Training your team and ensuring everyone's knowledge is up-to-date are important CPD triggers. We suggest that you get the team together for a training session based on the activities below and discuss the various ways in which you can offer customers and patients added care in this category.

Subject: parasites

This Train Your Team checklist provides support and information to run a team training session on parasites. This content can also be used for your own CPD.

Reflection

• Is the pharmacy team able to dispel the myths that surround head lice and threadworms?
• Do we ensure that customers requesting a treatment have checked for the presence of live head lice?
• Can the team explain the technique needed for wet combing?
• Do we give thorough advice on good hygiene for preventing the spread of threadworms?
• Is the team able to give advice on the management of head lice and/or threadworms across an entire household?

Training checklist

Ensure your support staff understand the following key points:

• Head lice are not caused by poor hygiene
• The high incidence of head lice in school children
• The importance of detecting head lice before treatment and following the instructions for a head lice product
• Good results with head lice treatments depend on effective application
• The technique of wet combing
• The importance of good hygiene in preventing the spread of threadworms
• Treatment options for head lice, ringworm, scabies and threadworms
• When to refer customers with head lice, ringworm or threadworms to the pharmacist
• The increasing incidence of bed bugs
• The ABCD guide for travellers and what it means in the pharmacy.

Action. I will:

• Critically evaluate our advice on all parasite infestations
• Make sure that we emphasise appropriate application of treatment for head lice
• Ensure that we know when local schools are on head lice alert
• Train my pharmacy assistants to ensure that they can meet all the points in the training checklist.

Practice point

• Is there a way in which your pharmacy could work with one or more local schools in the management of head lice and threadworms?