Pharmacy credentialing and continuing professional development have gained momentum throughout the world. As pharmacists assume new and increasingly complex clinical roles, public assurance of the competency of pharmacists becomes essential. There is great interest in defining the processes by which quality care and professional accountability can be ensured. Certification is one such process.
Because terms may be defined differently in various parts of the world, the term certification in this article conforms to the following definition:
The voluntary process by which a nongovernmental agency or an association grants recognition to an individual who has met certain predetermined qualifications specified by that organization. This formal recognition is granted to designate to the public that this individual has attained the requisite level of knowledge, skill, and/or experience in a well-defined, often specialized, area of the total discipline. Certification usually requires initial assessment and periodic reassessments of the individual’s knowledge, skills, and/or experience.1
Board certification in any of the specialty practice areas recognized by the Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS) represents an important professional achievement for clinical pharmacists. Six pharmacy specialties are currently recognized by BPS: ambulatory care pharmacy, nuclear pharmacy, nutrition support pharmacy, oncology pharmacy, pharmacotherapy, and psychiatric pharmacy.
As of March 2011, 561 specialty certifications have been granted by BPS to 542 pharmacists practicing in Australia, Canada, Egypt, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, Macau, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom. The following figure depicts the international pharmacist certification by specialty (BPS, unpublished data, 2011).
BCNP = Board Certified Nuclear Pharmacist; BCNSP = Board Certified Nutrition Support Pharmacist; BCOP = Board Certified Oncology Pharmacist; BCPP = Board Certified Psychiatric Pharmacist; BCPS = Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist.
The number of board-certified pharmacist specialists is on the rise. The American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) envisions a future where most clinical pharmacists who provide direct patient care will be board certified.2 ACCP is working closely with BPS and other professional organizations to increase the number of recognized pharmacy specialties in the near future.
More information on board certification may be found here.
- Council on Credentialing in Pharmacy. Credentialing in Pharmacy: A Resource Paper. Washington, DC: Council on Credentialing in Pharmacy, November 2010.
- Saseen JJ, Grady SE, Hansen LB, et al. Future clinical pharmacy practitioners should be board-certified specialists. Pharmacotherapy 2006;26:1816–25.