The first Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS) Certification in Ambulatory Care PharmacyExamination is scheduled for Saturday, October 1, 2011.    The application deadline for this year’s examination is August 1st.  

You can submit your application online! 

There are three ways you can become eligible for this examination.  These include:Completion of four (4) years of practice experience with at least 50% of time spent in ambulatory care pharmacy OR Completion of a PGY1 residency plus one additional year of practice with at least 50% of time spent in ambulatory care pharmacy practice ORCompletion of a specialty (PGY2) residency in ambulatory care pharmacy practice.

The exam is made up of questions from 5 domains or topic areas.   These domains and the percentage of questions on the exam from each domain are:    

·       Domain 1: Direct Patient Care (50% of the examination)

·       Domain 2: Practice Management (20% of the examination)

·       Domain 3: Public Health (5% of the examination)

·       Domain 4: Retrieval, generation, interpretation and dissemination of knowledge (15% of the examination)

·       Domain 5: Patient Advocacy (10% of the examination)

It is important to recognize that the content items and subsequently the percentage of questions from each domain was determined by a task analysis of pharmacists practicing in ambulatory care pharmacy practice. Ambulatory care pharmacy practice has been defined by BPS as the provision of integrated, accessible health care services by pharmacists who are accountable for addressing medication needs, developing sustained partnerships with patients, and practicing in the context of family and community. This is accomplished through direct patient care and medication management for ambulatory patients, long-term relationships, coordination of care, patient advocacy, wellness and health promotion, triage and referral, and patient education and self management. Ambulatory care pharmacists may work in both an institutional and community-based clinic involved in direct care of a diverse patient population.

Those who are granted certification in this specialty may use the designation Board Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist and the initials BCACP, as long as certification is valid.

If you are interested in preparing for the examination several way you can prepare include: the study of journal articles, textbooks or other publications related to theContent Outline; participation in study groups and examination preparation courses; and review of sample test questions printed in the BPS Candidates Guide.  

For more information visit: BPS – Ambulatory Care Speciality Examination