required prescribing competencies to have your registration endorsed for scheduled medicines and that you have met the Board’s requirements for supervised practice.

You will progressively develop a portfolio of evidence during your period of supervised practice. This will be done in consultation with your mentor. The portfolio allows you to describe and provide evidence of your learning through your observational clinical experience, related education, interaction with your mentor and self-reflection.

The evidence in your portfolio must demonstrate:

1. clearly and in detail that you have dealt with a diverse range of patient cases and clinical settings involving the use of scheduled medicines in the management of podiatric conditions, and
2. that you have the required prescribing competencies to be able to safely and effectively administer, obtain, possess, prescribe, sell, supply or use the scheduled medicines in the National podiatry scheduled medicines list for the treatment of podiatric conditions.

Your portfolio must include at least 15 de-identified clinical studies and a reflective journal, which includes a log of the activities you have completed during your period of supervised practice.

It is up to you to decide what additional types of evidence you include in your portfolio to demonstrate that you have met each of the competencies described in the NPS MedicineWise Prescribing Competencies Framework, and that you have the related podiatric-specific knowledge, skills and behaviours for each competency.

Some pieces of evidence may be used to demonstrate that you have met a number of the prescribing competencies. You may use multiple pieces of evidence to address any of the competencies.

Each piece of evidence in your portfolio must be your own work and be signed and dated by you and your mentor. Each piece of evidence must also be referenced to one or more of the required prescribing competencies.

Information on the evidence to be included in your portfolio, including examples of evidence, is set out in Appendix 2 of the Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines, published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

No. The evidence in your portfolio does not need to cover every medicine in the National Podiatry Scheduled Medicines List. 

However, the clinical studies and other evidence that you include in your portfolio must clearly demonstrate that you have dealt with a diverse range of patients and medical conditions in a variety of settings involving the use of a broad range of scheduled medicines from the National Podiatry Scheduled Medicines List in the management of podiatric conditions, and demonstrate you have the required prescribing competencies to have your registration endorsed for scheduled medicines.

Your portfolio must include at least 15 de-identified clinical studies and a reflective journal.  The clinical studies included in your portfolio must meet the specific requirements for clinical studies which are described in Appendix 2 of the Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines. 

In order to meet these requirements, the Board expects that your clinical studies will cover a broad range of scheduled medicines across the different classes of medicines in the National Podiatry Scheduled Medicines List.   

 The evidence in your portfolio must be clearly presented, labelled, signed where required, and accompanied by an evidence matrix to show which piece of evidence demonstrates what competency. It is recommended that you progressively complete the evidence matrix as it forms an important checklist for you to ensure that evidence of all areas of prescribing practice are included in your portfolio prior to submission.

If your portfolio is not presented as required, or if essential evidence is not included, it will be returned to you. This will delay assessment of your application.

A sample portfolio of evidence is published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page. The sample portfolio, including the example evidence matrix and log of activities, are intended to provide guidance only and are not representations of a completed portfolio, evidence matrix or log of activities.

A template evidence matrix that you can use is published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

The log of activities is developed progressively during your period of supervised practice. You should take it to each activity you undertake during your period of supervised practice. It must be signed by the relevant practitioner involved in the activity with you on the day. For example, the attending prescribing clinician for each observational clinical session must sign the entry for each session.

A template Log of activities is published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page of the Board’s website.

The template includes information about what must be included in the Log of activities and also includes some examples of entries in the log.

The reflective journal enables you to demonstrate that you have completed a minimum of 150 hours of supervised practice within a 12-month period, and that you have reflected on your prescribing practice during your period of supervised practice.

It must include a log of the activities that you have undertaken during your period of supervised practice. The attending prescribing clinician at each observational clinical session you have attended must sign and date the entry in the log for each attendance.

A sample log of activities is published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

Examples of what can be included in the reflective component of the journal are in Appendix 2 of the Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines, published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

The sample portfolio of evidence that is published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page includes some examples of the types of evidence that could be included in the reflective journal.

