Who can apply for the PEBC exam in Canada?

Who can apply for the PEBC exam in Canada?

The Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC) is the national certification body responsible for assessing and certifying the qualifications of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Canada. The Board was created in 1963 and has since been in charge of ensuring that pharmacists who seek to work for and serve Canadians are well-trained and knowledgeable of the customs, regulations, ethics, and standards required to practice safely and effectively in Canada.

The PEBC exam is the gateway for Canadian and internationally trained pharmacists to become licensed and practice in Canada. The exam has two primary components for pharmacists: the Evaluating and Qualifying examinations. Candidates trained in Canada will only have to write the qualifying exam. In contrast, internationally trained pharmacists must write the evaluating exam before they can write the qualifying exam.

The PEBC evaluating exam is a 4.25-hour computer-based exam that assesses general pharmaceutical, biomedical, and behavioral knowledge to ensure that candidates are on par with Canadian educational standards. The qualifying exam has two parts: first is the single day, computer-based MCQ, and Part 2 is an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) that simulates common and emergency practical situations with a series of interactive and non-interactive stations. Part 2 exam must be conducted in person as examiners seek to find out how well you can gather, process, and understand information about your patient and how you can solve their problem. Your ability to communicate effectively with your patient, caregiver, or other healthcare professionals will also be watched and scored.

Eligibility criteria

Before you can apply for the PEBC exam, there are a few pre-requistes you have to complete. The first and perhaps most obvious is that you have to be a graduate of a pharmacy program from an institution recognized by the board. Next, you must show you have a solid grasp of either English or French, depending on what province you are applying to and the language of the exam.

Most places require that you have completed a minimum amount of internship or practical training to ensure you are sound in more than just theory. Finally, you must be in the good books of the regulatory bodies, meaning you must have no outstanding case with them and have committed no crime. Fulfilling these prerequisites will allow you to begin the application process.

How to apply

The first step to becoming licensed in Canada (except in Quebec) is registering with the Pharmacists’ Gateway Canada for a fee of $380 to create a profile and obtain a NAPRA ID number. The ID number is necessary because it allows you to apply for document evaluation with the PEBC. The created profile will serve as a document repository and a way to track your application progress.

Next, you have to register with the PEBC to begin the Document evaluation, which checks if your qualifications are legitimate. You must complete your profile and then pay the application fee of $705 or $250 for US graduates before you mail or courier a printed and filled application form, documents to prove your identity and support that you graduated from an acceptable program, and proof of licensure.

Graduates from U.S institutions need only submit their documents for evaluation, while candidates from other international schools will have to write and pass the PEBC Evaluating exam before they can apply for the Qualifying exam. The Qualifying exam is the final step to acquiring the PEBC Certificate of Qualification, and it tests how competent you are in safely and efficiently working in an ‘entry-level’ position.

The exam results will be posted on your profile with either pass or fail. Those who do not pass are allowed up to four retrials, but the candidates must petition the PEBC to be allowed a fourth attempt after undergoing remediation.

Who can apply

The PEBC is open to everyone who meets the abovementioned requirements and can pay the various fees. Canadian citizens and permanent residents who meet the educational and language proficiency requirements can apply for the exam. International graduates who completed a pharmacy program recognized by the PEBC, pass the language requirements, and have submitted validated credentials are also eligible to apply. Finally, pharmacists already working in other countries may be allowed to apply for the exam. Still, they will be required to submit the necessary documents that prove their education, experience, and license are up to Canadian standards.

Exam Difficulty

The PEBC qualifying exam is known for being difficult, especially for internationally trained pharmacists. The exam not only tests theoretical knowledge but also practical and clinical decision-making skills in real-world pharmacy scenarios. The OSCE portion, in particular, can be difficult as it simulates clinical tasks that require quick and accurate judgment, communication, and problem-solving. Previous results have shown that candidates trained in Canadian schools have an 86.5% pass rate for Part 1 and a pass rate of 93.7% for the OSCE. However, international first-time test takers had a pass rate of 43.3% for Part 1 and 59.8% for Part 2. The lower pass rate for international applicants has mainly been attributed to a lack of familiarity with Canadian practice standards and ethics.

To help combat that, there are bridging programs offered by recognized Canadian institutions developed for international pharmacy graduates to help fill in the gaps in their knowledge. These programs typically focus on Canadian pharmacy practice, legal and ethical aspects, clinical skills, and Canadian culture and communications. Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec have made it mandatory that internationally trained applicants enroll in a bridging program before gaining licensure.

However, even without the bridging programs, candidates can still perform excellently in the exams if they prepare with the right resources. CanadaQBank is one such resource that can make studying for the exam easier, especially for IPGs who may be unaware of Canadian standards. CanadaQBank is a highly regarded question bank with over 1,000 challenging MCQs, detailed explanations, and similarities to the actual exam format. It allows you to practice for the exam in a timed or untimed mode, generates customized tests from single or multiple subjects, and has an upgraded MCQ interface with normal lab values that accurately simulate the exam.

What is the PEBC Exam?

