Hi Everyone,
Just what we need...another National Certification Exam.
Let's be
honest, when money can be made...it will be made.
Reminds me of NPTA's attempt, in getting another National
Certification Exam, but was unable to get the half million
dollar
grant to do so. Oh...sorry this was suppose to be a secret
as we are
marketed to believe that NPTA began with humble beginnings
with only
three members and a few quarters pocket change. If I recall
correctly,
the grant had something to do with Walmart...now the plot
thickens.
Joe Medina, CPhT
--------------
Oregon has joined Virginia in offering pharmacy technicians
a choice
of certification exams. The Oregon State Board of Pharmacy
voted in
April to accept two exams to satisfy a new licensure
requirement.
Oregon techs can pass either the Pharmacy Technician
Certification
Board (PTCB) exam or the Exam for the Certification of
Pharmacy
Technicians (ExCPT), created by the Institute for the
Certification of
Pharmacy Technicians (ICPT).
"We didn't see any significant difference between the
level of
knowledge assessed by the two exams," said Oregon
board member Ann
Zweber. Oregon's acceptance of the ExCPT intensifies
pressure on PTCB.
The Connecticut board is also considering ExCPT, and ICPT
education
director Kenneth Schafermeyer has made presentations in
several other
states. Virginia has accepted a precursor to ExCPT since
2003.
"We didn't set out to compete with PTCB," said
Schafermeyer, who has
designed and run technician training programs at St. Louis
College of
Pharmacy since 1997. "First, drug chains asked for a
standardized test
to assess training. Then Virginia put out a request for
proposal and
we won. We are able and willing to innovate, which is
causing [PTCB]
to do likewise—to everybody's advantage."
PTCB executive director and CEO Melissa Murer Corrigan said
her
group's exam is currently included in technician statutes
or
regulations in 26 states. "Almost all employers of
pharmacy
technicians require or support PTCB," she said.
Competition has
already prompted PTCB to update its Web site and database.
The next
step is to offer computer-based testing. That could give
PTCB the same
flexibility ICPT has had from the outset, Corrigan said.
"PTCB's biggest problem is access, limited frequency,
and limited
number of test sites," said Connecticut Pharmacists
Association
executive VP Marghie Giuliano. "That has created
challenges for
community and hospital pharmacies that can't get techs
certified in a
timely manner."
PTCB offers its exam four times annually. There are about
165 test
sites nationwide, but few sites offer exams on all four
dates.
Candidates must register two months prior to exam date. The
test costs
$120.
ExCPT offers more than 300 test dates at over 1,000
computerized
testing centers. Applicants can take the test at a time of
their
choosing, usually within 48 hours of registration. The test
fee is $95.
Oregon replaced pharmacy tech registration with mandatory
licensure in
2005 to give the board more control over technician training
and
practice. The state pharmacists association sponsored
licensing
legislation with language calling for PTCB certification or
its
equivalent. "We aren't hearing a preference from our
members for one
test over the other," said OSPA executive director Jim
Thompson.
The only opposition to ExCPT was from hospital pharmacy
groups, Zweber
said. The exam was originally developed with backing from
the National
Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community
Pharmacists Association, and hospital pharmacists were
concerned that
the exam might not adequately test skills important to
institutional
settings.
"That perception is as false as seeing the PTCB exam
as slanted toward
institutional settings because it has roots in ASHP and APhA
[American
Pharmacists Association]," said NCPA senior VP and COO
Douglas Hoey.
"Both exams are appropriate for all practice
settings."
Not so fast, said Carmen Catizone, executive director of the
National
Association of Boards of Pharmacy. He said NABP has studied
both tests
and concluded that only PTCB gets a passing score.
Both sides in the debate have a financial stake in the
outcome. ASHP,
APhA, and NABP earn royalties from PTCB. NCPA and NACDS get
royalties
from ICPT. But NACDS senior VP Mary Ann Wagner said ExCPT
revenue is
minor compared with that generated by the PTCB exam.
For now, only the Virginia Board of Pharmacy can compare the
quality
of pharmacy techs who took the two different exams.
"We have not
measured technician performance based on which exam they
took," said
executive director Elizabeth Scott Russell, "but we
have not had any
cases of patient harm or misconduct based on technician
competency."
Source:
http://www.drugtopics.com/drugtopics/art
icle/articleDetail.jsp?id=323260
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