You may submit your application to the Board to have your registration endorsed for scheduled medicines under Pathway B, together with your portfolio of evidence when:

a. you have completed your period of supervised practice, and

b. three clinical studies have been assessed as satisfactory by the Board.

Your application must be submitted within 12 months of completing your period of supervised practice.

The application form is available on the Forms page of the Board’s website.

The role of a mentor of a podiatrist or podiatric surgeon working towards endorsement for scheduled medicines is an important one. As a mentor, you will oversee the practitioner’s period of supervised practice and have a key role in ensuring they understand the requirements for safe and effective prescribing of scheduled medicines for the treatment of podiatric conditions. Through your knowledge and experience in prescribing, you will provide support for the development of their skills to prescribe scheduled medicines safely and effectively.

You may be involved in some of the observational clinical sessions that the practitioner attends during their period of supervised practice, but you don’t have to be.

It is important that you provide guidance to the practitioner about finding a variety of suitable observational clinical placements with different prescribing clinicians and ensuring that the evidence in their portfolio reflects the various clinical settings and variety of cases.

You will provide guidance and feedback to the practitioner during subsequent discussion of and reflection on those clinical experiences. You will also facilitate and/or guide the practitioner in finding suitable observational clinical placements.

You will also review and discuss each piece of evidence that the practitioner would like to include in their portfolio of evidence for submission to the Board to demonstrate they have met the required prescribing competencies. This will enable you to provide constructive feedback on any identified prescribing errors or other errors. It will also enable you to be confident that their clinical experience relates or is relevant to podiatric interventions and contributes to the diverse scenarios required for an application for endorsement for scheduled medicines.

You may also assist the practitioner to determine what additional evidence they may need to include in their portfolio, and discuss any problems relating to their period of supervised practice in a supportive environment.

Information about mentors, including the role of a mentor, is in Appendix 1 of the Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines, published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

To be a mentor you must be experienced and knowledgeable about the use of scheduled medicines for the treatment of podiatric conditions, with a minimum of two years of clinical experience in the use and prescribing of scheduled medicines.

In assessing whether you have the skills and time to take on the role of mentoring a podiatrist or podiatric surgeon, you should consider the description of the role as set out in Appendix 1 of the Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines and take into account the time commitment for the role.

You must be familiar with and understand the Board’s Registration standard: Endorsement for scheduled medicines, Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines, the National podiatry scheduled medicines list (Attachment A to the registration standard) and the Clinical practice guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines. You must also understand the NPS MedicineWise Prescribing Competencies Framework, and Quality Use of Medicines (QUM).

It is essential that you have adequate time for regular meetings with the practitioner you are mentoring. The purpose of the meetings is to discuss every observational clinical session the practitioner has attended and review and discuss the evidence that they wish to include in their portfolio. Whilst it is preferable that these meetings are face-to-face, if this is not possible, they can be conducted by teleconference or other means of communication, such as web conferencing.

Each piece of evidence for the portfolio should be reviewed by you and discussed with the practitioner as soon as practicable after they have completed it. This will enable you to provide constructive feedback on any identified prescribing errors or other errors and also enable you to be confident that the practitioner’s clinical experience relates or is relevant to podiatric interventions and contributes to the diverse scenarios required for an application for endorsement for scheduled medicines.

You may also assist the practitioner to determine what additional evidence they may need to include in their portfolio, and discuss any problems or issues relating to their period of supervised practice in a supportive environment.

You must progressively sign and date each piece of evidence that is to be included in the practitioner’s portfolio. Your verification of the content of the evidence in the practitioner’s portfolio will help ensure that their portfolio accurately reflects that they have completed the Board’s requirements for supervised practice and have met the required prescribing competencies.

Once the practitioner has completed their period of supervised practice, it is your responsibility to review their portfolio of evidence. If you are satisfied that they have sufficient evidence to demonstrate the required competencies for endorsement for scheduled medicines, you must complete the Certification of completion of supervised practice template, which is published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.

Further information about mentors, including the responsibilities of a mentor can be found in Appendix 1 of the Guidelines: Endorsement for scheduled medicines, published on the Endorsement for scheduled medicines page.