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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: Men's health

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

Reflection

• How do we create an environment that will attract men into the pharmacy?
• Do we encourage men to participate in exercise? Do we sell products applicable to sport activities, such as water bottles, sports supplements, heat and cold rubs, and joint supports?
• Are we judgmental or empathetic with our male customers who are struggling with healthy living issues?
• Are we skilled in identifying a male customer’s real concerns?
• Are we aware of signs and symptoms among men that could relate to serious health issues? What questions do we ask?

Training checklist

Ensure your support staff understand the following key points:

• How men can achieve a healthy balanced diet and undertake physical activity within the context of a busy life
• The health issues that are specific to men, what advice they should be giving and when they should refer
• What OTC medicines available for conditions such as dandruff.

Action. I will:

• Re-assess our communication skills in delivering lifestyle information and advice to men
• Make sure that our pharmacy is ‘man friendly’ and that our services for men are well promoted and signposted
• Ask a member of the pharmacy team to identify and keep information on local opportunities for physical activity (e.g. cycle ways, swimming pools, gyms)
• Train my pharmacy assistants to ensure that they can meet the points in this training checklist.

Practice points

• How could you let the men in your locality know about the services you offer? Discuss in your team and draw up some plans.
• What are the symptoms of prostate cancer? What are the risk factors? Why is there currently no screening test for prostate cancer on the NHS and what needs to happen before the new Government would recommend one?