Pharmacy in Canada – Admission,Register as a Pharmacist
Today’s pharmacists in Canada are highly respected as the medication management experts of the health care team. They collaborate with patients, their families and other health care providers to benefit the health of Canadians. The pharmacist’s traditional role is expanding, and pharmacists across Canada deliver a range of innovative services, including medication reviews, chronic disease management, immunization services and wellness programs. Most provincial governments have approved pharmacist prescribing with varying scopes of authority, a service that complements the care provided by a doctor and can result in more convenient refills, less time spent dealing with prescription changes and collaborative medication management.
Register as a Pharmacist : (Foreign Graduates)
In general, there are seven steps to the process of gaining your registration to practice as a pharmacist in Canada :
- Evaluation of documents : Registered pharmacists should send their degree certificate and a statement of good standing from the General Pharmaceutical Council to the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (PEBC) for preliminary evaluation
- The PEBC evaluating exam : The PEBC examination consists of two tests on consecutive days, each with 150 multiple choice questions on pharmaceutical science and pharmacy practice. The pass mark is 60 per cent. It can be taken in January or July
- The PEBC qualifying exam (part 1) : The PEBC qualifying exam (part 1) consists of two MCQ papers with 150 questions on consecutive days on pharmacy practice and clinical topics. It is offered in May and November every year and must be taken in Canada
- The PEBC qualifying exam (part 2) : of the PEBC qualifying exam is an objective structured clinical examination.It examines the candidate’s knowledge of pharmacy practice, plus clinical and communication skills. There are 16 stations, each lasting seven minutes. Some stations require interaction with mock patients or healthcare professionals
- English Language proficiency exam You need to pass an English language proficiency exam, such as TOEFL (see http://www.ets.org/toefl for more information). Strangely, this applies even to UK candidates who have English as their first language. If you wish to work in the Quebec province you will need to pass a French language proficiency exam instead
- Jurisprudence exam Another exam you need to pass is the jurisprudence exam for the Canadian province in which you wish to work. This tests your knowledge of Canadian pharmacy law and ethics, which varies substantially between provinces. It is generally offered several times a year in most provinces.
- Studentship and internship You need to undertake (usually) a studentship and an internship in your chosen province. Most provinces require you to undertake a studentship, which is a taught course, often six months in duration, at the faculty of pharmacy for the province. An internship is compulsory for all provinces, and may vary in length between three and 12 months
- Update : Only for “Ontario” Province – The International Pharmacy Graduate (IPG) Program is made Mandatory which is the bridging education program approved by the OCP Council to assist international pharmacy graduates in gaining the knowledge, skills and judgment required to meet the Canadian entry-to-practice standards for pharmacists.
After you have completed these steps, you can then apply for your licence to practise in your chosen province.
Admission Procedure : (For Students )
For Canada, IELTS is preferred to avoid any issues at the time of getting a Student Visa. An IELTS score of 6.5 is preferred with no less than 6.0 in each section.
For programs on pharmacy in Canada , you may check out a few universities/colleges such as:
- University of Alberta
- University of British Columbia
- University of Toronto
Here is a brief on the admission procedure and the requirements as an international student:
1. First , please register yourself for GRE, IELTS or TOEFL test . You can check out the links above for information on these tests. However, most of the Canadian institutions do not ask for a GRE test but it is recommended to have this test.
2. After this, start shortlisting the desired universities/colleges . select the universities which are well known and Pharmaceutical Sciences/ Pharmacy in Canada. You should go through the curriculum first , it should go with your career goal.
3. Do the score reporting to the universities shortlisted. You need to have the list of desired universities (at least 4* at the time of registering for GRE or IELTS/TOEFL.
4. Apart from these tests score, you need to send your transcripts/mark sheets to the desired university/college for evaluation. Also send your GPA score (Grade Point Average). It should be above 3.5 at least to get into a decent university.
5. Get ready with required documents like Letter of Recommendation (LORs), Statement of Purpose (SOP), and any other document required by the department or the university.
6. Filling in the Online Application Form for the university. You should also update the required document online such as LORs or SOP. Also, send them separately via courier to the department or at the address mentioned in the university website.
7. Once you have sent all the required documents , wait for the response from the university. Most of the universities do revert or send the Acceptance Letter or I-20 via mail or courier with 2-4 weeks after receiving the application.
8. Apply for a Student Visa once you have received the Offer Letter from the institutions. For this you need to get in touch with the Embassy or Consulate near your region.
9. Here are the important links for Student Visa for Canada:
10. Flying to your dream university/college!