PEBC EXAM

Before we get into the details of what the PEBC exam entails, we have to give a little history of PEBC itself. PEBC stands for Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada and was created in 1963 to license all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in Canada. The PEBC also ensures that entry-level pharmacy professionals have the proper professional ability to practice safely within their scope. The board acts on behalf of all the provinces in Canada except Quebec. Quebec conducts its assessment and licensing process differently.

The PEBC exam assesses the competence, knowledge, and skills of persons who want to be licensed as a pharmacist or pharmacist technician in Canada (except Quebec). The people who will write this exam are generally classified into three groups. These groups are Canadian Graduates, American Graduates, and Overseas Graduates. Each group has its specific requirements and will be discussed individually.

Furthermore, the PEBC exam is divided into two parts –

  • Part I (MCQ section)
  • Part II (OSCE section)

Requirements

Overseas Graduates/International Students

For international students, there are specific steps you need to complete

  • Document Evaluation – You will have to submit your foreign pharmacy education credentials to be able to take the Pharmacy Evaluation Examination. PEBC will determine if your credentials are equivalent to the Canadian ones. Only after this is done will you be able to take the Pharmacy Evaluating Examination. If it is not comparable, you will have to enroll in a pharmacy school in Canada for four years.
  • Pharmacy Evaluating Examination – This exam tests your knowledge of pharmacy as relevant to the Canadian pharmacy curriculum. To pass the exam, you will have to get 60. You have four attempts only to pass this exam.

After this examination has been completed, you will be able to go on with the PEBC certification. Note that you may not need to do a language proficiency test as an international student before you write the PEBC exam. However, certain provinces in Canada do require it.

United States of America Graduates

If you are a recognized and licensed pharmacist in the US and graduated from a program approved by the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs (CCAPP) or the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), you are eligible to take the Pharmacy Evaluation Examination.

Canada Graduates

  • You must have completed a four-year undergraduate pharmacy degree in Canada and possess a certificate as evidence of graduation.
  • Successful completion of pharmacy evaluation examination to test your entry-level proficiency

One should note that even after all these requirements are met, the PEBC exam and certification do not automatically make one a legal pharmacist in Canada. The specific provinces also have their requirements for this.

 

Where Can the PEBC exam be taken?

The PEBC exam can be taken in several locations in Canada. Places such as Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Regna, Winnipeg, London, Hamilton, Toronto (North York and Downtown), Mississauga, Ottawa, Halifax, Whitby, Montreal, Vancouver, Saskatoon, and St. Johns.

International Locations the exam can be taken include Egypt (Alexandria, Cairo), India (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai), Palestine (Ramallah), Jordan (Amman), Kenya (Nairobi), Kuwait (Kuwait), Lebanon (Beirut), Nigeria (Lagos), Oman (Muscat), Pakistan (Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore), Philippines (Cebu City), Qatar (Doha), Saudi Arabia (Jeddah, Riyadh), South Africa (Durban, Johannesburg), South Korea (Seoul), Turkey (Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir), Uganda (Kampala), United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi, Dubai), United Kingdom (London), and the various Unites States cities.

You can also do Remote Proctoring. This means that you will be able to take the test remotely without going to test centers. This is an effect of the global pandemic and the fact that there are limited centers for this exam.

What Does the PEBC Exam Entail

The PEBC exam is split into two parts.

Part I

This part is an MCQ examination written in one day. It is meant to check your understanding, application of knowledge, and ability to combine these two to solve problems and make judgments in pharmacy practice. The exam is divided into two half-day sections. Each section has 150 questions to be answered in 225 minutes. Therefore, you will have just 90 seconds to answer each question. Thus, you will have to be very fast and accurate to pass this section. CanadaQBank helps prepare you for these exam conditions.

Part II

Part II is done on a different day. It is an OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) with various stations that simulate real-life practical scenarios. These stations will represent a part of the pharmacy you are meant to be conversant with. In each station, you will interact with a “Simulated Patient,” “Simulated Client,” or “Simulated Health Practitioner.”

 

In this exam, there are certain things that you may have to do, such as identifying a patient’s drug therapy issue, gathering and interpreting the clinical history, working without health practitioners, and effectively communicating with the patient, caregiver, and other health workers.

 How to Schedule Your Exam

If it is your first time applying for the exam, create an account on the PEBC portal. After making the account, you must do an ID and education verification.  You will then have to submit all the necessary documents online and wait for the approval. Approvals could take up to 6 weeks.  Once you have been verified and approved, the Part I and Part II applications will appear on your portal. You will then choose what part of the exam you want to write.

Two weeks to your Part I exam, you will receive an email to schedule your exam with Prometric. For Part II, this usually is three weeks before the exam.

Payment

International students will pay CAD 665 for documents evaluation and CAD 850 to take the evaluation exam in Canada.

After this is done, they will have to pay CAD 795 and CAD 1795 for PEBC Part I and Part II, respectively. This amount is the same for everyone who writes the PEBC in Canada.

Preparing for your exam

For an exam like the PEBC exam, it is best to prepare at least six months beforehand. There are a wealth of resources at your disposal that you can use. CanadaQBank helps streamline all these with questions bank. We have over 1500 multiple questions with explanations to use anytime you want.

You could also take timed tests that simulate exam conditions for you. These services are accessible from anywhere globally and not just in Canada.

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