Qualifying Examination Blueprint
Introduction
The Pharmacy Technician Qualifying Examination blueprint is based on NAPRA’s 2024 Professional Competencies for Canadian Pharmacy Technicians at Entry to Practice. The exam blueprint informs candidates about what the exam will test and guides PEBC to design exams that are comparable from one examination administration to the next, giving all candidates equal opportunity to show whether they possess the competencies that are necessary to practise pharmacy safely and effectively in Canada. Therefore, all candidates should review this blueprint thoroughly and determine whether they are ready to practise as a registered pharmacy technician or if they need more preparation and experience in any competency area before taking the Qualifying Examination.
Competencies are defined as a combination of professional knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes and judgments required for competent performance (i.e., safe and effective practice). They provide an overview of what a pharmacy technician must be able to do at entry to practice, without supervision, when the need arises. Standards of practice describe what can be expected of a pharmacy technician as ”good practice”, providing detail about how to perform many of the tasks required to provide safe and effective pharmacy services. The national standards of practice are outlined in NAPRA’s Model Standards of Practice for Canadian Pharmacy Technicians. To meet these standards, pharmacy technicians need to have and apply the competencies described. Competencies are presented as behaviours since they are meant to be observable, with the underlying knowledge required to support these behaviours. To be certified by PEBC and registered as a pharmacy technician, candidates are required to demonstrate that they have these professional competencies, by successfully completing the Qualifying Examination.
Qualifying Examination questions in Part I (MCQ) and station tasks in Part II (OSPE) are linked to these national competencies. The proportion of the overall Qualifying Examination that focuses on the six major competencies is shown in the column on the right as a percentage (%) of the Total Exam. These percentages indicate how much of the Qualifying Examination for both Parts combined is focused on each competency area. This also indicates the relative importance of each competency in the exam results and final certification decisions. When both Parts assess the same competencies, they will often assess different aspects or elements of the same competency. Providing Care: Product Distribution has the highest overall weighting and the highest weighting in each Part (MCQ and OSPE). This reflects the paramount importance of this competency for pharmacy technicians to achieve best possible patient outcomes.
Approximate weightings for each competency area within each Part of the exam (i.e. MCQ in relation to OSPE) have also been provided in the right columns. For example, Providing Care: Distribution has higher weightings in Part I (MCQ) than in Part II (OSPE), whereas Communication and Collaboration is more highly weighted in Part II (OSPE) than in Part I (MCQ).
The role of the pharmacy technician in the Canadian health care system has evolved significantly over the past several years. The introduction of the regulation of pharmacy technicians in most provinces has served to expand their scope of practice. This has also required pharmacy technicians’ requisite knowledge and skills at entry to practice to evolve, in order to fulfill this expanded scope and meet patients’ needs. As such, the blueprint now includes the following two new competencies under Professionalism: promote equity, diversity and inclusion in the practice environment; and promote a culture of patient safety and continuous quality improvement.
The competencies for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians may either be common or specific to each role, with each pharmacy professional taking responsibility for their respective roles while working collaboratively. Pharmacists are primarily responsible for drug therapy advice and decision-making, focusing on the clinical aspects of patient care. Pharmacy technicians are primarily responsible for the technical distribution functions and for referring patients to the pharmacist for drug therapy advice. In many workplaces, pharmacists take or share responsibility for these technical functions, and must be competent in Providing Care: Distribution.
Although some aspects of the scope of practice of the Canadian pharmacy technician may differ among jurisdictions and workplaces, the core competencies expected of pharmacy technicians at entry to practice are the same. In all settings, when providing patient care, the pharmacy technician works in collaboration with the pharmacist, patient and other health care professionals to achieve the best possible health outcomes for the patient.