Foreign Pharmacy Exams

If you planning to work as pharmacist in abroad, especially in US, Canada or Australia, you are mandatory to take their pharmacy exams. As the pharmacy exam in the Philippines, the foreign pharmacy exams also require you to provide them valid documents to eligibly include you in list of candidates. Usually their prerequisites are graduated from recognized school of pharmacy with comparable four to five years in the degree of pharmacy, obtained and passed the English language test, and fully paid fees.

For US foreign pharmacy exam the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE), (initiated by National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), which is an impartial professional organization in the United States that supports the state boards of pharmacy in creating uniform regulations to protect public health), will give and conduct the exam for foreign pharmacy takers. But should be qualified first by Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC), unable to meet the requirements of FPGEC understood to be that you are not qualified to take the FPGEE. The main requirement of FPGEC is:

• If you graduated from an accredited school of pharmacy on or after January 1, 2003, you must have completed at least a five-year pharmacy curriculum. For example, a five-year BSc in pharmacy, a five-year BPharm, or a five or six-year PharmD. Post-graduate degrees and coursework are not meant to be qualified, but under evaluation. Unless the setting where the post-graduate degrees and coursework made is obtained or experienced in patient care in a clinical pharmacy practice setting.
  Or
• If you graduated from an accredited school of pharmacy before January 1, 2003, you must have completed at least a four-year pharmacy curriculum.

When your application in FPGEC is approved, you will be entitled to take the exam for FPGEE. Retakers are welcomed and another application form FPGEC and FPGEE will be made.

See the Structure of the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examination (FPGEE) for more information.

For Canadian foreign pharmacy exam, your application and documents will be evaluated by Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC). Upon meeting the requirements and favorably passed the Document Evaluation your are given five years chance to pass the Pharmacy Evaluating Exam. Passing the Pharmacy Evaluating Exam initiated by PEBC does not guarantee you to practice pharmacy course in Canada, instead, the PEBC will send a copy of your Licensing Statement or Letter of Good Standing and endorse you to a provincial or territorial regulatory authority. The provincial or territorial regulatory authority will be the last authorized office to assess or test you if you are eligible to practice pharmacy in that province. English or French language test may not be required in PEBC, but may require by provincial or territorial regulatory authority.

If you plan to practice pharmacy in Australia, you should have to meet the requirements of Australian Pharmacy Council (APC). The Australian Pharmacy Council an independent accreditation agency for Australian pharmacy until July 2018, under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme. Requirements needed are qualification from recognized tertiary institution that is considered by Australian Education International and the APC to be comparable to a four year pharmacy degree at an Australian university. If your qualification obtained prior to 1 January 2006, applicants should complete at least a three year program to be eligible. Overseas trained pharmacists must also be registered or be eligible for registration as a pharmacist in the country in which the qualification was obtained. English proficiency test are also must to complete for Knowledge Assessment of Pharmaceutical Sciences (KAPS) for Stream A and does not require for the Competency Assessment of Overseas Pharmacists (CAOP) examination for Stream B. Evaluation of documents will be done. Upon passing the evaluation and English proficiency test, you are entitled to take the exam in either KAPS or CAOP. Resit is allowed. After passing the KAPS or CAOP, supervised practice, internships, and written and oral exams will be conducted by Pharmacy Board of Australia prior to your registration.

For complete information of the foreign exams, please visit their respective websites.

Pharmacy practice is constantly changing and very dynamic. Many foreign pharmacists are aspiring to work abroad, especially the three countries tackled, but I may say that wherever you are, whatever you are the practice or setting is not different at all. There might be little difference in institution or jurisdiction, but across the world there is only one goal of pharmacy, which is to provide optimum health care to the people through drugs. Nonetheless, you are thinking for money it is not the continent that you are posted is the basis, but it is the personality and determination you do have to gain income in your own country.