This course builds on the knowledge you have gained as a pharmacist vaccinator or an authorised vaccinator with or without age restriction. It will update and increase your knowledge of the National Immunisation Schedule for those aged 5 years and under, and develop your skills to vaccinate into the vastus lateralis for infants under 2 years of age.
Course modules:
The course provides 3 hours of continuing professional development. On completion, you can print out a certificate as evidence of learning.
Prerequisites
At the start of the course, you will be asked to indicate that you meet the course requirements.
This course is intended for those who hold a current annual practicing certificate, a current CPR certificate and are currently either:
Pharmacist intern vaccinators are NOT eligible to do this course.
A benefit of completing this Extending Skills course, and the associated authorisation pathway is that it removes the need for prescriptions or standing orders. These are replaced with the requirement for direct supervision [1:1] from an experienced vaccinator while you develop practical skills vaccinating this younger age, and undertake the clinical assessment. Additionally, it lifts the regulatory restrictions on pharmacists concerning medicines.
On completion of the course assessment, you can apply to the Health NZ - Te Whatu Ora Workforce Request Portal for authorisation (whole-of-life), with the condition that you must work under the direct supervision of an experienced vaccinator mentor when giving vaccines to those under 3 years of age.
If you are choosing to only vaccinate those 3 years of age and over, there is still an expectation that you will arrange to complete supervised vaccination experience working with an experienced vaccinator, completing your workbook as a record of your clinical competency development while vaccinating children aged under 5 years. You can pause at this point, leaving the direct supervision requirement in place for those aged under 3 years.
To progress further (i.e, to vaccinate children aged under 3 years) you must arrange supervised vaccination experience working with an experienced vaccinator, completing your workbook while vaccinating children in this younger age range.
The final step is to complete a clinical assessment on a child aged under 2 years, allowing you apply for whole-of-life authorisation without restrictions. Note: a completed workbook signed-off by your experienced vaccinator mentor is required prior to your clinical assessment.
If you are a pharmacist vaccinator planning to offer whole-of-life National Schedule vaccinations, you will need to make sure your pharmacy site meets the onboarding guidelines and site checklists. Discuss with your District Lead.
Note: Authorised vaccinators can choose to continue to be locally authorised, (applying for whole-of-life authorisation) as normal via your local Medical Officer of Health, using this course and workbook as professional development, and completing a clinical assessment in the vastus lateralis on a child under 2 years. Standing orders or prescriptions for practice and the clinical assessment are required if you choose to follow this authorisation pathway.
