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: dry skin and eczema

This Train Your Team checklist provides support and information to run a team training session on dry skin and eczema. Work through the activities below. This content can also be used for your own CPD.

Reflection

• Is my advice on use of emollient therapy effective and up to date?
• Do we spend time with customers explaining how to effectively fit emollient therapy into their daily routine?
• Can I tailor my advice to individual customers, their lifestyles and preferences?
• Do I communicate the importance of liberal application of emollients, particularly after bathing or showering?
• Do we display emollients and related products in the pharmacy?

Training checklist

Ensure support staff understand the following key points:

• Dry skin can affect the quality of life
• The importance of asking questions to enquire about symptoms because the nature of dry skin varies enormously
• Dry skin and eczema is very common in both adults and children
• Common causes and signs/symptoms of dry skin
• Eczema is characterised by flare-ups
• The problem of the itch-scratch cycle
• The importance of emollient therapy and how it works
• Types of emollients and their role in different situations and times of day
• Which emollient to choose
• The role of urea in emollient products
• How to use emollients in the daily routine
• When to refer.

I will:

• Reassess my and my staff’s interventions in customers with dry skin and eczema
• Ensure that my staff can give a clear explanation to customers about the role of urea in emollient products
• Ensure that the pharmacy team gives appropriate advice on the correct use and application of emollients
• Train my pharmacy assistants to ensure that they can meet all the points in this training checklist.