Preparing for the Examination

Preparing for the Examination

Both formal education and practice experience prepare you for the Pharmacist Evaluating Examination and licensure as a pharmacist. In order to determine what additional learning needs you have, prior to taking the examination, you should assess the knowledge and skills that you have already acquired, in comparison with the subject areas and their weightings outlined in the Examination Blueprint. You are in the best position to determine how much and what kind of preparation is necessary for you.

Remember that inadequate language proficiency will affect your performance. Effective written and verbal communication skills (at levels satisfactory for a health professional) are essential competencies for practice and for success in taking the PEBC examinations. Do not overlook this important step in your preparations.

Once you have identified your learning needs, it is your responsibility to find suitable reference sources, materials and/or additional experience to prepare for the Pharmacist Evaluating Examination. A partial list of references and learning resources (review guides, textbooks, federal legislation and Internet resources), is in the Pharmaceutical References and Learning Resources section. The Internet Resources section includes a listing of some Continuing Education (CE) learning opportunities that are available to you. This list is not intended to serve as a handbook or complete overview, nor should you assume that these references are the source of the examination questions.

It is important for candidates who are unsuccessful in an attempt, to focus on improving behaviours and learning, with actions and strategies that are closely linked to the goal of achieving success. This involves undertaking those activities and improvements that will make a significant difference for the next examination attempt. Simply retaking another examination, without making improvements, will not achieve a successful outcome. It is crucial to give serious consideration and assess the effect that completed learning activities and remediation efforts have made in improving one’s readiness to take the next examination.

Pharmacist Evaluating Examination Syllabus

A syllabus has been compiled to guide candidates preparing for the PEBC Pharmacist Evaluating Examination. It contains sample outlines of Canadian university level pharmacy course material, in subject areas considered important to the background knowledge base in the pharmaceutical sciences and preparation for the practice of pharmacy. The material found in this syllabus gives sampling from a variety of sources, and its purpose is to serve ONLY as a guide to the curriculum content of current pharmacy education in Canada.

This information may be helpful in your preparation to write the Pharmacist Evaluating Examination. However, this syllabus should NOT be interpreted to be the blueprint for the construction of questions for the Pharmacist Evaluating Examination.

The revised syllabus is available here as a PDF.