Abstract

Objectives To compare examination pass rates among different eligibility cohorts for initial board certification in 6 recognized pharmacy practice specialties.

Design Retrospective observational cohort study.

Setting and participants Practicing U.S. pharmacists who were approved candidates for initial board certification examinations in the following Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS)–recognized specialties: ambulatory care pharmacy, critical care pharmacy, oncology pharmacy, pediatric pharmacy, pharmacotherapy, and psychiatric pharmacy.

Outcome measures The number and percentage of BPS-approved candidates that pass initial board certification examinations differentiated by specialty and eligibility pathway (i.e., completion of postgraduate residency training or demonstration of postlicensure specialized practice experience).

Results Initial board certification examination outcome (i.e., pass or fail) was assessed for a total of 15,171 candidates from Fall 2015 to Fall 2018. Pass rates for that period based on eligibility pathway (e.g., completion of a PGY-2 specialty residency, completion of a PGY-1 residency plus 1–2 years of postlicensure specialized practice experience, or 3–4 years of postlicensure specialized practice experience) were, respectively as follows: ambulatory care pharmacy (n = 2081): 94%, 84%, and 55% (P < 0.0001); critical care pharmacy (n = 2111): 99%, 94%, and 79% (P < 0.0001); oncology pharmacy (n = 1195) 93%, 75%, and 50% (P < 0.0001); pediatric pharmacy (n = 1119): 87%, 73%, and 57%; (P < 0.0001); pharmacotherapy (n = 8368): 88%, 59% (P < 0.0001); and psychiatric pharmacy (n = 477): 93%, 72%, 49% (P < 0.0001).