J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2023 Jun 2:S1544-3191(23)00167-X. doi: 10.1016/j.japh.2023.05.022. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Pharmacists with specialized knowledge and skills are able to seek board certification from the Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS). In 2018, BPS conducted research to evaluate the relationship between eligibility pathways (i.e., completion of a PGY2 specialty residency, completion of a PGY1 residency plus 2 years of practice experience, or 4 years of practice experience) and certification examination pass rate. The study found statistically significant differences in pass rate based on eligibility criteria across all six specialties studied. There was a trend for higher pass rates in cohorts of examinees eligible for board certification based on completion of postgraduate residency training.
OBJECTIVES: To compare examination pass rates among different eligibility cohorts for board certification in recognized pharmacy practice specialties and compare contemporary findings to previously published findings.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on data retrieved from BPS certification applications and examination administration records for examinees in the United States and Canada for nine certification programs. A chi-square analysis was utilized to identify if there were differences in pass rate among eligibility pathway cohorts.
RESULTS: Results: 14,894 examinees met inclusion criteria. 6312 (42.4%) of the 14,894 examinees analyzed were eligible via practice experience, 5768 (38.7%) were eligible via PGY1 completion, and 2814 (18.9%) were eligible via PGY2 completion. A statistically significant difference was found for the relationship between pass rate and eligibility pathway for eight of nine BPS certification examinations analyzed (significant: BCACP, BCCCP, BCCP, BCIDP, BCOP, BCPP, BCPPS, BCPS; not significant: BCTXP). Post-hoc analyses showed that in most cases, the PGY2 eligibility cohort outperformed the PGY1 eligibility cohort, which in turn outperformed the practice experience pathway cohort.
CONCLUSION: Analysis of contemporary BPS certification examination administration data yields statistically significant differences among the pass rates by eligibility pathway, replicating previous findings and expanding the scope of the analysis.
PMID:37271347 | DOI:10.1016/j.japh.2023.05.022
